Scared of anthrax in your mail? Iron it!

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billgerat
The Harvester of Eyes

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: In a Blue, Blue State
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Scared of anthrax in your mail? Iron it!

If you're worried about anthrax, iron your mail

Wednesday, October 17, 2001 at 18:30 JST
WASHINGTON — A leading bioterror expert said on Tuesday people who feel panicky about opening their mail amid the anthrax scare can use a hot steam iron and a moist layer of fabric to kill germs.

Ken Alibek, a top former Soviet germ warfare scientist who is now a U.S.-based author and researcher trying to develop defences against bioterror, told a surprised congressional briefing on nonproliferation that a hot, moist steam iron and moist fabric could kill anthrax spores.

Pressed by surprised lawmakers who were not sure if they had heard him right, he repeated that several times.

"Iron your letters," he said, adding that a microwave oven was not as good as an iron and that including moisture was essential because spores could survive dry heat.

For large amounts of mail, in big cities or postal distribution centres, he recommended setting up portable gamma radiation units to sterilize letters. "This problem could be solved," he said.

Alibek repeated the advice of many other experts that people should not buy gas masks. But he said that if his biotech company and two others doing similar work got "significant funding," they probably could bring to market new antiviral drugs that would work against several potential bioterror weapons within two years. "We've had interesting results with animals," he said.

Connecticut Republican Christopher Shays, who convened the hearing, noted that the chances of anyone getting anthrax-contaminated mail were extremely small. (Reuters News)