Mailroom Meltdown at Library of Congress

Someone passed along
This LA Times story on the fight against terrorism at the Library of Congress.


Lyrics and tunes submitted for copyright protection are melted into a jellyfish-like mass, Photographs of potentially historic value are fused onto cover sheets.


The process of zapping the mail is so intense–postal officials originally used an irradiation level 25 times greater than that used to kill bacteria on beef–that letters routinely arrive yellowed, crinkled and sometimes burned beyond recognition. Even though the thermostat has since been turned down to a mere 10 times the normal zap, the mail is being cooked at temperatures as great as 170 degrees, and damage is noticeable.

May 16, 2002 by Uncategorized 0

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