Download this report as an MP3 sound file.
For broadcast on CBS Radio Network stations
January 26-27, 2002:
Microwaved Mail
The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.
The irradiation process the Postal Service is using to make
sure mail is anthrax-free has a side effect: It changes some
of the materials passed through it.
Some mail, early in the processing, caught fire and was
destroyed. That was blamed on the contents of some of the
envelopes, but there have been no reports of it since, making
me wonder if it wasn't the settings on the equipment.
Many items, however, change color -- the paper reacts with the
irradiation.
And it's not just stamps, but other paper and plastic
collectibles that are affected, as well as audio and
videocassettes, film, medicine, and more -- the sort of things
you'd send to a friend or relative.
Collectibles are sold by small businesses and most of them
depend on mail order sales. Insurance doesn't replace a rarity,
it just pays for it.
Would you put something worth hundreds of dollars in the
microwave? Of course not. But the next time you have to mail a
keepsake...you may need to use another delivery service.
And that's stamp collecting this week.
I'm Lloyd de Vries, CBS News.
----------------------------------------------------------
Go to Previous Report
Go to Next Report
Go to Report Index
Return to Virtual Stamp Club Home Page
|