During the 2001 anthrax attacks , the US Postal Service irradiated mail to protect members of the US government and other possible targets . This was of some concern to people who send digital media through the mail , including artists . According to the ART in Embassies program , " incoming mail is irradiated , and the process destroys slides , transparencies and disks . " After its discovery by Lewis Stadler at the University of Missouri , irradiation of seed and plant germplasm has resulted in creating many widely-grown cultivars of food crops worldwide . The process , which consists of striking plant seeds or germplasm with radiation in the form of X-rays , UV waves , heavy-ion beams , or gamma rays , essentially " mixes " the genes already existing in the genome . The UN has been an active participant through the International Atomic Energy Agency . Irradiation is also employed to prevent the sprouting of certain cereals , onions , potatoes and garlic . Appropriate irradiation doses are also used to produce insects for use in the sterile insect technique of pest control
2001 anthrax attacks
2001 anthrax attacks
Irradiation