Board Thread:General Nerf discussion/@comment-30049823-20200203190207/@comment-27306930-20200303041220

I agree with you, there's probably no real risk. In all likelihood, our packages are probably perfectly safe.

That being said, we don't irradiate ALL packages in the US. We irradiate all mail to government agencies, and certain produce and perishables, but the vast majority of regular mail isn't irradiated, including most international packages.

We "sniff" a large percentage of packages for biologic agents, drugs, and explosives with automated detection equipment at mail processing centers. And some are X-rayed. But irradiation is relatively rare. Shipping companies in the US are also required to notify the recipients that their packages were irradiated. In my entire life, I've never received a notice.

As far as viability, Coronaviruses are pretty well understood. At one end of the spectrum, they are very sensitive to direct sunlight and heat. At temperatures above 30°C they are only viable for a few minutes. In direct sunlight, UV can destroy them in seconds.

On indoor metal surfaces, they have a 2 hour viability window. There's something about how bare metals disrupt enzyme structures binding to sulfur and/or carboxylate groups and proteins. I don't pretend to understand it fully.

At the other end of the spectrum, coronaviruses kept near 4°C at low humidity have been tested and remain viable for up to 9 days.

The problem is we don't currently have a clear understanding of how viable COVID-19 is on plastics, cardboards, and everyday surfaces at room temperature. Some say it's not very viable. That means it's somewhere between a few minutes and 9 days. We don't really know right now.

My package came from the epicenter of the outbreak in Europe. And I'm on immunosuppressants. So my personal decision is to wait a little bit. But if the suspense is killin' me, I might be tempted to crack it open tomorrow. I think I'd survive 😛