[hijack]
I’ve seen New Antibacterial Disinfectant on the shelves of my local supermarket recently. All these years, I thought that disinfectant was antibacterical… can anyone shed some light on what this new Antibac Disinfectant kills that the old stuff didn’t? Is this just a marketing ploy because people will buy anything that’s labelled Antibac?
[/hijack]
Okay. 
Actually, I was going to darn you to heck for destroying my carefully cherished illusion, garnered from media reports, that bleach and peroxide, those home disinfection staples, won’t do a darn thing against anthrax spores. Boy, am I going to look stupid, if it turns out that all I need to do is spray the Better Half with my trusty spray bottle of 1:10 bleach solution… 
Actually, 
I haven’t heard anybody, CDC officials or otherwise, say that all you need is some bleach. But I have heard lots of media sound bites on how ironing doesn’t work, and how certain kinds of irradiating don’t work, and how this doesn’t work, and how that doesn’t work, and how the spores can exist for years, decades, even, and then spring into life at a moment’s notice.
And here in Central Illinois, the destruction of Iowa State’s anthrax stocks got a fair amount of attention. But we all looked at each other and wondered, “They couldn’t just dump it into a bucket of bleach or something?” We understand bleach. We didn’t need to see the whole circus with the Smokey standing there looking grim, to prove to us that the Evil Spores were finally toast.
http://chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0110240034oct24.story
I especially enjoyed the explanation, presumably provided for the Tribune’s Illiterati readership, that an autoclave is a “cooking device”.
Any state trooper who can stand guard in a room without leaving for a quick visit to the restroom gets my vote for Employee of the Month.
Pan shot of Mom and 8-year-old Daughter walking down Broadway. Daughter stops in front of an Autoclave[sup]tm[/sup] location.
Daughter: “Hey Mom! Can we got to the Autoclave[sup]tm[/sup] for lunch today?”
Mom: “Why of course, dear. [closeup of Mom] It’s so inexpensive - convenient - hygienic!”
*Smiling Daughter leads Mom by the hand into the Autoclave[sup]tm[/sup].
Cut to Mom and Daughter seated at table. Waitress serves Daughter soup in patented Thermo-Serv[sup]tm[/sup] pressurized container system.*
Daughter: Gee, Mom, what’s the Thermo-Serv[sup]tm[/sup] for?
Mother: Why, that’s the patented heat system used to sterilize every item Autoclave[sup]tm[/sup] serves! It raises the internal temperature to a safe 130 degrees celsius, to eliminate all disease-causing agents. And it makes the foods so fresh and flavorful! Open the lid, honey, and try some!
Daughter releases the Serv-valv[sup]tm[/sup] and takes a swallow of the contents.
Daughter (turning purple): Gah! Gurgggghh! Urrrrkrlllll!
Mom: What was that, dear?
Daughter (hyperventilating): Hah! Huhhhhhhhhhuh-huh-huh-waaaaaahhhhhh! [Her color lowers to beet red. She’s crying.] AAAaaaahaaannnnhhhhhhwaaaaahhhhnnnnhh.
Mom (smiling, but pretend-cross): Oh, don’t be such a baby! Like I said, it’s 130 degrees celsius!
Daughter: Waah! Hanh! Huhnh! WaaanhHaaanhHaaaaaanh!
Mom:Oh, I’m sorry, dear, they don’t teach the metric system any more, do they? Let’s take a look at your throat. [Examines.]
Daughter (while opening wide, in a low mewl): Hoooooonhooohhohohooooo.
Mom (surprised and pleased): Oh, look, no more tonsils! The doctor was getting worried about them, dear. That’s why the American Health Insurance Association recommends the Autoclave[sup]tm[/sup], where you can simply burn those disease-ridden nodes away and help keep America’s health care costs down!
Daughter (weakly): Unnnhg. Hunnhgh. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. [She passes out.]
Closeup of Mom’s face.
Mom (with hand to face, telling a “secret”): And you know what? She doesn’t have a tongue anymore, either! Her larnyx should wither within 24-48 hours, too - so no more listening to her bratty whining!
[Camera pans back.]
Mom: That’s today’s Autoclave[sup]tm[/sup], America’s inexpensive, convenient, hygienic healthy food and health care solution! Save your children from the risks of scalpels, anaesthesia and hospital-borne infection. Try the Autoclave[sup]tm[/sup] today!
Announcer, reciting at minimum 150 wpm: Void where prohibited. By purchasing any Autoclave[sup]tm[/sup] product or service, all Autoclave[sup]tm[/sup] customers waive any and all direct, indirect and consequential liability, whether in law or at equity, for monetary or other damages, whether for injury, pain, suffering, mutilation, dismemberment, disappointment, depression, decapitation, hallucination, halitosis or death. All services not available at all locations. Autoclave[sup]tm[/sup] is a member of the American Health Insurance Association and an authorized payee under Medicare, Medicaid, MediCal, TennCare, union and supplemental insurance plans, except when it isn’t. Have a nice day.
Good Stuff OxyMoron!!!
Regarding killing the Anthrax Spores in using a bleach solution: I’m confused. In the link posted by [bold]miatachris[/bold] it says:
So does the Texas Department of Health not know what it is talking about?
Also I am having problems with the quote by GUILLEMIN that Duck Duck posted.
My problems are these: Sunshine is radiation, so what part of the spectrum actually is killing the spores? So heating the spores to 5000 celcius for 1 hour will not destroy them?
Resistant to Exposives? Come on! What does this mean? How can something as small as a bacterial spore be effected by an explosive? Heat and Shock are the two methods I can see. The problem with an exposion is the heat is applied very briefly and I imagine that small particals like spores are relativly protected by the shock due to fluid dynamics. Of coarse it is resistant to explosives. (Oxymoron, can you PLEASE do a script of them determining that it was resistive to exposives? PlEASE? :))
I heard on NPR last week that the Spores can be destroyed by X-rays and Cosmic rays, but no mention of dosages. Anyone know about this?