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The Roll Call reports on the U.S. Postal Service's practice of irradiating the mail following the delivery of Anthrax to politicians via the mail in late 2001. "To combat the presence of the deadly white powder, the postal service started to irradiate the mail sent to Capitol Hill offices." The practice drew complains from federal employees. The mail was "brittle, yellow, smelly and powdery. Employees reported that handling the mail caused various illnesses including headaches, skin and eye irritation and bleeding from the ears. The major complaints lasted for three months as the postal service tinkered with the radiation dosage used to cleanse the mail. By April, the number of illnesses logged over several weeks decreased from 131 to fewer than 10 cases. During this time, the radiation dosage decreased by 20 percent.