A SPRAY that makes unopened envelopes transparent鈥攕o the letters inside
are as easy to read as postcards鈥攈as been developed by a company in the
US. And the spray leaves no trace, says its inventor, Mistral Security of
Bethesda, Maryland.
鈥淲ith a business card in a brown envelope,鈥� says company spokesman Bob
Schlagel, 鈥測ou can read the card, the e-mail address, the telephone number,
别惫别谤测迟丑颈苍驳.鈥�
Schlagel says that the spray, called 鈥淪ee-Through鈥� was developed to let
police forces inspect potentially dangerous packages, like a letter bomb.
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Described as a 鈥渘on-conductive, non-toxic, environmentally safe liquid鈥�, the
spray has been tested to make sure it leaves no trace on envelopes, Schlagel
says. 鈥淚t leaves an odour for 10 to 15 minutes,鈥� he adds, 鈥渂ut apart from that,
there鈥檚 no smudging of ink on the envelope or on the letter, no watermark, no
evidence at all.鈥�
He says tests have shown that the spray works on all colours of envelopes,
unless they have a plastic barrier like those found on padded envelopes.
Mistral鈥檚 distributors will only sell the product to 鈥渓aw enforcement agencies鈥�,
he adds.
John Wadham, director of Liberty, the human rights organisation, says that
police in Britain would need a warrant to use such a spray to examine letters.
But Simon Davies, director of Privacy International, a London-based human rights
group focusing on surveillance issues, says the spray could tempt security
forces to bend laws. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity for governments to side-step
legislation on mail interception and opening,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an ethically
questionable product.鈥�
