Comment from Corey Dragge

Dear Sir/Ma'am; I wanted to take a moment to comment on the proposed rule by the Department of Agriculture to amend the phytosanitary treatment regulations to provide generic criteria for new irradiation treatment facilities in the Southern States of the United States (Docket No. APHIS-2009-0100, RIN 0579-AD35). As a resident of Nevada I am deeply concerned over our skyrocketing unemployment rate of 13% (Heller 2011) and I would like to commend you for introducing an amendment to a rule that could not just benefit our nations health but Nevada's job market as well. We must remain diligent in our efforts to provide safe and affordable fruit and vegetables and the recent Listeria outbreak is only one example of potentially many that proves that (Associated Press 2011). As demand for safe foods continues to grow we will only be able to meet these needs by expanding our irradiation treatment facilities. While there are always the nay sayers when it comes to the irradiation of food we can not deny the potentially life saving benefits. The fact that disease-causing microorganisms are reduced or eliminated while the nutritional value is essentially unchanged speaks volumes for the continuation of this sanitation process. While the number of jobs created in Nevada by the amendment of this rule is unclear it is worth noting that no matter how great or how little that number would be this amendment could potential provide jobs to Nevadan in dire need. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Corey Dragge Sources: Heller, Dean (2011). "A jobs plan for Nevada". http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/a-jobs-plan-for-nevada-132873783.html?ref=783 Associate Press (2011). "Listeria Outbreak in Cantaloupes Is the Deadliest in a Decade http://healthland.time.com/2011/09/28/cantaloupe-outbreak-is-the-deadliest-in-a-decade/#ixzz1cKEh1uN6