Sterilisers

How is gamma radiation used to sterilise hospital equipment?

For the question in the exam practise paper i have; threes a diagram of a disposable syringe, a disposable syringe in a sealed plastic pack both unsterilised. a disposable syringe in bag With gamma rays going into bag and a sterilised picture of the disposable syringe were asked to describe how it works... i have know idea

Public Comments

1. gamma rays destroy pathogens microbes and also have the ability to pass through some cm of Pb..so plastic bag is easy passed.
2. How is radiation used to sterilize hospital equipment? will you be radioactive after an x-ray? would you be radioactive after having a radioactive tracer? Best Answer - Chosen by Voters 3 Q`s there Gamma Because the wavelength of gamma radiation is so short, a single incident photon can impart significant damage to a living cell. This property means that gamma radiation is often used to kill living organisms, in a process called irradiation. Applications of this include sterilizing medical equipment (as an alternative to autoclaves or chemical means), removing decay-causing bacteria from many foodstuffs or preventing fruit and vegetables from sprouting to maintain freshness and flavor. X rays No a single Dose of X-ray is not that harmful but radiographers do protect themselves, especially their privates with lead shielding. Radioactive tracing The doses of tracers are so low and so infrequent there is no significant healtk risk even though ionising material is in intimate contact with tissue. Besides most tracers are not in biological systems for long before passed out. 6 months ago http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080928010933AAKFy8b