Radiation Sterilization to Combat the COVID-19 Epidemic
Radiation is an important means for disinfecting and sterilizing medical and healthcare products and drugs, such as single-use medical devices, medical latex gloves, sanitary materials, pharmaceutical packaging materials, and traditional Chinese medicine.
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in early 2020, the demand for medical protective equipment surged, and single-use protective clothing was in short supply. Under the auspices of the China Atomic Energy Authority, the Specifications for Radiation Sterilization of Single-use Protective Clothing for Medical Use during Emergency (Provisional) was prepared by the China Isotope and Radiation Industry Association and issued jointly by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Health Commission and the National Medical Products Administration in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The radiation sterilization method specified in these Specifications can be used as an emergency alternative to ethylene oxide sterilization of single-use protective clothing for medical use, reducing the sterilization time from the original 7-10 days to about 1 day and efficiently improving disinfection. The Provisional Specifications was also submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) , which distributed the document in INFCIRC/931 for reference by member states. Some radiation sterilization companies offered free priority services to medical equipment manufacturers, hospitals, and centers for disease control and prevention, among others, in a move to speed up sterilization of medical supplies such as cotton swabs, gloves, and protective clothing for medical use to ensure timely provision of emergency medical supplies. By the end of 2020, more than 150 million sets of single-use protective clothing and isolation clothing had undergone radiation sterilization.
A large amount of medical wastewater and solid waste generated during the response to COVID-19 was treated with electron beam irradiation, which effectively killed bacteria and viruses, and prevented secondary spread to the environment through the disposal of wastewater and solid waste.
辐射灭菌抗疫
辐射加工是中国医疗卫生用品、药品消毒灭菌的一种重要手段，已广泛应用于一次性医疗器械、医用乳胶手套、卫生材料、药品包装材料、中药等领域。
2020年初新冠肺炎疫情暴发，医疗防护物资需求激增，医用一次性防护服最为紧缺。国家原子能机构组织中国同位素与辐射行业协会编制了《医用一次性防护服辐射灭菌应急规范（临时）》及辐射灭菌参考流程，由工信部、卫健委和药监局联合印发通知，提出为应对疫情急需，可利用辐照技术替代传统环氧乙烷方法对医用一次性防护服进行灭菌消毒，使医用防护服灭菌时间由原来的710天缩短为1天左右，且灭菌效率大为提升。同时，中国将《医用一次性防护服辐射灭菌应急规范（临时）》提供给国际原子能机构供各成员国参考，国际原子能机构通过《情况通报》第931号分发给各成员国。辐照灭菌企业免费或优先为医疗器械厂商、医院、疾控中心等单位提供医用棉签、医用手套、医用防护服等医疗物资的灭菌服务，确保防疫应急用品及时供应。截至2020年底，辐射灭菌一次性防护服及隔离衣总量达1.5亿多套。
对新冠肺炎治疗过程中产生的大量医疗废水和医用垃圾采用电子束辐照处理，也可有效灭杀细菌和病毒，阻断病毒通过废水和垃圾向环境二次传播。
