Gamma irradiation

ANSTO operates a range of cobalt-60 gamma irradiators, providing the Australian community with a range of irradiation services for medical, health, industry, agriculture and research purposes.

Gamma rays, a form of electromagnetic radiation like X-rays, ionise atoms and in doing so create chemical changes in the material. For example, in living organisms this can result in damage to cells and the breakdown of DNA making it a useful way of killing bacteria, insects and other biological contaminants. For more information view the benefits of nuclear science.

Applications of gamma irradiation can include:

Food biosecurity
Agriculture
Horticulture
Radiobiology
Radiotherapy dosimetry
Polymer modification
Vaccine development
Research sample irradiation
Medical product dose verifications
Sterilisation of medical products and devices, including donated human tissue

ANSTO's unique gamma irradiation facilities enable the delivery of high doses of radiation with a high level of precision not achievable in industrial-scale irradiators.

Capabilities

Dose rates	0.001 to 30 Gy.min^-1
Doses	10 mGy to 1 MGy
Temperature	–78 °C (under dry ice) up to room temperature
Product size	Up to 1 m³

High dose dosimetry

ANSTO manufactures and calibrates radiation dosimeters for use in monitoring doses in high dose irradiation applications. The dosimeter measurements are traceable to the Australian standard for absorbed dose.

These reference standard dosimeters can provide traceable calibrations for routine dosimeters used by any provider of gamma irradiation services worldwide.

Our dosimeters can be used to calibrate any gamma radiation field from small blood irradiators to large industrial pallet or tote irradiators. Manufacturers of sterile medical products may conduct quality control checks on the dose delivered to their products in industrial irradiators.

Dosimeters are manufactured following international best practice for dosimetry in radiation processing (ISO 17025 and ISO/ASTM standards). ANSTO provides a supply and measurement service as well as supplying calibrated dosimeters to customers for irradiation and, upon return, report dosimeter readings. Download the factsheet for more information on our high dose dosimetry service.

Dosimetry systems

Dosimeter	Dose range	Uncertainty (95% confidence)
Fricke	50 – 350 Gy	2.0 %
Ceric Cerous (Low dose)	1 – 12 kGy	3.0 %
Ceric Cerous (High dose)	10 – 50 kGy	3.5 %

Regulatory requirements

Operating within a highly regulated environment, ANSTO maintains a quality management system that complies with the following licences, standards and guidelines.

TGA Licence	For the radiation treatment of therapeutic goods
Biosecurity Licence	For the radiation treatment of goods subject to Australian quarantine
ARPANSA Licence	For the safe operation of radiation facilities
ISO 9001	Quality management system requirements

ANSTO also adheres to the principles of the following standards and guidelines:

ISO 11137	Substantiation of the sterilising dose for medical devices.
ISO/ASTM	International best practice for dosimetry in radiation processing.

Get in touch

To discuss potential research that can be conducted using ANSTO's gamma irradiation and high-dose dosimetry services, or to obtain more information, please contact our team:

Gamma Irradiation

Helpful links

Further information