Answer to Question #12585 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Industrial Radiation — Industrial Applications

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

Q

I recently opened a wound dressing that had been gamma sterilized. Upon opening it, I discovered it was contaminated with a hair inside the packaging. Would the hair, dressing, or packaging be in any way radioactive or otherwise harmful? Also, would the wound dressing no longer be sterile?

A

This is an interesting question, which has a good answer. It would disturb me also to see a hair inside a sealed package; however, the hair would NOT present a problem. Think of the hair as another thread of the dressing inside the sealed package. After the dressing is sealed inside the air-tight package, dirt and germs can no longer enter the package. Any germs sealed inside of the package will be killed by the gamma-sterilization process. Germs on the hair would also be killed during the irradiation process. The gamma irradiation of the sealed package does not make the package, the dressing, or the hair radioactive or otherwise harmful. The dressing and air sealed inside the package will both become sterile in the irradiation process and will remain that way until the package is opened.

John Hageman, MS, CHP

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Answer posted on 6 August 2018. The information posted on this web page is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may affect the applicability of concepts, materials, and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice. To the best of our knowledge, answers are correct at the time they are posted. Be advised that over time, requirements could change, new data could be made available, and Internet links could change, affecting the correctness of the answers. Answers are the professional opinions of the expert responding to each question; they do not necessarily represent the position of the Health Physics Society.