ROSATOM enterprises have begun sterilising medical masks

Moscow, 2 April 2020 - Sterion JSC, a part of JSC Rusatom Healthcare created by ROSATOM alongside a private investor, has signed a contract with Delrus company to sterilize more than 58 million medical masks.

Delrus supplies sterile masks to Russian medical facilities. Masks need to be sterilised before use because their inner lining comes in contact with wearers’ mucous membranes.

According to ROSATOM Director GEneral Alexey Likhachev, sterilisation using radiation technology guarantees that medical devices are processed safely and efficiently, which is especially important in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

JSC Sterion has already processed its first batch of masks comprising 92,000 units. The enterprise was urgently transitioned from its ordinary two-shift operating mode to a round-the-clock operating mode consisting of three shifts, which will enable it to sterilise up to 10 million masks per week.

According to Alexander Shibanov, CEO of JSC Rusatom Healthcare, ROSATOM’s integrator in the field of radiation technologies in medicine and industry, the enterprise JSC Karpov NIFHI (a JSC Rusatom Healthcare subsidiary) will also join the fight in the coming days and start sterilising up to 3 million masks per week. “Other enterprises involved in the sterilisation of medical devices have already been enlisted in this endeavour,” he added.

Notes to the editor:

JSC Sterion is the operator of a specialised sanitation centre. It was created by ROSATOM alongside a private investor in February 2016 and is part of JSC Rusatom Healthcare. JSC Sterion is based in the town of Lytkarino in the Moscow region at the production site of one of ROSATOM’s research institutes – JSC NIIP. It specialises in sterilising medical supplies using specialised equipment manufactured by ROSATOM’s other enterprises, its main tool being the UEL 10-10 10 kW linear electron accelerator. Sterilisation up to a sterility assurance level (SAL) of 10?6 is achieved by means of targeting medical products loaded onto a conveyor belt with a beam of accelerated electrons. This method allows for the safe sterilisation of medical supplies without the need to unpack them from the shipping containers provided by the products’ manufacturers. The centre also sterilises dressing materials, cotton wool, disposable underwear, and other medical supplies.