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May 2012

iiA Newsletter
 
Dear Reader

This is the Newsletter of the International Irradiation Association. For more information about the Association visit our web site at www.iiaglobal.org

Welcome to our new members

  • Etigam BV, a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and sells chemical sterilization indicators, labels and biological indicators.  www.etigam.nl 
  • Hungaroster from Hungary designs gamma irradiators and provides related services. www.hungaroster.hu  
  • Sichuan Institute of Nuclear Technology, a leading research and application organization located in Chengdu, China has two cobalt-60 irradiators and a 2 MeV electron beam accelerator. 
  • Symec Engineers (India) Pvt Ltd., an engineering company specialized in the design and manufacturing of fully automated industrial gamma irradiation plants www.symecengineers.com 

For more information on these members go to our website www.iiaglobal.org

 

 

 

In This Issue
New Members
Ruth Brinston
Grant Malkoske
Publication of ISO standards
ISO TC 198 & CEN TC 204
New Irradiation Facilities
New Irradiator Design
iiA Website & Newsletter
Members Survey
IAEA
IMRP 16 (Montreal)
IMRP 17 (Shanghai)
Key Diary Dates
Contact Us
 
GammaFIT
Nordion's GammaFIT


iiA - Ruth Brinston

 

The Board of iiA recently accepted Ruth's request to resign effective 27 April 2012. Ruth was the Manager of iiA for seven years. The Board wishes thank Ruth for her contribution to the development of the Association and to wish her well in her new ventures. The iiA team now consists of Paul Wynne, Yves Henon and John Woolston.

GIPA & ISSPA - Grant Malkoske


Grant Malkoske retired as Chair of GIPA and ISSPA at the end of March 2012. The Board wishes thank Grant for his contribution to the development of GIPA & ISSPA and to wish him well in his retirement. Paul Gray of Nordion has been appointed as the new Chair of both Associations.

Publication of ISO standards

  • ISO 14470:2011  Food irradiation -Requirements for the development, validation and routine control of the process of irradiation using ionizing radiation for the treatment of food
    • The standard was published on 23 November 2011. 
    • It was initiated by IRAM Argentina in 2004, it was developed by Working Group 10 of Technical Committee 34 (Food Products) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO TC/34). While consistent with the requirements of the Codex standards for food irradiation, it uses many definitions and concepts found in ISO 11137, the universally accepted standard for sterilisation of medical devices.
    • The standard is meant to be used for auditing by internal and external parties, including certification bodies. 
  • ISO 11137-2:2012 Sterilization of health care products -- Radiation -- Part 2: Establishing the sterilization dose
    • On March 15th March 2012, the revised version of ISO 11137-2 was published. Comments on the differences with the previous version (2006) will soon be posted in the  Members Area of our website.

Discussion of the radiation sterilization standards during the ISO TC 198 and CEN TC 204 Meetings in Paris, 16-20 April 2012

   

A new revision of ISO 11137-1 should be published in mid 2013. Approximately 20 fairly minor amendments have been proposed. A 5 month DIS (Draft ISO Standard) ballot should be circulated in the second quarter of 2012. Comments will be resolved at the end of 2012 and this will be followed by a two month FDIS ballot in 2013.

 

ISO 11137-3 will also be amended based on changes to Parts 1 and 2.  

 

The Technical Specification ISO TS 13004 Expansion of VDmax substantiation doses in ISO 11137-2 is expected to be published in March 2013. 

 

More information will shortly be provided in the Members Area of the web site.

New Irradiation Facilities opening in Asia

 

Two of iiA's member companies SQHL based in Beijing (Joint IMRP Shanghai Regional Sponsor) and Symec Engineering India have been involved in the construction of new gamma facilities that are starting operations. 


SQHL have built a 3MCi pallet irradiator in CanTo, Vietnam for the Vietnamese company ThaiSon.


Symec Engineers (India) Pvt Ltd., have built a 5 MCi gamma plant for the Japanese medical device manufacturer Nipro near Pune India. In September 2011, Symec was also awarded a contract by the IAEA to build a diet blood irradiator in Ethiopia.

New Flexible Irradiator Design from Nordion


Nordion recently launched the GammaFIT irradiator as a lower entry cost, upgradable alternative to their standard offering. The technology is designed for optimum processing whilst providing the flexibility that supports future growth. Operators are able to commence with a small scale facility which can be upgraded as their processing needs increase. 

iiA Web Site and Newsletter

 

We have recently begun to make changes to the web site. The process of change will gather momentum during the coming weeks and we would encourage you to regularly visit the site. We aim to include more information in the Members Area of the iia website. Readers who registered confidentially to receive the newsletter via Ruth or Biovive may need to register directly with the Association in order to ensure that they continue to receive updates. This can be done via the link iia home page www.iiaglobal.org

Members Survey

 

During April 2012 iiA sent a short survey to the nominated representative of all members. The aim of the survey was designed to obtain input from members as the iiA management and board plan changes to the web site, the newsletter and as they define a new plan of actions. The survey has now been closed but some interesting ideas have been received. The result of the survey will shortly be reported in the  Members Area of the iiA web site.  

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

 

An update on Cobalt transportation will shortly be provided in the Members Area of the iiA web site

Proceedings of IMRP 16 (Montreal)

 

Attendees were recently offered the opportunity to purchase a hard copy of the Journal of Radiation Physics and Chemistry. All those who attended IMRP Montreal will have access to an electronic soft copy of the Journal. The Journal will be published within the next few weeks. The Association is grateful to Arne Miller, Riso Denmark, and all those who have contributed to the publication of this valuable document.

 

IMRP 17 (Shanghai)

 

The next IMRP, in Shanghai, is only eighteen months away. The Organizing Committee has been formed. Its members are:

 

  • Mr Paul Wynne (iiA) Chairman
  • Mr Wang Delin (CNS) Vice-Chairman
  • Pr Zhu Nakang, Vice-Chairman
  • Mrs Angela Chenchun (Synergy Health)
  • Mr Wang Chunlei (CNNC Suzhou Huadong Irradiation)
  • Mr Yves Henon (iiA)
  • Ms Ella Korets-Smith(Nordion)
  • Mr Wei Peng(SQHL)
  • Dr HH Ting (Reviss)
  • Mr Evan Xu (Sterigenics)

Full details of the Program Committee will be published in the next newsletter.

Key Diary Dates

  1. Sterilisation of Medical Devices, Radisson Blu, Dublin, Ireland 23-24 May 2012.
  2. MD& M East Pennsylvania Convention Center Philadelphia, PA, USA 22-24 May 2012.
  3. World Nuclear University Joint Workshop. Organised by KAERI and the Korean Society of Radiation Industry (KSRI) Jeoneup Korea 23 - 25 May 2012.
  4. Workshop on the Use of Irradiation Application for Phytosanitary Purposes   Dejeon, Korea  29 May 2012 
  5. 5th Shelf Life International Meeting (SLIM) Organised by KAERI and the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition (KFN) Changwon, Korea 29 May - 1 June
  6. ASTM 7th International Workshop on Dosimetry for Radiation Processing, Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina, San Diego, CA USA 24-28 June 2012
  7. MD & M Brazil, San Paulo, Brazil, 26-27 June 2012
  8. Medical Fair, Suntec, Singapore, 12-14 September 2012
  9. Irap 2012. International Symposium on Ionizing Radiation and Polymers, Cracow, Poland 14-19 October 2012

If you know of additional events that we should be highlighting please let one of the iiA team know.

Contact Us

 

The iiA team now consists of Paul Wynne, Director and General Manager, Yves Henon, Manager Asia Pacific and  John Woolston, Manager Europe Middle East and Africa.

 

Paul Wynne
iiA