This award is to support Phase I research to determine the feasibility of using an electron beam for sterilization of hospital wastes. The proposal leading to this award was submitted in response to NSF 91-20, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). This project involves determination of the feasibility of integrating an electron beam accelerator into a hospital's waste handling stream, shredding the waste for appropriate presentation to the beam, and configuration of the overall design, capital and operating costs. For cost-effectiveness, chemical and physical procedures now used for disinfection and sterilization of hospital wastes generally require separation of infectious from noninfectious wastes. Results of this research are expected to determine the technical feasibility of the proposed concept and the basis for potential continuation of this research into a subsequent Phase II.
