Safety considerations in the operation of gamma processing facilities

The commercial uses of radioactive isotopes cover a very wide range of applications, dominated by the sterilization of medical disposable items, following by plastics' modification, food preservation, waste disinfection, etc. The design features of equipment used to perform all the above duties are basically identical, hence there is no need to discuss their safety features separately. The categories to be considered are: source production and safe transport considerations; worker safety considerations; public safety and environmental considerations; safe operation training. (author)