Radiation processing technology in the 21st century

The address discusses the following issue - towards the 21st century, we are required more and more to create innovative technologies to solve problems about environment, energy, natural resources, materials, health care, food and others which are the great concern to human beings. For the radiation processing technology to survive, it will be required to provide answers to those problems. The use of radiation of polymer modification will remain as an important field of the radiation application. Some other promising polymer processing can be cited as those which will grow in near future; for environment technology - polymeric fibers grafted with ion exchange residues to remove toxic metals for cleaning industrial waste water; For health care technology - crosslinked polyvinylalcohol hydrogel for wound dressing (irradiation of hydrogel); For high performance materials technology - less toxic crosslinked natural rubber latex (irradiation of emulsion), abrasion resistant crosslinked PTFE (irradiation at high temperature)