Radiation Sterilization in Vietnam: Status, Opportunities and Challenges

Radiation technology was studied in Vietnam since the late 1980s for food irradiation, and its applications quickly expanded to radiation sterilization and modification of polymer materials, with the establishment of the first semi-industrial irradiation facility gamma Co-60 source at the Hanoi Irradiation Center. Today, irradiation processing has been applied in various fields and significantly contributes to our economic growth as a novel and potential industrial branch. However, radiation sterilization of medical products has not improved as expected though there are remarkable increases in the number of irradiation facilities, types, and volumes of irradiated products. To further promote this application and meet the increasing demands, upgrading the quality management practices of irradiation facilities to be integrated with the standards and guidelines of international and national organizations must be done together with research and development activities on radiation sterilization. (author)