[en] This work describes the activities carried out to date by the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission, CCHEN, in prospecting the application of gamma and electron beam irradiation to the decontamination of sewage water and sludge in the country. Sludge, in particular, will become a relevant environmental problem in the coming years, because of the large amounts that will be generated, due to the construction of many wastewater treatment plants in the country. The main study consisted of experimental gamma irradiation tests on representative samples of digested sludge from two pilot wastewater treatment plants operating in Santiago. This study showed the technical feasibility of using low irradiation doses, of around 2-3 kGy to significantly reduce the pathogen content in this sludge. Preliminary tests were also carried out to determine that the disinfected sludge was fit for agricultural use due to its nutrient content. A preliminary technical and economic evaluation is being prepared on the use of gamma irradiation for sludge disinfection, as a complement to the experimental studies. With this evaluation a feasible process has been outlined for using gamma irradiation in conjunction with conventional processes for the sludge disinfection or hygienization in domestic wastewater treatment plants, in order to produce a useful material for agricultural use that meets the demanding EPA standards when classified as class A sludge, which permits agricultural use without sanitary restrictions. Several evaluations have been made to determine the potential use of irradiation for water and industrial wastewater effluents decontamination, considering normative standards as well as technical and economic aspects. One of these has been the preliminary evaluation of using electron beam irradiation for disinfecting drinking water, which has the technical advantage of preventing the formation of trihalomethanes, that occur in water chlorination due to the presence of natural humic substances. Despite the technical advantages of these processes, the evaluations have shown that the costs for irradiation processes for water treatment are currently higher than the costs for existing processes. However, the irradiation treatment of toxic organic compounds, is one of the more promising fields of application, since all the existing or emerging processes are very expensive, because this is an area of developing technologies. Several potential scenarios of the country have been identified for future applications of these technologies, when the environmental standards, most of which are being established, starts to be effectively applied