E-Beam Construction Photographs

Construction Photograph by Psolka Photography

Pouring concrete for E-beam radiation facility

Once again we’ve had the pleasure of photographing another of V. Paulius & Associates‘ specialty construction projects: An electron beam (or E-beam) irradiator facility built for STERIS Applied Sterilization Technologies. It’s different from the last Steris facility VPA designed for the company, which utilized radioactive material in its sterilization process.

The E-beam process instead uses high-energy electrons as its radiation source, which results in a more flexible and faster processing technology that’s well suited for sterilizing medical devices and pharmaceuticals, along with controlling contamination in some packaging.

When it comes to sterilization facilities, the unique processes call for unique construction. The previous “Gamma” project built for Steris was a facility that used gamma radiation from cobalt-60 “pencil rods” and required a 23-foot-deep, stainless-steel-lined pool to store the gamma source. For the current E-beam project, VPA constructed a thick, multi-level concrete encasement around the radiation source, obviating the need for a source pool. The 80,000-square-foot building was constructed with tilt-up concrete sections along with poured-in-place concrete. A cool roof and tubular daylight devices reduce operational costs and environmental impacts, enhancing the building’s sustainability.

STERIS, a company that provides local and global customers with sterilization processing worldwide, has both E-beam and Gamma radiation facilities as part of their network in the Americas, in locations such as California, New York, and Ontario, Canada.

Stay tuned for final photos of the completed project to come.