A new transportable electron beam system was launched during the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) 69th General Conference in Vienna. The system is housed in shipping containers that can be loaned out for training or experiments.
“This e-beam system is a cornerstone of our innovative approach to breaking barriers in radiation applications,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said at its inauguration event. “As it is transportable, we are now better equipped to assist Member States in capacity building and in accessing e-beam technology.”
The system comprises two containers, painted in IAEA blue, to be housed at the IAEA laboratories at Seibersdorf, where it will be used for research and development activities, and for training in the safety aspects, operation and proper use of e-beam irradiation, and for demonstrations.
Countries will be able to send personnel for training events at Seibersdorf. The e-beam system will also be available to go on loan to countries for specific experiments and to explore how radiation technology can help achieve their development goals.
Electron beam systems are a type of particle accelerator. They produce ionising radiation to modify the physical, chemical, and biological properties of materials. E-beams are commonly used in industry, medicine and scientific research.
Along with gamma and Xray irradiation, e-beams are widely used for sterilising medical products, for the safety of food items and for preserving cultural artefacts. As e-beams can help make materials more durable in extreme temperatures or resistant against chemicals, they are also used in the automotive and aerospace industries. There is also growing interest in applying e-beams for treating wastewater and sludge, and for mitigating greenhouse gases.
The IAEA’s new transportable e-beam system is versatile: it can treat liquid, gaseous and solid materials, enabling the development of safer and higher quality products and processes.
E-beam technology offers several advantages: the accelerators can be turned on and off for safety and have minimal security risks. Since there are no radioactive sources involved, the technology does not produce radioactive waste.
The transportable e-beam system was procured with extra budgetary funds from the US and South Korea. “The mobile electron beam accelerator stands as a symbolic achievement, demonstrating how the peaceful applications of nuclear technology can address pressing global challenges,” said Vice Minister Koo Hyuk-Chae, of South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT.
