STEAM STE R I L I SAT ION
Steam for safe sterilisation A recent global study of sterilisation facilities, conducted by Spirax Sarco, aimed to understand the key processing barriers to delivering successful sterilisation outcomes. One issue seen repeatedly around the world was the presence of ‘wet packs’, together with the associated actions of dealing with and establishing the root cause of the problem. The phenomenon is recognised and explained in HTM 01-01 4.113: “Wet spots or patches on the packaging show that liquid water has been drawn into the chamber. There are several possible explanations, including: a) poorly draining steam traps between the steriliser and boiler (a sudden demand for steam can draw water out of a full trap); b) severe pressure fluctuations in the main; c) priming of the boiler leading to carry-over of water in the steam”.
In addition to causes such as overloading of the steriliser, it is evident that poor quality steam, outside the specification detailed in BS EN 285, is a likely factor. If there is evidence of wetness on the packaging when removed from the sterilisers, typically highlighted by the presence of darkened patches, the pack will need to have the damp wrapping removed and replaced with new. Then the pack will have to be put through the sterilisation process again. This of course could affect more than one pack in a batch. In addition to the reprocessing, there will be time and effort spent on establishing the cause of the problem. Key stakeholders within CSSDs can mitigate against increased processing times and costs, not to mention increased patient risk, by ensuring that the sterilisation process is not impeded by poor quality steam. The use of high-quality steam is emphasised in HTM 01-01. By using
Figure 2: Dedicated clean steam generator systems for healthcare settings can be used to better control the quality of the steam supply to ensure reliable and consistent sterilisation of reusable medical devices.
specific steam-to-steam generators that use a high quality water supply (typically Reverse Osmosis), an HTM-compliant header and a well-designed distribution system, steam quality can be best improved to reach a dryness level above 95% as stipulated in BS EN 285. Not only can the correct clean steam generator installation have an impact on dryness levels, but it also deals with reducing the risk of introducing contaminants into the sterilisation process. But surely steam is clean, wherever it comes from? Well, the evaporation process certainly gives steam a broad element of
‘cleanliness’, but when we consider direct use applications such as pharmaceutical manufacturing, food processing or hospital sterilisation, there are in fact different grades of steam, which are influenced by the water quality used and the materials and design of the generation plant and distribution system. This all influences the purity of the steam, which can be measured by the level of contaminants present in the condensate that is formed.
Clean Steam Generators (often referred to as Chemical Free Steam Generators) use regular plant steam as the primary thermal energy source to boil a clean water supply (such as reverse osmosis water) into steam that is free of harmful substances and impurities. The heat exchange is indirect via a steam heating coil, so the plant steam never comes into direct contact with the clean steam. This high-quality steam can then be applied directly to the sterilisation process. Clean steam generators can help CSSD
departments take a quality and patient first approach in the sterilisation of reusable medical devices. Fundamentally, sterilisation must be right first time, every time, to safeguard patient health and ensure sterile services run as smoothly as possible. By implementing a clean steam generator system that delivers dedicated high-quality steam for the sterilisation process, healthcare facilities can better control the quality of their steam supply to protect against ineffective sterilisation.
The Spirax Sarco clean steam generator
(Figure 2) for healthcare has been specifically developed for sterilisation
80 l
WWW.CLINICALSERVICESJOURNAL.COM APRIL 2021
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