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Can chlorine dioxide gas replace formaldehyde? |
click here to find out
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Why
use chlorine dioxide gas instead of VHP? |
click here to find out
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Is chlorine dioxide gas effective for use in BSL 3 facilities? |
click here to find out
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How fast are typical cycle times? |
Our
chlorine dioxide gas systems offer short cycle times for all applications.
• Sterilizers - 30 cu. ft. vacuum chamber in under 2.25 hrs. start to finish
(6-log reduction of spores)
• Isolators - 300 cu. ft. chamber in under 2.5 hrs. start to finish
(6-log reduction of spores)
• Rooms - 2700 cu. ft. room in under 3.5 hrs. start to finish
(6-log reduction of spores)
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What kind of concentration monitoring
is available? |
Our Clordisys-GMP, Minidox-M, and Steridox-VP all
offer integrated, precise, and repeatable chlorine dioxide gas
concentration monitoring and control. Our concentration monitor
has been validated by the United States Army and greatly simplifies
validation efforts.
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Why use a true gas vs. a vapor? |
Our
chlorine dioxide gas systems offer quick and complete gas dispersion.
• Complete Coverage - With chlorine dioxide gas, there are no issues with tight, hidden or difficult to reach areas.
• Temperature Gradients - With chlorine dioxide gas, there are no issues with temperature or temperature gradients. As a gas, it does not condense out as VHP does. With as little as one-degree temperature gradient, VHP concentration can be affected. With
VHP, this small temperature difference can cause different concentrations throughout the chamber.
• Aeration Time - Since
chlorine dioxide gas is a true gas and cannot condense on the chamber surfaces, the aeration is far quicker. There is no need to wait for the condensed sterilant on the chamber surfaces to transform back into the vapor state and then be carried out of the chamber.
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Why use chlorine dioxide gas versus ethylene oxide? |
Our
chlorine dioxide gas systems offer safety, ambient temperatures and rapid aeration times.
• Chlorine
dioxide gas is not carcinogenic.
• Chlorine dioxide gas is non-flammable at use concentrations.
• Reduced installation costs - our sterilizers do not require Damage Limiting Construction
(DLC).
• Sterilization at ambient temperatures (15°C to 40°C).
• Chlorine
dioxide gas does not require high concentrations to achieve sporicidal effects.
• Far quicker aeration due to minimal product penetration.
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Why use chlorine dioxide gas versus steam? |
Our
chlorine dioxide gas systems offer the ability to sterilize temperature sensitive products.
• Ambient temperature sterilization
chlorine dioxide gas is efficacious at ambient temperatures, which reduces the stresses of heating and cooling chambers.
• Shorter cycle times no need for cool down time as required with steam.
• Reduce chamber costs
chlorine dioxide gas does not require a ASME pressure rated chamber. Our systems work under vacuum or ambient pressures.
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Why use chlorine dioxide gas for room decontamination? |
• Remove the human factor from the decontamination process.
• Reduce human exposure to disinfecting agents.
• Reduce overall decontamination time.
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Is it true that chlorine dioxide gas is corrosive?
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Most
people who ask this are very familiar with the liquid chlorine dioxide
solutions that are available, which can be highly corrosive.
The leading liquid chlorine dioxide solutions are produced
through the mixing of an acid and a base. It is this acid which makes
the liquid chlorine dioxide solution highly corrosive.
ClorDiSys
does not produce chlorine dioxide gas in the same way.
2% Chlorine, 98% Nitrogen gas flows through sodium chlorite
produce a pure chlorine dioxide gas. There is no acid involved, making
chlorine dioxide gas much gentler than the liquid solutions which
people are familiar with.
The
chlorine dioxide gas generated through the ClorDiSys process has an
oxidation potential that is 1.5 times less that of VPHP, making it
technically less corrosive than VPHP.
We have exposed computers to
chlorine dioxide gas and after 25 exposures they are still running.
Click here for more information.
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What is chlorine dioxide gas effective against? |
ClorDiSys chlorine dioxide gas is EPA registered as a sterilant.
This means that chlorine dioxide gas is effective and can be used
to destroy or eliminate all forms of microbial life including fungi,
viruses, and all forms of bacteria and their spores. Spores are
considered to be the most difficult form of microorganism to destroy.
Therefore, EPA considers the term Sporicide to be synonymous with
"Sterilizer."
Reference:
http://www.epa.gov/oppad001/ad_info.htm
Click Here
to download our
Biological Efficacy brochure for a sample list of organisms which
chlorine dioxide gas has been shown effective against.
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How safe is chlorine
dioxide gas? |
The
very reason decontaminating agents are used is for the purpose of
killing organisms. As such, no agent can truly claim to be safe.
However, chlorine dioxide gas is the safest fumigant available, due to
its physical attributes and process advantages. Click here
to request more information why chlorine dioxide gas is the safest.
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Is it true
that chlorine dioxide gas is a carcinogen?
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No,
there is no data to support that chlorine dioxide gas is a carcinogen.
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Why use chlorine dioxide gas with its low
safety limit?
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Chlorine
dioxide gas does have a 0.1 ppm 8 hour threshold, but chlorine dioxide
gas provides a better safety factor due to its low odor threshold, making
it possible to detect at low levels without sensing equipment. Chlorine dioxide gas has a much quicker cycle time, shortening
the overall time that potentially unsafe conditions exist. VPHP and
formaldehyde both have longer cycle times, where the unsafe levels
exist for a longer time.
Chlorine
dioxide gas is also used at much lower concentrations than both
formaldehyde and VPHP. Combined
with the fact that chlorine dioxide gas has a quicker aeration time, this
means that in case of an emergency, chlorine dioxide gas can be aerated to
safe levels faster than formaldehyde and VPHP. Click here
to request more information why chlorine dioxide gas is the safest.
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Is it true that
chlorine dioxide gas is explosive?
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Not
at use concentrations.
Chlorine dioxide gas is potentially explosive at high
concentrations in a dry environment with an ignition source. ClorDiSys
does not generate chlorine dioxide gas at these high concentrations, so
there is no danger of explosion when using our process.
The use concentration is 250 times less than the explosive
level.
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Does
chlorine dioxide gas leave a residue?
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No,
chlorine dioxide gas does not leave a residue after decontamination.
One of the first commercial uses for chlorine dioxide gas was to
sterilize intraocular lenses (implanted contact lenses). As such, it
had to be proven that no residue was left after sterilization.
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Why is it good that dioxide gas has an odor?
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The
fact that chlorine dioxide gas has an odor is a benefit.
The odor threshold is the same as the 8-hour safety threshold,
so the user can start to detect chlorine dioxide gas while still at safe
levels. As a comparison, VPHP can only start to be detected when
concentrations get above the unsafe levels and choking begins to
occur.
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Is chlorine
dioxide gas unstable?
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Chlorine
dioxide gas does need to be produced in situ, however the life span of
chlorine dioxide gas is in the order of days, so there is no danger of
chlorine dioxide gas breaking down during decontamination.
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Why is it good that chlorine dioxide gas is
visible?
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At
every installation and service decontamination that we have done,
people are always excited to see the chamber/room filled with the
yellow-green chlorine dioxide gas.
The visibility confirms for people the fact that chlorine
dioxide gas gets great distribution, as they see the gas everywhere in
the chamber/room.
It also provides a safety factor, as the gas is recognizable
inside the chamber/room, so it is visually known to be unsafe to enter
the chamber/room.
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Isn't it a
drawback that humidification is required?
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No,
Humidity is required for all spore log reduction, independent upon the
agent used.
Whether using EtO, formaldehyde, chlorine dioxide gas or VPHP,
humidity is required.
Humidity softens up the spore walls and allows the
decontaminating agent to penetrate and inactivate the spore easier.
VPHP humidifies during its injection as 65% water is vaporized
and injected into the room along with the VPHP.
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How can chlorine dioxide gas be removed after a
decontamination?
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Chlorine
dioxide gas can be vented or scrubbed, depending on customer preference.
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We don't
have "gas tight dampers", can we still use chlorine dioxide
gas?
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Yes. While gas tight dampers are always the easiest to work
with when shutting down the HVAC system to perform a decontamination,
they are not necessary.
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We cannot
shut down the HVAC system in the room, can we still use chlorine
dioxide gas?
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Yes, in
fact, it is even possible to perform a chlorine dioxide gas
decontamination when the HVAC cannot be shut down, with the help of
our Room Bladder System.
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Why are your generators
located outside the target chamber?
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