Safety And Environmental Aspects In The Operation Of Low Energy Electron Beam Accelerators

Introduction

The EB technology for curing coatings and inks is used commercially for more than
20 years. Today, products with EB treated coatings hold a still quite small but steadily
expanding share of the marked.

Low energy EB processors with acceleration voltages from 150 to 300 kV are able to'
irradiate web coatings up to 500 2 in a single operation. In these processors the
electrons are accelerated in one step.' Units with more than 200 kW of electrical'
power are available.

The EB technology has reached a high standard of safety. The risk of a radiation
accident is practically excluded 'as the' processors are self shielded. The radiation
dose for curing of a product can be controlled exactly. This leads to high quality
assurance.

Four productions lines and two pilot lines with EB processors are running in our
company. They are used to cure pressure sensitive adhesives, release coatings and
speciality products. Practically no substances are emitted by our coatings while
radiation. Only the emission of ozone has to be considered.