This European Standard specifies the performance requirements and test methods for small steam sterilizers and sterilization cycles which are used for medical purposes or for materials that are likely to come into contact with blood or body fluids.
This European Standard applies to automatically controlled small steam sterilizers that generate steam using electrical heaters or use steam that is generated by a system external to the sterilizer.
This European Standard applies to small steam sterilizers used primarily for the sterilization of medical devices and unable to accommodate a sterilization module (300 mm × 300 mm × 600 mm) and with a chamber volume not exceeding 60 litres.
This European Standard does not apply to small steam sterilizers that are used to sterilize liquids or pharmaceutical products.
This European Standard does not specify safety requirements related to risks associated with the zone in which the sterilizer is used (e.g. flammable gases).
The performance requirements specified in this document are not intended for the process to be effective in inactivating the causative agents of spongiform encephalopathies such as scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease. However, some national regulations require the use of modified steam processes as part of a general prior decontamination programme.
This European Standard does not specify requirements for the validation and routine control of sterilization by moist heat.
NOTE Requirements for the validation and routine control of sterilization by moist heat are given in EN 554, which may also be applied for small steam sterilizers.
Related directives
NOTE: If the word "harmonized" (marked in green) is not found in the field with the name of the directive, it means that the European standard is not cited in the OJEU.
Directive 2007/47/EC of the European Parliament and of the council of 5 September 2007 amending Council Directive 90/385/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to active implantable medical devices, Council Directive 93/42/EEC concerning medical devices and Directive 98/8/EC concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market
