Sterilization of health care products — Ethylene oxide — Part 1: Requirements for development, validation and routine control of a sterilization process for medical devices
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CAN/CSA-Z11135-1-09, Proposed Reaffirmation
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Proceeding to development
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Scope
1 Scope
This part of ISO 11135 specifies requirements for the development, validation and routine control of an
ethylene oxide sterilization process for medical devices.
NOTE 1 Although the scope of this part of ISO 11135 is limited to medical devices, it specifies requirements and
provides guidance that may be applicable to other health care products.
Sterilization processes validated and controlled in accordance with the requirements of this part of ISO 11135
are not assumed to be effective in inactivating the causative agents of spongiform encephalopathies such as
scrapie, bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeld Jacob disease. Specific recommendations have
been produced in particular countries for the processing of materials potentially contaminated with these
agents.
NOTE 2 See for example ISO 22442-1, ISO 22442-2 and ISO 22442-3.
This part of ISO 11135 does not detail a specified requirement for designating a medical device as sterile.
NOTE 3 Attention is drawn to national or regional requirements for designating medical devices as “sterile”. See for
example EN 556-1 or ANSI/AAMI ST67.
This part of ISO 11135 does not specify a quality management system for the control of all stages of
production of medical devices.
NOTE 4 The effective implementation of defined and documented procedures is necessary for the development,
validation and routine control of a sterilization process for medical devices. Such procedures are commonly considered to
be elements of a quality management system. It is not a requirement of this part of ISO 11135 to have a complete quality
management system during manufacture or reprocessing, but the elements of a quality management system that are the
minimum necessary to control the sterilization process are normatively referenced at appropriate places in the text (see in
particular Clause 4). National and/or regional regulations for the provision of medical devices might require implementation
of a complete quality management system and the assessment of that system by a third party.
This part of ISO 11135 does not specify requirements for occupational safety associated with the design and
operation of ethylene oxide sterilization facilities.
NOTE 5 For further information on safety, see examples in the Bibliography. National or regional regulations may also
exist.
NOTE 6 Ethylene oxide is toxic, flammable and explosive. Attention is drawn to the possible existence in some
countries of regulations giving safety requirements for handling ethylene oxide and for premises in which it is used.
This part of ISO 11135 does not cover sterilization by injecting ethylene oxide or mixtures containing ethylene
oxide directly into individual product packages, or continuous sterilization processes.
CAN/CSA-Z11135-1-09
ISO 11135-1:2007(E)
2 © ISO 2007 – All rights reserved
This part of ISO 11135 does not cover analytical methods for determining levels of residual ethylene oxide
and/or its reaction products.
NOTE 7 For further information see ISO 10993-7.
NOTE 8 Attention is drawn to the possible existence of regulations specifying limits for the level of ethylene oxide
residues present on or in medical devices and products.
Note: The information provided above was obtained by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and is provided as part of a centralized, transparent notification system for new standards development. The system allows SCC-accredited Standards Development Organizations (SDOs), and members of the public, to be informed of new work in Canadian standards development, and allows SCC-accredited SDOs to identify and resolve potential duplication of standards and effort.
Individual SDOs are responsible for the content and accuracy of the information presented here. The text is presented in the language in which it was provided to SCC.