© KEBS 201 8        First Edition 201 8 KENYA STANDARD                     KS 2558 : 2018 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Autoclaving Tape —  
Part 1:  
Steam Autoclaving tape - Specifications  
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
 
  
 
 
  KS 2558: 2018  
ii 
 TECHNICAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATION  
 
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee:  
 
Nursing Council of Kenya  
Ministry of Health  
Government Chemist  
Coast Provincial Hospital  
County of Nairobi  
Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya  
Christian Health Association of Kenya  
Kenyatta National Hospital  
Kenya Bu reau of Standards — Secretariat  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
REVISION OF KENYA STANDARDS  
 
In order to keep abreast of progress  in industry, Kenya Standards shall be regularly reviewed.  Suggestions for 
improvements to published standards, addressed to the Managing Director, K enya Bureau of Standards, are 
welcome.     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© Kenya Bureau of Standards, 20 18 
 
Copyright. Users are reminded that by virtue of section 6 of the Copyright Act, Cap.130 of the Laws of Kenya, 
copyright subsists in all Kenya Standards and except as pro vided under section 7 of this Act, no Kenya Standard 
produced by Kenya Bureau of Standards may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system in any form or 
transmitted by any means without prior permission in writing from the Managing Director.  
 
Permission m ay be conditional on an appropriate royalty payment.  
 
Care should be taken to ensure that material used is from the current edition of the standard and that it is updated 
whenever the standard is amended or revised.  The number and date of the standard sho uld therefore be clearly 
identified.  
 
The use of material in print or in electronic form to be used commercially with or without payment or in 
commercial contracts is subject to payment of a royalty  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
iii 
©KEBS  2018  
 KENYA STANDARD                          CD 12 /SERV/201 8 
            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Autoclaving Tape  —  
Part 1:  
Steam Autoclaving tape - Specifications  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
KENYA BUREAU OF STANDARDS (KEBS)  
 
Head  Office:  P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi -00200, Tel.: (+254  020) 605490, 602350, Fax: (+254 020)  60 4031  
E-Mail: info@kebs.org,  Web:http://www.kebs.org   
 
Coast Region     Lake Region          North Rift Region  
P.O. Box 99376, Mombasa -80100   P.O. Box 2949, Kisumu -40100        P.O. Box 2138, Nakuru -20100  
Tel.: (+254  041) 229563, 230939/40  Tel.: (+254 057) 2 3549, 22396        Tel.: (+254 051) 210553, 210555  
Fax: (+254  041) 229448    Fax: (+254 057) 21814               
 
 
 
  KS 2558: 2018                  
 
iv  ©KEBS  2018  
  
 
 
Foreword  
 
Kenya Bureau of Standards is a national standards bod y (NSB). The work of preparing Kenya  Standards is 
normally carried out thr ough national  technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which 
a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. National  
organizations, governmental and non -governmental, in liaison with KEBS , also take part in the work.  
Kenya  Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the KS ISO/IEC  Directives, Part  2. 
The main task of technical committees is to prepare National  Standards. Draft Kenya  Standards adopted by the 
technical c ommittees are circulated to the technical committee member s for ballo ting. Publication as a Kenya  
Standard requires approval by at least 2/3 of the member s casting a vote.  
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may  be the subject of patent 
rights. KEBS  shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
Autoclave tape  is an adhesive tape  used in autoclaving  (heating under high pressure with steam to sterilise) to 
indicate whether a specific temperature has been reached. Autoclave tape works by changing color after 
exposure to temperatures commonly  used in sterilization processes, typically 121°C in a steam autoclave.  
Small strips of the tape are applied to the items before they are placed into the autoclave. The tape is similar to 
masking tape  but slightly more adhesive, to allow it to adhere under the hot, moist conditions of the autoclave. 
One such tape has diagonal markings containing an ink which changes colour (usually beige  to black ) upon 
heating.  
It is important to note that the presence of autoclave tape that has changed color on an item does not ensure 
that the product is sterile, as the tape wi ll change color upon exposure only. For steam sterilization to occur, the 
entire item must completely reach and maintain 121°C for 15 –20 minutes with proper steam exposure to ensure 
sterilization.  
 
During the preparation of this standard, reference was mad e to the following documents:  
 
Annual book of ASTM standards volume 15.09.  
 
 CKS 650: 1997 Paper for electrostatic (xerographic) copying.  
 
Acknowledgement is hereby made for the assistance derived from these sources.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 KENYA STANDARD        KS 2558: 2018  
 
©KEBS  2018     v  
 
 
 
 
Autoclaving Ta pe — Part 1:  Steam Autoclaving tape - Specifications  
 
 
1 Scope  
 
1.1 This Kenya Standard  prescribes the requirements and test methods for Autoclaving Tape s intended for use in 
sterilization processes  
 
1.2 Application  
This standard does not apply to cold steri lization  and, dry sterilization tapes.  
 
2 Terms and definitions  
 
For the purposes of this standard, the following definitions  shall apply.  
 
2.1  
autoclaving tape  
It is an adhesive tape used in autoclaving to indicate whether a specific temperature (121 ºC) has been reached.  
It is a high tensile, premium grade, saturated crepe paper with a tinted stripe of color changing ink that produces 
a dramatic color change upon autoclave process completion.  
 
2.2  
sterilization  
Is a process that eliminates (removes) or k ills all forms of microbial life, including transmissible agents.  
 
2.3  
autoclaving  
It is heating under pressure with steam to sterilise.  
  
2.4  
adhesive tape  
Self-stick tape or sticky tape consist ing of an adhesive coated onto a backing material such as paper,  plastic  
film, cloth, or metal foil. It is sticky (tacky) without any heat or solvent for activation and adheres with light 
pressure  
 
2.5  
grammage, actual   
the average grammage obtained on a sample of paper under specified test conditions and that sh all normally be 
within 5 pe r cent  of the nominal grammage  
 
2.6  
grammage, nominal  
the designated grammage of paper that  is used for reference purposes  
 
2.7  
long grain  
the orientation when the machine direction of the paper is in the long direction of the  sheet.  
 
2.8  
lot 
one or more nominally identical boxes of paper, the paper having been made on the same equipment under 
essentially the same conditions, from one manufacturer, and submitted at any one time for inspection and testing.   KS 2558: 2018                  
 
vi  ©KEBS  2018  
  
2.9  
surface resisti vity  
the electrical resistance between two straight edged electrodes of the same length positioned to form the opposite 
edges of a rectangle in contact with the surface on one side of a sheet of paper, multiplied by the electrode length 
and divid ed by the  distance between them  
 
3 Requirements  
 
3.1 General  requirements  
 
3.1.1  The tape shall be  impregnated with chemicals that change colour on completing autoclaving cycle.   
3.1.2  When qualitatively tested, the impregnating chemicals shall be lead thyosulfate, magne sium carbonate, 
ethanol, neocryl, ethylacetate and ink solids.  
3.1.3  When visually tested, the tape shall undergo color -change at 121 ºC minimum , i.e. from beige to black . 
3.1.4  the tape shall have adequate adhesive material to allow it adhere under hot an d moist  conditions of the 
autoclave  when tested in accordance with Annex B.  
3.1.5 The surface can be written on with an indelible ink without smearing off or bleeding.  
 
3.1.6 The tape shall have adhesion to non -woven and muslin fabric as well as plastic a nd metals . 
 
3.2 Material  
 
The autoclave tape  paper shall conform to the requirements given in table 1 . 
 
Table 1 — Requirements for physical properties of autoclaving tape paper   
 
Sl No.  Property  Requirement  Test methods  
(i) Tensile strength,  42.0N/10 MM  CD 1 6/SERV/2014  
(ii) Elongation.  11 %  CD 16/SERV/2014  
(iii) Thickness  0.18 mm  CD 17/SERV/2014  
(iv) Adhesion to stainless steel.  4.38 N/10 mm  CD 18/SERV/2014  
(v) Adhesion to backing  500g/2.54 cm  As above  
(vi) Service temperature range  121 ºC, min.  -  KENYA STANDARD        KS 2558: 2018  
 
©KEBS  2018     vii 
 
Figure 1 pictures of autoclaving tapes showing the change in colour before and after autoclaving  
 
 
 
Figure 2 pictures of rolls of autoclaving tapes  
 
 
3.3 Dimensions  
  
The dimensions of the sheet of the autoclave tape paper shall be  
a) Length - as marked on th e label.  
b) Width : 2.5 cm 2.0 cm and 1.2cm  
  
4 Packaging  and marking  
 
4.1 Packaging  
 
i) Rolls shall be wrapped and sealed in moisture resistant wrappers.  
ii) The wrapping and sealing shall be adequate to ensure that during normal transportation, handling and 
storage, the quality of the roll shall remain intact.   KS 2558: 2018                  
 
viii  ©KEBS  2018  
  
 
4.2 Marking  
 
The following shall be marked legibly and indeli bly on the wrapping of each  roll 
 
i) The name and address of the manufacturer or local distributor and registered trade mark, if any;  
ii) Batch No, Date of Man ufacture and Expiry.  
iii) The name of the product  as “Autoclaving Tape ”; 
iv) The labelling shall be in English  and/or Kiswahili . 
v)  The number of pieces  in each box , if in a box ; 
vi) The length and width of t he roll; 
   
5 Sampling and compliance with the specification  
 
5.1 Sampling  
 
5.1.1  Sampling of boxes  
 
To determine whether the packing and marking requirements of the standard with respect to boxes are met, 
take at random from the lot the number of boxes given in Table 2, appropriate to the lot size. Deem the samples 
so tak en to represent the lot for the respective properties.  
 
Table 2 —  Selection of units  
 
Size of lot, number of 
units*, n Number of units selected  Method of selection  
1 to 5  All — 
6 to 399  
20) (n At random  
400 or more  20 At random  
* In de ciding the number of units to be selected round down to the nearest whole number.  
 
5.1.2 Sampling of rolls   
 
To determine whether the requirements of the standard with respect to r olls and secondary packages are met  after 
inspection of the boxes sampled in accordance with 5.1.1, take at random a r oll from each of five of the secondary 
packages  sampled; or if fewer than five package s are sampled, take a r oll from each of them and deem the 
samples so taken to represent the lot for the respective properties.  
   
 
6 Inspection  
 
6.1 Inspection of rolls  — Visually examine each of the rolls of autoclaving tapes  sampled in accordance to 
5.1.1 for compliance with the packing and marking requirements and report the results for each box.  
 
8.2 Inspection of bulk packages  of rolls  — Visually examine each of the bulk package  sampled in 
accordance with 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 for compliance with the packing and marking and report the results for 
each secondary package .