Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. An apparatus for killing pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms using low-energy x-rays, the apparatus comprising: a shielding assembly that maximizes internal deflections to prevent the x-rays from escaping the apparatus enclosing an irradiation zone having inlet portion and an outlet portion and defining a passageway therebetween, the passageway defining a path of travel for articles to be irradiated between the inlet and outlet portions; means for substantially continuously moving the articles to be irradiated through the irradiation zone at at least a first velocity; and an irradiation chamber that houses at least one x-ray source disposed within the passageway between the inlet and outlet portions in the path of travel of the articles to be irradiated, each at least one x-ray source having a first power level capable of emitting x-rays for a period of time sufficient to provide at least a predetermined dose of radiation to an article and capable of a maximum continuous power output at 100% duty cycle that is selected from within range of from approximately 16 kW to approximately 20 kW to thereby continuously emit low-energy x-rays having energies of from approximately 10 KeV and up to a maximum of approximately 440 KeV,wherein the at least one x-ray source comprises: an x-ray tube having a longitudinal axis with a power of 16 kW that emits a continuous spectrum of low energy x-rays; wherein the low-energy x-rays emitted by the at least one x-ray tube to which the at least one article is exposed are primarily bremsstrahlung-type x-rays characterized by a continuous range of energies from that of the most energetic electron downwards having energies of 220 Ke V; a cathode having a tungsten filament; a non-rotating anode including a target selected from the group consisting of tungsten, copper, aluminum, gold, platinum, strontium, titanium, and rubidium; and a beam window parallel to the target disposed a predefined distance from the target and perpendicularly disposed with respect to the longitudinal axis of the x-ray tube. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means for substantially continuously moving the articles to be irradiated through the irradiation zone at least a first velocity comprises: a conveyor system adapted for the movement therethrough of a plurality of articles to be irradiated at a first velocity; at least one conveyor that moves a plurality of articles at least a first velocity through the passageway defined between the inlet and outlet portions of the irradiation zone; at least one open portion accessing an article transported along the at least one conveyor; and a closed portion, housed within the irradiation zone. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one conveyor forms a closed-loop when moving between the inlet and outlet portions of the irradiation zone and wherein the closed-loop has a profile selected from the group consisting of a T-shaped profile, an oval-shaped profile, and an oval-spiral profile. 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the conveyor forms a two level linear path between the inlet and outlet portions of the irradiation zone. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the x-ray source further comprises: a plurality of x-ray tubes each capable of exposing an article to a continuous spectrum of energies from approximately 10 KeV up to a maximum of up to 440. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the plurality of tubes comprise: a first and a second set of tubes, wherein the second set of tubes opposes the first set of tubes across a conveyor having a central longitudinal axis arranged within the irradiation chamber. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the selected plurality of opposing tubes further comprise: an in-line configuration along the conveyor central longitudinal axis. 8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the plurality of selected opposing tubes comprise: an off-center configuration wherein each of the first and second sets of opposing tubes are spaced a predetermined distance laterally off-center from the central longitudinal axis of the conveyor. 9. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the plurality of tubes further comprise: a first and a second set of tubes, wherein the first set of tubes is disposed above a conveyor having a central longitudinal axis and are adapted to emit x-rays downwardly towards an upper surface of an article being irradiated and towards an upper side of the conveyor, and wherein a second set of tubes are offset longitudinally along the conveyor central longitudinal axis from the first set of tubes and are adapted to emit x-rays towards a lower surface of an article being irradiated and towards a lower side of the conveyor. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of tubes further comprise: an in-line configuration along the longitudinal axis of the conveyor. 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of tubes further comprise: an off-center configuration wherein each of the first and second sets of off-set tubes are spaced a predetermined distance laterally off-center from the central longitudinal axis of the conveyor. 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shielding assembly further comprises: an external shield adapted to enclose the irradiation zone; a first internal shield housed by the external shield that encloses the irradiation chamber; and a second internal shield integrally formed with the external shield to partition an interior region of the irradiation zone from an open portion of an open region of a conveyor system defining the means for substantially and continuously moving the articles to be irradiated through the irradiation zone at least a first velocity.