Toxic Asepsis: Chemical Sterilization and the Rise of Disposable Medical Devices in the 20th Century

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In June 2026, Eloise Richard and Bruno Strasser presented ‘Toxic Asepsis: Chemical Sterilization and the Rise of Disposable Medical Devices in the 20th Century’ at AAHM, as part of the After the Single Use panel ‘After the Single Use: Toxicity and Risk in Medical Technologies’.

Drawing on published advertisements, corporate archives, and hospital management journals, this paper shows how industry actors and hospital managers constructed disposable devices as inherently safer, cheaper, and more convenient than reusable ones. Industry was driven by the promise of continuous profits, while hospital managers were motivated by ideals of simplified logistics and reduced labor costs. Resistance to throwaway medicine in the 1960s and 1970s—largely forgotten today—offers valuable resources for rethinking more sustainable medical practices in the future.

As part of After the Single Use, this presentation contributed to wider conversations about how medical materials move through systems of care, waste and responsibility. By examining the historical construction of disposability, ‘Toxic Asepsis’ asks how ideas of safety, convenience and efficiency have shaped medical technologies, and how those ideas might be questioned in the context of more sustainable and circular healthcare practices.