Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician (ALAT) Practice Exam

What can happen if a tightly sealed liquid bottle is autoclaved while filled to the top?

1. The liquid will evaporate

2. The bottle will condense

3. The container could explode

4. The autoclave will malfunction

The correct answer is: The container could explode

When a tightly sealed liquid bottle is autoclaved while filled to the top, the most significant risk is that the container could explode. During the autoclaving process, the temperature and pressure inside the autoclave increase significantly to sterilize its contents. Since the bottle is filled to the top, there is little to no space for the steam that forms as the liquid heats up to expand. As the temperature increases, the liquid turns into vapor, creating additional pressure inside the sealed container. If the pressure exceeds the structural limits of the bottle, it can result in an explosion, which can be dangerous and could lead to injury or contamination of the autoclave. In contrast, while the liquid might evaporate to some extent, the lack of a pressure release combined with the heating process is what leads to the catastrophic outcome of an explosion. The possibility of the container condensing or the autoclave malfunctioning are less likely outcomes in this scenario, as those processes do not directly correlate with the issues posed by pressure buildup due to the absence of space for vapor expansion. Therefore, the focus on the risk of explosion highlights the critical importance of proper autoclaving practices, especially with regard to the fill level of containers.