Being from NC does have it's advantages. As far as I know, we have the only ethylene oxide chamber is the USA.
This copy/paste is from our state beekeeper publication. Page 14
https://www.ncbeekeepers.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Bee-Buzz-Winter-2016.pdf If you have a colony with AFB, your apiary inspector
will help you eliminate the problem. The standard
practice is to depopulate the hive (they are going to die
anyway ? it?s better to do so before the disease
spreads). In other states, the equipment that the bees
lived in must be burned to kill the spores. However in
North Carolina, we are unique in that the NC
Department of Agriculture owns an ethylene oxide
fumigation chamber. Our chamber is NASA surplus
equipment: since ethylene oxide will kill any form of
life in the known universe, its original purpose was to
sterilize moon rocks. AFB spores are a piece of cake
compared to microscopic moon creatures!
Your apiary inspector will help you get your
equipment fumigated so that it doesn?t need to be
burned. He/she will even pick it up from you and
deliver it back when it has been treated. The
turn-around time varies by season of the year and
demand. Fall is a good time to send equipment for
processing because most people don?t need it back
immediately. There is a small fee for the fumigation
service but if you don?t think a piece of equipment is
worth the cost of fumigation then it must go into the
fire.
Woodenware and empty comb, in fact anything except
honey and bees, can be processed in the fumigation
chamber. The chamber is large enough to hold 40 deep
boxes or 70 shallows.
Consequences of change in tylosin/ tetracycline status?
FDA has pushed for manufacturers to implement the
new regulations in their labeling by December of this
year (2016). So tylosin and tetracycline will soon
completely and permanently disappear from your
favorite supply house. Once they go away as an option,
what can we expect? One scenario is that beekeepers
who have been prophylactically treating to suppress
AFB for years will suddenly have outbreaks in their
apiaries when treatment is no longer possible. Robber
bees will spread disease from their collapsing colonies
to the entire area. Those of us who have always had
clean hives may start to have AFB issues, inheriting the problems of our neighbors. So we all must be
especially vigilant over the next few years. Learn to
recognize the symptoms of AFB (NCSU?s ?Diseases of
the Honey Bee? is a good place to start). Make friends
with your bee inspector. Above all,
don?t be complacent.