various processes using ionizing radiations are used in industry and allow the commercialization of many products made of polymers, the properties of which were modified by irradiation. those modifications are made to remove a drawback of a polymer or to bring the improvement of one or several new properties. by grafting it is mainly possible to modify the chemical properties of the basic polymer; the grafting allows to make fabrics having bacteriostatic properties, polyethylene having adhesive properties on metals, perm-selective membranes, biocompatible polymers and so on. the polymerizing cross linking, which is a combination of polymerization and cross linking is mainly used for surface treatments, for the curing of varnishes, paints, inks, at high speeds, on various substrates, as wood, paper, metals. the radiation induced cross-linking of polymers, which can be obtained by chemical initiation as well, is generaly more easily controlled and the economy of the process is often better. (atomindex citation 11: 517822)