The surface chemistry of polystyrene, used as tissue culture ware, subjected to electron beam irradiation was studied. Core-level and valence-band (VB) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that electron beam (EB) treatment resulted in surface oxidation plus sterilization of the polymer material. The extent of oxidation by EB is linear with the dose and, as such, is analogous to gamma-radiation-induced oxidation. The data indicate that EB-radiation treatment alone provides a polystyrene surface analogous to that obtained by corona discharge or plasma plus low gamma sterilization.