PURPOSE: To efficiently dry chemical containers, while dispensing with another draining device and drying device by drying the outer surfaces of plastic containers by supplying dry air while discharging the steam inside a sterilization device, after the plastic containers in which chemicals have been contained have been sterilized by high-pressure steam.

CONSTITUTION: Trays 2 in which a plurality of plastic chemical containers have been arranged are stacked in several steps on a truck 3, and they are carried together with the truck 3 inside the sterilizing vessel 1 of a sterilizing/ drying device. When sterilizing and drying is started, the inside of the sterilizing vessel 1 is pressurized, and also sterilizing hot water is always jetted from the hot-water injection nozzles 4 that have been equipped inside the vessel 1, so that the hot water is blown against the chemical containers 12 (not shown). When drying operation is started, a discharge blower 6 and an air blower 10 are simultaneously started, and the steam inside the sterilizing vessel 1 is discharged to the outside through a steam discharge pipe 5, and at the same time dry air from a dry-air supply source 11 is blown inside the vessel 1 through dry-air supply nozzles 7 passing through a dry-air supply pipe 8.