decontaminations
Removing hazardous substances
Decontaminations are acts or processes of removing harmful substances—radioactive material, chemical agents, biological hazards—from people, equipment, or environments.
The word appears in technical and institutional contexts: The decontaminations took several hours to complete.
Each decontamination restores something to a safe or usable state.
Manufactured or isolated substances
- spillsAccidental liquid escapes
- toxicCapable of causing harm
- cleanupRestoration of order
- neutralizationCanceling opposing forces
absorbents · PPE · biohazard · industrial · solvents · acids · pesticides · emergency response
Complete elimination of microbes
- disinfectionEliminating pathogens from surfaces
- antisepticMicrobe-killing substance
- surgicalRelating to operations
- instrumentsTools for precise tasks
autoclaving · pathogen · bleach · alcohol · hydrogen peroxide · UV light · operating room · infection control
Water in underground rock
- brownfieldsPolluted ex-industrial land
- SuperfundPolluted site restoration program
- pollutantsHarmful environmental substances
- bioremediationLiving organisms detoxify pollutants
leachate · aquifer · sediment · heavy metals · PCBs · dredging · landfill · ecosystem restoration
Spore-forming bacterial disease
- bioterrorismWeaponized infectious agents
- sporesAsexual reproductive bodies
- pathogensDisease-causing microorganisms
- fumigationDisinfection via airborne chemicals
chlorine dioxide · smallpox · biosafety · CDC · quarantine · outbreak · infectious · aerosol
chemicals
Manufactured or isolated substances
neutralization · absorbents · PPE · biohazard · industrial · solvents · acids · pesticides · emergency response · ventilation
sterilization
Complete elimination of microbes
- disinfectionEliminating pathogens from surfaces
- antisepticMicrobe-killing substance
- surgicalRelating to operations
instruments · autoclaving · pathogen · bleach · alcohol · hydrogen peroxide · UV light · operating room · infection control · sterile field
groundwater
Water in underground rock
- brownfieldsPolluted ex-industrial land
- SuperfundPolluted site restoration program
- pollutantsHarmful environmental substances
bioremediation · leachate · aquifer · sediment · heavy metals · PCBs · dredging · landfill · ecosystem restoration · plume
anthrax
Spore-forming bacterial disease
- bioterrorismWeaponized infectious agents
- sporesAsexual reproductive bodies
- pathogensDisease-causing microorganisms
fumigation · chlorine dioxide · smallpox · biosafety · CDC · quarantine · outbreak · infectious · aerosol · HEPA
Chernobyl
Soviet nuclear disaster site
- FukushimaJapanese nuclear accident site
- radiationEnergy propagation through space
- falloutPost-blast atmospheric particles
reactor · cesium · plutonium · dosimeters · hazmat · exclusion zone · half-life · isotopes · scrubbing · containment
decontaminationscontaminations
Introductions of impurities
pollutions · infections · poisonings · infestations · adulterations
decontaminationscontaminating
Making something impure
polluting · infecting · exposures · irradiations · chemical spills