What are the Three Levels of Decontamination?

What is Decontamination?

Decontamination is the neutralisation or removal of dangerous substances, a vital process needed by many industries. Whether it’s a chemical spill in a laboratory, the presence of harmful contaminates in a hospital, or an incident in your home, decontamination is an effective way to remove these harmful substances and restore the area to its original state.

During any decontamination process, the professional cleaners will follow a prearranged process to ensure that the area is cleaned correctly. As chemicals and germs aren’t always visible to the human eye, this attention to detail is vital. In this blog, we look at decontamination generally and the various stages this can involve. We will also outline how a specialist decontamination technician can approach this task.

3 Levels of Decontamination

The three levels of decontamination apply to different approaches to items that may need to be cleaned. Depending on the contaminant itself and the severity of the spill, each of these approaches may be used separately or together. With all three stages of decontamination being applicable to thorough cleans.

What are the stages of decontamination?

1. Cleaning: The first stages of decontamination focus on cleaning and the removal of the contaminant. In addition to this, any other unwanted substances from floors, walls, doors and windows are addressed using industry standard cleaning products.
2. Disinfection: A more advanced stage of the decontamination process, disinfection is the removal of microbes on surfaces and objects. This reduces the risk of infection using chemicals or heat on individual items. While disinfection isn’t guaranteed to kill all microorganisms, it reduces the presence of them. Preventing the spread of harmful pathogens and diseases.
3. Sterilisation: The final stage of the process ensures that all surfaces are rendered completely safe and free of contaminates. The decontamination technician will carefully sterilise the site using highly specialised equipment. This practice is very common within the healthcare environment, with sterilisation primarily being used to decontaminate equipment. This can be done with the use of heat, irradiation or specialist decontamination chemicals.

What is the Decontamination Process?

To cater to the health and safety of the professional cleaners and ensure that the air and surface decontamination process is carried out accordingly, there is a structure to adhere to. Although this is likely to differ in a variety of ways depending on the substance, the area being cleaned and the people conducting the clean, all decontaminations play out in a similar manner. In this example, we look at how a professional cleaner would generally approach the decontamination of an indoor area.

The general decontamination process is:

• The decontaminant technician will equip themselves in full personal protective equipment.
• To prevent further contamination, the next step is to surround the area with absorbent materials that prevent the spread.
• Once all visible traces of the contaminant and area are cleaned, an electrostatic sprayer is used to treat the area.
• Throughout the decontamination process, regular swabs are taken in order to accurately measure the levels of decontamination or if any contaminates remain.
• It’s at this point that more advanced devices can be used, such as BioSweep technology for destroying any remaining contamination on surfaces and in the air, and protecting surfaces to prevent contaminants from appearing in the future
• Once the stages of the decontamination process have been successfully completed the technician will then dispose of any materials used during the clean. They will also safely store the decontamination equipment in a secure area for later sanitisation.
• To guarantee that the area has been successfully decontaminated, the decontamination technician will carry out further swabs and tests. This is to confirm that the area is now clean and safe for use.

Once the decontamination is complete, the professional cleaners will create a final survey on their findings. This survey or report will be given to the occupier of the area. Detailing how they’ve carried out the decontamination process and any next steps they need to follow. For example, this could be to avoid the area for a set amount of time if the method of decontamination is harmful and requires airing out.