decontamination
dee-kun-tam-uh-NAY-shun
/diːkənˌtæmɪˈneɪʃən/
The removal of hazardous substances (chemical, biological, or radioactive) from people, objects, or areas.
Specifically involves cleansing targeted hazardous agents, unlike routine cleaning or general sterilization.
The story behind the word. Combines Latin 'de-' (removal of) with 'contaminare' (to defile or touch closely). The word gained widespread popularity during the Cold War in defense literature.
Word relationships
- sanitization: Sanitization reduces microbes to safe health levels, while decontamination removes toxic chemical or radiological contaminants.
- purification: Purification implies making something pure in general, not scrubbing emergency hazards.
- contamination: The introduction of dangerous or unwanted materials.
Commonly confused with
- sterilization: Sterilization kills all living microorganisms, whereas decontamination neutralizes or removes toxic chemical and radiological agents.
Word family
- decontaminate (verb): To cleanse hazardous agents from an area or object.
- contaminant (noun): A polluting or toxic substance.
Collocations
- decontamination zone
- decontamination shower
- decontamination procedure
- thorough decontamination
Example sentences
- "Firefighters set up a gross decontamination corridor to scrub down responders before they exited the hot zone." Emergency response protocol
- "Decontamination of the soil required heating the earth to vaporize toxic industrial solvents." Environmental remediation
Memory hook
DE-CONtamination removes the CONtaminants so the site is clean. Scrubbing away toxic threat.
When not to use
Do not use for washing off ordinary dirt or domestic cleaning.
Fun facts
- In hazmat operations, decontamination showers often use warm water, because cold water causes pores to close and trap chemical agents.
Related words
Explore more words
contamination, sterilize, demilitarize, remediate, remediation, cross-contamination
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