Decontamination Procedures - Factors Determining Decontamination Facility Design

All sites and hazards are different and will therefore have different levels of decontamination and require varying types of decontamination procedures. In general, Decontamination Facility Design and its procedures are shaped by the following:

• Waste properties in regard to chemical, physical, and toxicological properties
• Pathogenicity of infectious wastes. (Pathogenicity is the ability of an organism to cause disease.)
• The amount of contaminants
• The location of contaminants
• The methods for containment of contaminants
• The potential for, and location of, exposure (based on worker duties)
• The potential for wastes to permeate, degrade, or penetrate materials (including personal protective clothing and equipment, vehicles, tools, buildings, and site structures)
• The proximity of any incompatible wastes
• The movement of personnel and/or equipment among different zones
• The potentiality for emergencies (including the ability for workers to evacuate and emergency personnel to assist)
• The available methods for protecting workers during decontamination
• The impact of the decontamination process and compounds on both worker safety and health. (As you will learn later when discussing emergencies, there are times in which worker safety will take precedence over decontamination procedures.)

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