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Decontamination: Ways to Decontaminate

Physical and chemical means of decontamination fall into four main categories:

• Heat
• Liquid chemicals
• Vapors and gases, and
• Radiation.

Disinfection is normally accomplished by applying liquid chemicals or wet heat during boiling or pasteurization. To sterilize, vapors and gases (e.g., ethylene oxide), radiation, and wet heat (steam sterilization in an autoclave) are used. Some liquid chemicals are also applied for sterilization, if used in the right concentration and incubation time.

Decontamination: Heat

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