Top Ideas on Decontamination of Medical Facilities
Decontamination involves the process of cleansing a substance or object to remove hazardous material including infectious diseases, radioactive substances and chemicals. Prevention of the spread of microorganism and other noxious contaminants which has the risk of threatening the health of human beings or animals and may damage the environment is the purpose of decontamination. Veterinary science, surgery and dentistry are the medical areas in which decontamination is applied.
Food preparation, environmental science and forensic science are the other areas in which the process of decontamination is applied. The process of decontamination involves three methods so as to eliminate pathogens or other substances from a spoiled implement. The three levels include disinfection, sterilization and sanitization.
Disinfectants are used in the level of disinfection in order to destroy microorganisms that are living on the objects. Not all microorganisms are killed by bacterial spores by disinfection but its effective to some extent. All types of microorganisms are killed by sterilization which is the more effective than disinfection. The cell wall of the microorganism is interfered with by disinfection process.
Disinfectants are of various types which include; oxidizing agents, phenolics, quaternary ammonium compounds , inorganic compounds and others. Chlorine, acids and bases, terpenes, metals and iodine are the types of inorganic compounds.Concentrated formulations are found in some quaternary ammonium compounds which are a large group of related compounds. The group of chlorine as an inorganic compound includes hypochlorous acid, hypochlorite and chlorine.
In the process of decontamination there are several methods that are involved and they are; physical cleaning, disinfection, antisepsis, sterilization, ultrasonic cleaning and water purification. Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, suspended solids and gases and biological contaminants from water. Disinfection of drinking water is done through the process of purification which makes it suitable for human consumption.
However water purification can be used for other purposes such as fulfilling the requirements of medical, chemical, industrial and pharmacological applications. Physical methods in water purification include sedimentation, filtration and distillation while chemical methods are flocculation and chlorination while finally biological procesess include biologically actiave carbon or slow sand filters.
Reduction in concentration of particulate matter which are parasites, bacteria, fungi, algae and suspended particles with also the inclusion of the concentration of a range of dissolved and particulate matter. A method of decontamination that involves removing or eliminating, deactivation or killing all forms of life and any other biological agents like fungi, bacteria, viruses, unicellular organisms that are present in a specified region such as the volume of a fluid, medication or in a compound that is culture media is sterilization which is also a level of decontamination. Heating, irradiation, filtration and high pressure are the ways in which sterilization is achieved.