Decontamination of protective clothing against radioactive contamination

The aim of this study is to describe the experimental results of external surface mechanical decontamination of the studied materials forming selected suits. Seven types of personal protective suits declaring protection against radioactive aerosol contamination in different price ranges were selected for decontamination experiments. The outcome of this study is to compare the efficiency of a double-step decontamination process on various personal protective suits against radioactive contamination. A comparison of the decontamination effectiveness for the same type of suit, but for the different chemical mixtures (140La in a water-soluble or in a water-insoluble compound), was performed. (authors)