True or false? If you are exposed to a hazardous material you are contaminated.

True or false? If you are exposed to a hazardous material you are contaminated.

• A. True
• B. Sometimes
• C. Not necessarily
• D. False

Answer: (D)

Exposure and contamination are different ideas. Exposure means you’ve come into contact with a hazardous material or its effects in a way that could cause harm. Contamination means that material is actually on you, your clothing, or your gear, or has entered your body, and it needs to be removed or treated. It’s possible to be exposed without being contaminated if you’re protected by proper PPE and controls, or if contact was brief and easily washed off before it sticks. Decontamination is the process used to remove actual contamination after exposure has occurred. Because exposure does not automatically result in contamination, the statement is false.

Exposure and contamination are different ideas. Exposure means you’ve come into contact with a hazardous material or its effects in a way that could cause harm. Contamination means that material is actually on you, your clothing, or your gear, or has entered your body, and it needs to be removed or treated.

It’s possible to be exposed without being contaminated if you’re protected by proper PPE and controls, or if contact was brief and easily washed off before it sticks. Decontamination is the process used to remove actual contamination after exposure has occurred. Because exposure does not automatically result in contamination, the statement is false.