Which action could contribute to spreading contamination?

• A. Sweeping or using compressed air on contaminated surfaces
• B. Directing the HEPA discharge over contaminated surfaces
• C. Breaching/Opening a radioactive system
• D. Wearing appropriate PPE at all times

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that contamination spreads when its material is disturbed and moved from where it’s settled to other surfaces or areas. If you physically disturb contaminated surfaces, you can create dust or aerosolized particles that travel with the air and settle on clean equipment, floors, or your clothing, causing cross-contamination.

Dry sweeping or blowing with compressed air are classic ways contamination becomes airborne or relocated. Dry sweeping tends to lift particles into the air rather than capture them, and compressed air can blow contaminants across the room, through ventilation, and onto areas that were previously clean. Both actions defeat efforts to contain the contamination and can turn a localized hot spot into a broader problem.

Wearing appropriate PPE at all times helps prevent contamination from sticking to skin or clothing, and thus reduces spread, so it’s not contributing to the problem. Opening or breaching a radioactive system poses a release risk and is a separate contamination control concern, not a routine method of spreading. Directing clean HEPA-filtered air over contaminated surfaces could, in the wrong circumstances, move contaminants, but the direct, physical disturbance of contaminated surfaces in the form of sweeping or using compressed air is the clearest way to spread contamination.