Decontamination is the physical or chemical process that renders an inanimate object that may be contaminated with any microbial life safe for further handling. The objective of decontamination is to protect individual workers who come in contact with medical devices after the decontamination process from contracting diseases caused by microorganisms on those devices. The merits and problems associated with decontamination processes have been long-standing concerns within health care facilities. Many of these concerns stem from the inability to control or identify all factors that make an item safe to handle. This is not surprising when one considers the variability in diseases and disease-causing processes and the hundreds of soiled items reprocessed in health care facilities. Decontamination is the critical step in breaking the chain of cross-infection between patient and patient and between patient and worker. Workers must be aware of the risks of handling contaminated items and take appropriate protective steps. The multiple types and varieties of medical devices used in today’s health care require that processing personnel involve the manufacturers of the devices, processing equipment, and processing supplies in making decisions about how to decontaminate particular items. Worker and patient safety must have equal weight in the process and must take precedence over efficiency or productivity.