This article explores a brief overview of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) decontamination, primarily with reference to military operations. Decontamination refers to the removal of hazardous materials from individuals, equipment, and locations. Additional topics covered include decontamination concepts, purpose of decontamination, decontamination methods, and decontamination levels. Overview of Decontamination Decontamination or decontamination, in simple terms, is the reduction or elimination of contaminants from individuals, equipment and locations. Decon is also used to limit the spread of contamination to other areas. Rapid physical removal of agents from a contaminated person is the most important action in decontamination. Physical removal includes scraping or blotting visible agent from the skin, removing clothing, using adsorbents to absorb the agent, and rinsing or showering with large amounts of water ( SBCCOM, 2000). Once confined only to the known affected area, decontamination teams can enter and properly remove and dispose of contaminating waste. Contaminants can come in many forms such as solid, liquid and gaseous. The solid form is often in the form of fine dust (FM 3-5, 1993). An example of this would be anthrax which was used in a bioterrorism plot in 2001 by being sent by the US Postal Service. Liquid contaminants can have varying levels of thickness or can also be a mist of small airborne liquid droplets. Contaminants in the form of gases often move more easily due to wind factors in the area. It can also make the release of gaseous contaminants less predictable and more difficult to control. The Decon Concepts 3-5 and 3-11 field manuals provide guidance for d...... middle of paper ......n: Immediate, operational and in-depth as well as an explanation and key points for each. This article should enable the reader to understand the uses of decon, the key points in reference to decon concepts, and the fundamental parts of the levels of decon. References Ernest H. Braue Jr, Charles H. Boardman, Orr, and Charles G. Hurst ( nd), Decontamination of Chemical Casualties, accessed May 18, 2014 at http://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=18072Guidelines for Mass Casualty Decontamination during a Terrorist Chemical Agent Incident (2000), The Air University, accessed May 18 2014 at http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/sbccom_decon.pdf United States (1993). NBC Decontamination: Field Manual 3-5, Washington, DC: Headquarters, United States Department of the Army (2006). CBRN Decontamination: Field Manual 3-11.5, Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army