decontamination worker
Decontamination workers remove and dispose of hazardous materials, such as radioactive materials or contaminated soil. They handle hazardous materials in compliance with safety regulations, investigate causes of contamination, and remove the contamination from the structure or site.
decontamination worker decontamination workers remove and dispose of hazardous materials, such as radioactive materials or contaminated soil. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include contamination exposure regulations, cleaning industry health and safety measures, radioactive contamination, health, safety and hygiene legislation, decontamination techniques.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £32,446 a year for Construction operatives n.e.c. (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £26,836 to £37,754 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 8159). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Craft and related trades workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only decontamination worker, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 7. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
- Transportation
- Customer and Personal Service
- Building and Construction
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Mathematics
What you'd actually do
- Build containment areas prior to beginning abatement or decontamination work.
- Remove asbestos or lead from surfaces, using hand or power tools such as scrapers, vacuums, or high-pressure sprayers.
- Identify asbestos, lead, or other hazardous materials to be removed, using monitoring devices.
- Prepare hazardous material for removal or storage.
- Comply with prescribed safety procedures or federal laws regulating waste disposal methods.
- Load or unload materials into containers or onto trucks, using hoists or forklifts.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does decontamination worker do?
Decontamination workers remove and dispose of hazardous materials, such as radioactive materials or contaminated soil. They handle hazardous materials in compliance with safety regulations, investigate causes of contamination, and remove the contamination from the structure or site.
What skills does decontamination worker need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include contamination exposure regulations, cleaning industry health and safety measures, radioactive contamination, health, safety and hygiene legislation, decontamination techniques, hazardous waste treatment. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace decontamination worker?
Our AI-durability model gives decontamination worker a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.