Final answer:
Decontamination is the process of removing potentially infectious materials and visible debris from an item's surface. It is distinct from sterilization, which aims for complete removal of all microbes. Disinfection and sanitization reduce microbial load but do not achieve sterility.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process of removing blood or other potentially infectious materials from an item's surface, as well as visible debris such as dust, hair, and skin, is called decontamination. Decontamination may include various levels of cleaning, but it does not necessarily ensure that all microbes are killed or removed, which would be the goal of sterilization. While sanitization reduces the number of bacteria to safe levels and disinfection inactivates many microbes, neither achieves the complete removal seen with sterilization. For example, health care settings use disinfectants like bleach solutions to clean surfaces, and these may be effective against viruses such as hepatitis B, albeit it does not guarantee complete sterility.