During decontamination of evidence, which part of the item should be decontaminated?

• A. The seal
• B. Exterior of the package
• C. The contents
• D. Interior of the package

Answer: (B)

Contamination control focuses on removing surface contaminants from items handlers may touch, so they don’t spread hazard or compromise evidence. The exterior of the package is the surface most likely to pick up contaminants from the scene or handling, making it the appropriate surface to decontaminate. Decontaminating the interior or contents could alter the evidence or its chemical properties and potentially affect analyses, while the seal is part of maintaining chain of custody and should generally be preserved rather than decontaminated. Therefore, targeting the exterior of the package effectively reduces transfer risk while keeping the integrity of the evidence intact.