The zone where contamination has occurred or has the potential to occur and requires established entry and exit control points, is known as a _________ zone.

• A. Warm zone
• B. Hot/exclusion
• C. Cold zone
• D. Decon zone

Answer: (B)

At a HazMat incident, zones are used to isolate contamination and protect responders. The area where contamination has occurred or could occur and where entry and exit are strictly controlled is the hot zone, also called the exclusion zone. This is the most hazardous area, and access is limited to trained personnel wearing appropriate PPE to prevent spread and exposure. The cold zone is the clean area for command, staging, and support, while the warm zone lies between hot and cold and includes decontamination activities to remove contaminants from people and equipment before they move to the cold zone. The term decontamination describes the process rather than a separate containment area, so the zone described fits the hot/exclusion zone best.