Patent ID: 7271310

Claim:
A method of treating the surface of a steel package, in order to reduce contamination by radioactive cesium, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a steel package; b) prior to exposing the package to radioactive cesium, pre-washing the package with a cation-containing pre-wash solution having a pH greater then about 6 and less than about 8, the pre-wash cation being selected from one or more of the group consisting of Na + , Li + , Cs + , Rb + , Ag + , Tl + , K + , and NH 4 + ; c) exposing the package to radioactive cesium; and d) after exposing the package to radioactive cesium, post-washing the package with a cation-containing post-wash solution having a pH greater than about 6 and less than about 8, the post-wash cation being selected from one or more of the group consisting of Na + , Li + , Rb + , Ag + , Tl + , K + , and NH 4 + ; wherein the pre-wash solution comprises a cesium salt selected from the group consisting of cesium sulfate, cesium chloride, cesium nitrate, and cesium acetate.