Patent ID: 8353990

Claim:
A process for chemically decontaminating a surface of a metallic component, the process comprising the following steps: in a first treatment stage, detaching an oxide layer from a component surface with a first aqueous treatment solution containing an organic decontamination acid, the oxide layer having been formed on the component as a result of corrosion of component material, the component surface being metallic components of a nuclear plant cooling system; and in a subsequent, second treatment stage, treating the component surface having been at least partly freed of the oxide layer with a second aqueous treatment solution containing an active component to remove particles adhering on the component surface, the active component being formed of at least one anionic surfactant selected from the group consisting of sulfonic acids, phosphonic acids, carboxylic acids and salts of these acids, the second treatment stage including conducting the second aqueous treatment solution over an ion exchanger no later than after an end of the second treatment stage.