Laser ablation decontamination system and method of using same

A system for decontaminating a surface comprising radioactive contamination, the system comprising:

• an ablation chamber comprising:
• a body defining a receptacle for receiving a laser head and an opening for positioning over the surface, the receptacle and the laser head configured to direct a laser to the surface and to ablate the radioactive contamination into ablation products comprising particles dispersed in air;
• and
• a support for positioning the body above the surface and to define a gap between the body and the surface;
• a suction blower in fluid communication with the ablation chamber, the suction blower configured to force air external to the ablation chamber to enter the ablation chamber to move the ablation products from the ablation chamber to a filtration system;
• the filtration system comprising a plurality of filters configured to filter the particles from air as the air moves to an outlet;
• when the suction blower is in operation, a flow path is defined by an exterior of the ablation chamber, the opening, an interior of the ablation chamber, the filtration system, and the outlet.