Contamination Presence
(Redirected from Contamination)
A Contamination Presence is a substance presence that is the unwanted presence of a contaminant (an impurity or other undesirable constituent) within a material, physical body, natural environment, or workplace.
- AKA: Contamination, Contaminant Presence, Impurity Presence.
- Context:
- It can (typically) involve a contaminant that spoils, corrupts, or degrades a host material.
- It can (typically) render a material unfit for use or of inferior quality.
- It can (typically) originate from a contamination source such as a pollution source, a leak, or a cross-contamination event.
- It can (typically) be characterized by a contamination level measured against a contamination threshold.
- It can (typically) be detected through a contamination detection task using a contamination sensor or laboratory assay.
- It can (typically) be quantified by a contaminant concentration expressed in concentration units.
- It can (typically) be classified by a contaminant type, such as a chemical contaminant, biological contaminant, or radiological contaminant.
- It can (often) trigger a contamination response task such as a decontamination task or remediation task.
- It can (often) be regulated by a contamination standard or environmental regulation.
- It can (often) pose a health hazard or safety hazard to affected organisms.
- It can (often) be assessed through a contamination risk assessment.
- It can (often) propagate via a contamination pathway such as an air pathway, water pathway, or soil pathway.
- It can (often) require containment to prevent contamination spread.
- It can (often) be monitored over time by a contamination monitoring system.
- It can affect a food product, a water supply, a soil sample, a medical device, or a laboratory sample.
- It can be introduced during a manufacturing process, a storage process, or a transportation process.
- It can be traced to its point source through a contamination source tracing task.
- It can range from being a Trace Contamination Presence to being a Gross Contamination Presence, depending on its contaminant concentration.
- It can range from being a Local Contamination Presence to being a Widespread Contamination Presence, depending on its spatial extent.
- It can range from being an Acute Contamination Presence to being a Chronic Contamination Presence, depending on its exposure duration.
- It can range from being a Reversible Contamination Presence to being an Irreversible Contamination Presence, depending on its remediability.
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- Example(s):
- Environmental Contamination Presences, such as:
- Air Pollution from particulate matter.
- Water Pollution from an industrial effluent.
- Soil Contamination from a heavy metal deposit.
- Biological Contamination Presences, such as:
- Chemical Contamination Presences, such as:
- Pesticide Residue on a crop.
- Lead Contamination in a drinking water supply.
- Radiological Contamination Presences, such as:
- Radioactive Contamination following a nuclear accident.
- Laboratory Sample Contamination Presences, such as:
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- Environmental Contamination Presences, such as:
- Counter-Example(s):
- Purity, which is the absence of any contaminant.
- Sterility, which lacks any viable microorganism.
- Intended Additive Presence, which serves a deliberate functional purpose rather than being undesirable.
- Natural Constituent Presence, which is an inherent part of the material rather than an impurity.
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- See: Contaminant, Impurity, Pollution, Decontamination Task, Physical Body, Natural Environment, Contamination Detection Task, Remediation Task.
References
2020
- (Wikipedia, 2020) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/contamination Retrieved:2020-4-10.
- Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that spoils, corrupts, infects, makes unfit, or makes inferior a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc.