Contamination

For other uses, see Contamination (disambiguation).

Contamination is the presence of an unwanted constituent, contaminant or impurity in a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc.

Sciences

"Contamination" has also more specific meanings in science:

Also used less formally to refer to a quantity, namely the amount of radioactivity in a location or on a surface, or on a unit area of a surface, such as a square meter or centimeter.
Contamination may include residual radioactive material remaining at a site after the completion of decommissioning of a site where there was a nuclear reactor, such as a power plant, experimental reactor, isotope reactor or a nuclear powered ship or submarine.
The term radioactive contamination may have a connotation that is not intended. The term refers only to the presence of radioactivity, and gives no indication of the magnitude of the hazard involved.

See also Environmental monitoring, Radiation monitoring

References

  1. International Atomic Energy Agency (2007). IAEA Safety Glossary: Terminology Used in Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (PDF). Vienna: IAEA. ISBN 92-0-100707-8.
  2. International Atomic Energy Agency (2010). Programmes and Systems for Source and Environmental Radiation Monitoring. Safety Reports Series No. 64. Vienna: IAEA. p. 234. ISBN 978-92-0-112409-8.
  3. Crick, F. H.; Orgel, L. E. (1973). "Directed Panspermia". Icarus 19 (3): 341–348. Bibcode:1973Icar...19..341C. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(73)90110-3
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