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Contamination
 
 
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Contamination is the presence of a minor constituent in another chemical or mixture
Mixture

In chemistry, a mixture is a substance made by combining two or more different materials without a chemical reaction occurring .While there are no physical changes in a mixture, the chemical properties of a mixture, such as its melting point, may differ from those of its components....
, often at the trace
Trace

Trace may refer to:Mathematics, computing and electronics:* Trace of a square matrix or a linear transformation* Trace of a surgery on a manifold...
 level. In chemistry
Chemistry

Chemistry is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions....
, the term usually describes a single chemical, but in specialized fields the term can also mean chemical mixtures, even up to the level of cellular materials.

All chemicals contain some level of contamination. Contamination may be recognized or not and may become an issue if the contaminated chemical is mixed with other chemicals or mixtures and causes additional chemical reactions.






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Contamination is the presence of a minor constituent in another chemical or mixture
Mixture

In chemistry, a mixture is a substance made by combining two or more different materials without a chemical reaction occurring .While there are no physical changes in a mixture, the chemical properties of a mixture, such as its melting point, may differ from those of its components....
, often at the trace
Trace

Trace may refer to:Mathematics, computing and electronics:* Trace of a square matrix or a linear transformation* Trace of a surgery on a manifold...
 level. In chemistry
Chemistry

Chemistry is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions....
, the term usually describes a single chemical, but in specialized fields the term can also mean chemical mixtures, even up to the level of cellular materials.

All chemicals contain some level of contamination. Contamination may be recognized or not and may become an issue if the contaminated chemical is mixed with other chemicals or mixtures and causes additional chemical reactions. The additional chemical reactions can sometimes be beneficial, in which case the label ‘contaminant’ is replaced with reactant or catalyst. If the additional reactions are detrimental, other terms are often applied such as toxin
Toxin

A toxin is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms. For a toxic substance not produced by living organisms, "toxicant" is the more appropriate term, and "toxics" is an acceptable plural....
, poison
Poison

In the context of biology, poisons are Chemical substance that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
 or pollutant
Pollutant

A pollutant is a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil.Three factors determine the severity of a pollutant: its chemical nature, the concentration and the persistence....
 depending on the chemistry involved. A major fraction of chemistry is involved with identifying, isolating, and studying contaminants.

"Contamination" also has more specific meanings in some sciences:

  • In environmental chemistry
    Environmental chemistry

    Environmental chemistry is the science of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source....
     the term is in some cases is virtually equivalent to pollution
    Pollution

    Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
    , where the main interest is the harm done on a large scale to humans or to organisms or environments that are important to humans.
  • In food chemistry
    Food chemistry

    Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological components of foods. The biological substances include such items as meat, poultry, lettuce, beer, and milk as examples....
     and medicinal chemistry
    Medicinal chemistry

    Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacology involved with drug design, organic synthesis and developing pharmaceutical medication....
    , the term "contamination" is used to describe harmful intrusions, such as the presence of toxin
    Toxin

    A toxin is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms. For a toxic substance not produced by living organisms, "toxicant" is the more appropriate term, and "toxics" is an acceptable plural....
    s or pathogen
    Pathogen

    A pathogen , infectious agent, or germ, is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its Host .There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens can invade a host; the principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil contamination has the longest or most persistent potential for harboring...
    s in food or medicinal drugs.
  • In forensic science, a contaminant can be complex materials such as hair or skin particles arising from sources not related to the ongoing investigation.
  • In the biological sciences
    Biology

    Biology is a branch of the natural sciences concerned with the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and their environment ....
     accidental introduction of "foreign" material ('contaminantion') can seriously distort the results of experiments where small samples are used.
  • In geology
    Geology

    Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
     and especially geochemistry
    Geochemistry

    The field of geochemistry involves study of the chemistry composition of the Earth and other planets, chemical processes and reactions that govern the composition of Rock s and soils, and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earth's chemical components in time and space, and their interaction with the hydrosphere and the atmosph...
    , it can have similar effects where even a few grains of "modern" dust can distort results of sophisticated experiments.
  • the term "contamination" is sometimes used to describe accidental transfers of organisms from one natural environment to another.
  • it has even been used in the "Directed panspermia
    Panspermia

    Panspermia is the hypothesis that "seeds" of life exist already all over the Universe, that life on Earth may have originated through these "seeds", and that they may deliver or have delivered life to other habitable bodies....
    " hypothesis about the origin of life on Earth, which suggests that visiting aliens accidentally infected the planet with microbes from their own world.


See also

  • Pollution
    Pollution

    Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....