Glossary

Contamination

kuh n-tam-uh-ney-shuh n

noun

Definition

Contamination is the presence of an unwanted substance or impurity in a system. Carbon Deposits, Sulfidation, or Radiation are all examples of Contamination that can be found in industrial applications. Serious defects like Pitting Corrosion can occur if Contamination is not handled properly. This could lead to a complete Overhaul of a system. Even more serious, in food, chemical, or pharmaceutical processing, this serious maintenance defect could require recalls and brand defamation. As explained above, some industries can live with an acceptable amount of Contamination in their applications, while others cannot. Maintenance technicians frequently use Video Borescopes and Videoscopes to perform routine checks on their systems, ensuring that this troublesome byproduct of working systems is kept to a minimum.

Related terms: predictive maintenance