contaminant

https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.14549
  1. Minor impurity present in a substance.
  2. Extraneous material inadvertently added to a sample prior to or during chemical or biological analysis.
  3. In some contexts, as in relation to gas cleaning equipment, used as a synonym for "pollutant", especially on a small scale.
  4. Unintended component in food that may pose a hazard to the consumer.
  5. Any undesirable solid, liquid, or gaseous matter occurring, as a result of human activities, in a solid, liquid, or gaseous environmental medium, even without adverse effects being observed.
See: pollutant
Source:
PAC, 2009, 81, 829. (Glossary of terms used in ecotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2009)) on page 861 [Terms] [Paper]
Citation: 'contaminant' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.14549 RIS BibTex EndNote
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