Contamination Sources and Prevention in Data Processing Environments

Contamination sources and prevention is a topic that all facility planners and designers must consider in the data processing environment. Contaminants can be grouped into one of three categories: gaseous, solids (particulates) and liquids. Although very small and at times not easily seen without the aid of magnifying lenses or laboratory analysis, contamination can have a disastrous impact on equipment reliability and availability. Information technology (IT) equipment
errors, component damage and equipment outages caused by contaminants can be difficult to diagnose. Abnormal failure rates of components, devices or subsystems in IT equipment
resulting from contaminants are initially attributed to more common factors such as electrical power quality, lightning or manufacturer defective parts. Even though contamination can be a silent killer, there are practical steps that any facility planner and designer can take to minimize the threat
of contaminants.