DEFINITIONS

What is biodeterioration? The word has only been in use for about 40 years, but describes processes which have affected humankind ever since we began to possess and use materials. Many branches of science and technology either do not need or do not have an accepted definition in common use. We are all happy to think we know what physics is, but we have yet to agree what exactly constitutes biotechnology. Within biodeterioration we are fortunate to have a definition which was quickly accepted when first proposed by H. J. Hueck.

Hueck (1965, 1968) defined biodeterioration as ‘any undesirable change in the properties of a material caused by the vital activities of organisms’. Another term inc ommon use is that of biodegradation. Although no formal definition has general acceptance, it may be useful to think of biodegradation as being ‘the harnessing, by man, of the decay abilities of organisms to render a waste material more useful or acceptable’. Both definitions involve humankind, in a negative or harmful way in the case of biodeterioration and in a positive or useful way in the case of biodegradation as defined here. Both definitions also involve materials. Materials are any form of matter, with the exception of living organisms, which are used by humankind. All materials (and processes) will have an intrinsic value and thus there is an important economic dimension to biodeterioration. This book seeks to introduce some of the interactions between living organisms and humankind's materials through the disciplines of environmental biology, materials science, and ecology.

The interaction among people, their materials, and living organisms has been recognized, if not fully understood, for a very long time.