Definition of "nonpersistent" [nonpersistent]

• Having a short life or existence under natural conditions: a nonpersistent pesticide; a nonpersistent infection. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In a 1990 briefing, the spy agency stated: "(Iraq's) Botulinum toxin (its biological weapons) is nonpersistent, degrading rapidly in the environment" and only has a shelf life of a year when stored below 27 degrees Celcius."
• "In my view, all the Bush administration has done is restated the Clinton administration's early policy and given the mines a new name: nonpersistent mines."
• "The United States has refused to sign the treaty because they say they need land mines for security, specifically nonpersistent mines, or smart mines, which are supposed to self-destruct or deactivate after a certain amount of time."