That not only adds to the cost, but those parts would tend to degrade quickly when exposed to the contaminants and microbes in saltwater.

Synaptic potentials, unlike action potentials, degrade quickly as they move away from the synapse.

This very activity causes the material in the contacts to degrade quickly, resulting in device failure.

Produced without chemicals, it degrades quickly in soil.

At the time, only vegetable oil was available, which degraded quickly compared to modern lubricants.