The activation energy for atomic diffusion often includes terms resulting from a change in ionization state of the diffusing species. It is argued that these terms ought to be affected by the electronic states of the material not only at the site of the diffusion but also within a range of order of the Debye screening length of it. Thus, atomic diffusion ought to be a nonlocal phenomenon with a scale comparable with modern device structures. Major increases in the rate of diffusion near interfaces, surfaces and dislocations are predicted and should be considered when modeling processes. GaAs–AlAs superlattices allow testing of these conclusions.