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| Accident
Site - The location of an unexpected occurrence,
failure or loss, either at a plant or along a transportation
route, resulting in a release of hazardous materials.
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| Activated
Sludge - Product that results when primary effluent
is mixed with bacteria-laden sludge and then agitated
and aerated to promote biological treatment, speeding
the breakdown of organic matter in raw sewage undergoing
secondary waste treatment. |
| Air Quality
Standards - The level of pollutants prescribed
by regulations that are not be exceeded during a given
time in a defined area. |
| Air Quality
Criteria - The levels of pollution and lengths
of exposure above which adverse health and welfare effects
may occur. |
| Ambient
Air - Any unconfined portion of the atmosphere
- open air, surrounding air. |
| Ambient
Measurement - A measurement of the concentration
of a substance or pollutant within the immediate environs
of an organism; taken to relate it to the amount of
possible exposure. |
| Ambient
Medium - Material surrounding or contacting an
organism (e.g. outdoor air, indoor air, water, or soil)
through which chemicals or pollutants can reach the
organism. |
| Ambient
Temperature - Temperature of the surrounding
air or other medium. |
| Area Source
- Any source of air pollution that is released over
a relatively small area but which cannot be classified
as a point source. Such sources may include vehicles
and other small engines, small businesses and household
activities, or biogenic sources, such as a forest, that
release hydrocarbons. |
| BACT
- (Best Available Control Technology) An emission limitation
based on the maximum degree of emission reduction (considering
energy, environmental, and economic impacts) achievable
through application of production processes and available
methods, systems, and techniques. BACT does not permit
emissions in excess of those allowed under any applicable
Clean Air Act provisions. Use of the BACT concept is
allowable on a case by case basis for major new or modified
emissions sources in attainment areas and applies to
each regulated pollutant. |
| Benefit-Cost
Analysis - An economic method for assessing the
benefits and costs of achieving alternative health-based
standards at given levels of health protection |
| Biomass
- All of the living material in a given area; often
refers to vegetation. |
| Biomonitoring
- 1. The use of living organisms to test the suitability
of effluents for discharge into receiving waters and
to test the quality of such waters downstream from the
discharge. 2. Analysis of blood, urine, tissues, etc.
to measure chemical exposure in humans. |
| Bioremediation
- Use of living organisms to clean up oil spills or
remove other pollutants from soil, water, or wastewater;
use of organisms such as non-harmful insects to remove
agricultural pests or counteract diseases of trees,
plants, and garden soil. |
| Biota
- The animal and plant life of a given region. |
| Biotic
Community - A naturally occurring assemblage
of plants and animals that live in the same environment
and are mutually sustaining and interdependent. |
| Community
- In ecology, an assemblage of populations of different
species within a specified location in space and time.
Sometimes, a particular subgrouping may be specified,
such as the fish community in a lake or the soil arthropod
community in a forest. |
| Conservation
- Preserving and renewing, when possible, human and
natural resources. The use, protection, and improvement
of natural resources according to principles that will
ensure their highest economic or social benefits. |
| Contamination
- Introduction into water, air, and soil of microorganisms,
chemicals, toxic substances, wastes, or wastewater in
a concentration that makes the medium unfit for its
next intended use. Also applies to surfaces of objects,
buildings, and various household and agricultural use
products. |
| Cooling
Tower - A structure that helps remove heat from
water used as a coolant; e.g., in electric power generating
plants. |
| Degasification
- A water treatment that removes dissolved gases from
the water. |
| Ecological/Environmental
Sustainability - Maintenance of ecosystem components
and functions for future generations. |
| Ecological
Exposure - Exposure of a non-human organism to
a stressor. |
| Ecological
Impact - The effect that a man-caused or natural
activity has on living organisms and their non-living
(abiotic) environment. |
| Ecological
Risk Assessment - The application of a formal
framework, analytical process, or model to estimate
the effects of human actions(s) on a natural resource
and to interpret the significance of those effects in
light of the uncertainties identified in each component
of the assessment process. Such analysis includes initial
hazard identification, exposure and dose-response assessments,
and risk characterization. |
| Ecology
- The relationship of living things to one another and
their environment, or the study of such relationships.
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| Ecosystem
- The interacting system of a biological community and
its non-living environmental surroundings. |
| Emission
- Pollution discharged into the atmosphere from smokestacks,
other vents, and surface areas of commercial or industrial
facilities; from residential chimneys; and from motor
vehicle, locomotive, or aircraft exhausts. |
| Endangered
Species - Animals, birds, fish, plants, or other
living organisms threatened with extinction by anthropogenic
(man-caused) or other natural changes in their environment.
Requirements for declaring a species endangered are
contained in the Endangered Species Act. |
| Environment
- The sum of all external conditions affecting the life,
development and survival of an organism. |
| Environmental
Assessment - An environmental analysis prepared
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act to
determine whether a federal action would significantly
affect the environment and thus require a more detailed
environmental impact statement. |
| Environmental
Audit - An independent assessment of the current
status of a party's compliance with applicable environmental
requirements or of a party's environmental compliance
policies, practices, and controls. |
| Environmental/Ecological
Risk - The potential for adverse effects on living
organisms associated with pollution of the environment
by effluents, emissions, wastes, or accidental chemical
releases; energy use; or the depletion of natural resources.
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| Environmental
Equity/Justice - Equal protection from environmental
hazards for individuals, groups, or communities regardless
of race, ethnicity, or economic status. This applies
to the development, implementation, and enforcement
of environmental laws, regulations, and policies, and
implies that no population of people should be forced
to shoulder a disproportionate share of negative environmental
impacts of pollution or environmental hazard due to
a lack of political or economic strength levels. |
| Environmental
Exposure - Human exposure to pollutants originating
from facility emissions. Threshold levels are not necessarily
surpassed, but low-level chronic pollutant exposure
is one of the most common forms of environmental exposure. |
| Environmental
Fate - The destiny of a chemical or biological
pollutant after release into the environment. |
| Environmental
Fate Data - Data that characterize a pesticide's
fate in the ecosystem, considering factors that foster
its degradation (light, water, microbes), pathways and
resultant products. |
| Environmental
Impact Statement - A document required of federal
agencies by the National Environmental Policy Act for
major projects or legislative proposals significantly
affecting the environment. A tool for decision making,
it describes the positive and negative effects of the
undertaking and cites alternative actions. |
| Environmental
Indicator - A measurement, statistic or value
that provides a proximate gauge or evidence of the effects
of environmental management programs or of the state
or condition of the environment. |
| Environmental
Site Assessment - The process of determining
whether contamination is present on a parcel of real
property. |
| Environmental
Sustainability - Long-term maintenance of ecosystem
components and functions for future generations. |
| Feasibility
Study - 1. Analysis of the practicability of
a proposal; e.g., a description and analysis of potential
cleanup alternatives for a site such as one on the National
Priorities List. The feasibility study usually recommends
selection of a cost-effective alternative. It usually
starts as soon as the remedial investigation is underway;
together, they are commonly referred to as the "RI/FS".
2. A small-scale investigation of a problem to ascertain
whether a proposed research approach is likely to provide
useful data. |
| Floodplain
- The flat or nearly flat land along a river or stream
or in a tidal area that is covered by water during a
flood. |
| Gross
Power-Generation Potential - The installed power
generation capacity that landfill gas can support. |
| Ground
Water - The supply of fresh water found beneath
the Earth's surface, usually in aquifers, which supply
wells and springs. Because ground water is a major source
of drinking water, there is growing concern over contamination
from leaching agricultural or industrial pollutants
or leaking underground storage tanks. |
| Ground-Water
Discharge - Ground water entering near coastal
waters which has been contaminated by landfill leachate,
deep well injection of hazardous wastes, septic tanks,
etc. |
| Habitat
- The place where a population (e.g. human, animal,
plant, microorganism) lives and its surroundings, both
living and non-living. |
| Hazard
Assessment - Evaluating the effects of a stressor
or determining a margin of safety for an organism by
comparing the concentration which causes toxic effects
with an estimate of exposure to the organism. |
| Human
Health Risk - The likelihood that a given exposure
or series of exposures may have damaged or will damage
the health of individuals. |
| Hydrogeology
- The geology of ground water, with particular emphasis
on the chemistry and movement of water. |
| Hydrology - The science dealing with
the properties, distribution, and circulation of water.
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| Industrial
Source Reduction - Practices that reduce the
amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant
entering any waste stream or otherwise released into
the environment. Also reduces the threat to public health
and the environment associated with such releases. Term
includes equipment or technology modifications, substitution
of raw materials, and improvements in housekeeping,
maintenance, training or inventory control. |
| Industrial
Waste - Unwanted materials from an industrial
operation; may be liquid, sludge, solid, or hazardous
waste. |
| Joint
and Several Liability - Under CERCLA, this legal
concept relates to the liability for Superfund site
cleanup and other costs on the part of more than one
potentially responsible party (i.e. if there were several
owners or users of a site that became contaminated over
the years, they could all be considered potentially
liable for cleaning up the site.) |
| Leachate
- Water that collects contaminants as it trickles through
wastes, pesticides or fertilizers. Leaching may occur
in farming areas, feedlots, and landfills, and may result
in hazardous substances entering surface water, ground
water, or soil. |
| Mining
Waste - Residues resulting from the extraction
of raw materials from the earth. |
| Monitoring
- Periodic or continuous surveillance or testing to
determine the level of compliance with statutory requirements
and/or pollutant levels in various media or in humans,
plants, and animals. |
| Monitoring
Well - 1. A well used to obtain water quality
samples or measure groundwater levels. 2. A well drilled
at a hazardous waste management facility or Superfund
site to collect ground-water samples for the purpose
of physical, chemical, or biological analysis to determine
the amounts, types, and distribution of contaminants
in the groundwater beneath the site. |
| National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
- A provision of the Clean Water Act which prohibits
discharge of pollutants into waters of the United States
unless a special permit is issued by EPA, a state, or,
where delegated, a tribal government on an Indian reservation.
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| New Source
Review (NSR) - A Clean Air Act requirement that
State Implementation Plans must include a permit review
that applies to the construction and operation of new
and modified stationary sources in nonattainment areas
to ensure attainment of national ambient air quality
standards. |
| Nitrogen
Dioxide (NO2) - The result of nitric oxide combining
with oxygen in the atmosphere; major component of photochemical
smog. |
| Nitrogen
Oxide (NOx) - The result of photochemical reactions
of nitric oxide in ambient air; major component of photochemical
smog. Product of combustion from transportation and
stationary sources and a major contributor to the formation
of ozone in the troposphere and to acid deposition.
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| Oil Fingerprinting
- A method that identifies sources of oil and allows
spills to be traced to their source. |
| Oil Spill
- An accidental or intentional discharge of oil which
reaches bodies of water. Can be controlled by chemical
dispersion, combustion, mechanical containment, and/or
adsorption. Spills from tanks and pipelines can also
occur away from water bodies, contaminating the soil,
getting into sewer systems and threatening underground
water sources. |
| Plume
- 1. A visible or measurable discharge of a contaminant
from a given point of origin. Can be visible or thermal
in water, or visible in the air as, for example, a plume
of smoke. 2 The area of radiation leaking from a damaged
reactor. 3. Area downwind within which a release could
be dangerous for those exposed to leaking fumes. |
| Release
- Any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting,
emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching,
dumping, or disposing into the environment of a hazardous
or toxic chemical or extremely hazardous substance.
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| Remedial
Action (RA) - The actual construction or implementation
phase of a Superfund site cleanup that follows remedial
design. |
| Remedial
Design - A phase of remedial action that follows
the remedial investigation/feasibility study and includes
development of engineering drawings and specifications
for a site cleanup. |
| Remedial
Investigation - An in-depth study designed to
gather data needed to determine the nature and extent
of contamination at a Superfund site; establish site
cleanup criteria; identify preliminary alternatives
for remedial action; and support technical and cost
analyses of alternatives. The remedial investigation
is usually done with the feasibility study. Together
they are usually referred to as the "RI/FS".
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| Remedial
Response - Long-term action that stops or substantially
reduces a release or threat of a release of hazardous
substances that is serious but not an immediate threat
to public health. |
| Remediation
- 1. Cleanup or other methods used to remove or contain
a toxic spill or hazardous materials from a Superfund
site; 2. for the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response
program, abatement methods including evaluation, repair,
enclosure, encapsulation, or removal of greater than
3 linear feet or square feet of asbestos-containing
materials from a building. |
| Response
Action - 1. Generic term for actions taken in
response to actual or potential health-threatening environmental
events such as spills, sudden releases, and asbestos
abatement/management problems. 2. A CERCLA-authorized
action involving either a short-term removal action
or a long-term removal response. |
| Restoration
- Measures taken to return a site to pre-violation conditions.
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| Retrofit
- Addition of a pollution control device on an existing
facility without making major changes to the generating
plant. Also called backfit. |
| Risk Assessment
- Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the risk
posed to human health and/or the environment by the
actual or potential presence and/or use of specific
pollutants. |
| Risk Management
- The process of evaluating and selecting alternative
regulatory and non-regulatory responses to risk. The
selection process necessarily requires the consideration
of legal, economic, and behavioral factors. |
| River
Basin - The land area drained by a river and
its tributaries. |
| Site Assessment
Program - A means of evaluating hazardous waste
sites through preliminary assessments and site inspections
to develop a Hazard Ranking System score. |
| Sludge
- A semi-solid residue from any of a number of air or
water treatment processes; can be a hazardous waste.
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| Stakeholder
- Any organization, governmental entity, or individual
that has a stake in or may be impacted by a given approach
to environmental regulation, pollution prevention, energy
conservation, etc. |
| Toxic
Substance - A chemical or mixture that may present
an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.
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| Toxic
Waste - A waste that can produce injury if inhaled,
swallowed, or absorbed through the skin. |
| Turbidity
- 1. Haziness in air caused by the presence of particles
and pollutants. 2. A cloudy condition in water due to
suspended silt or organic matter. |
| Urban
Runoff - Storm water from city streets and adjacent
domestic or commercial properties that carries pollutants
of various kinds into the sewer systems and receiving
waters. |
| Watershed
- The land area that drains into a stream; the watershed
for a major river may encompass a number of smaller
watersheds that ultimately combine at a common point.
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| Well Monitoring
- Measurement by on-site instruments or laboratory methods
of well water quality. |
| Wetlands
- An area that is saturated by surface or ground
water with vegetation adapted for life under those soil
conditions, as swamps, bogs, fens, marshes, and estuaries.
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