| ADP | AHERA Designated Person | A person designated by a Local Education Agency to ensure that the AHERA requirements for asbestos management and abatement are properly implemented. | ACH | Air Changes Per Hour | The movement of a volume of air in a given period of time; if a house has one air change per hour, it means that the air in the house will be replaced in a one-hour period. | ARAR | Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements | Any state or federal statute that pertains to protection of human life and the environment in addressing specific conditions or use of a particular cleanup technology at a Superfund site. | ACWM | Asbestos-Containing Waste Materials | Mill tailings or any waste that contains commercial asbestos and is generated by a source covered by the Clean Air Act Asbestos NESHAPS. | AOC | Area of Concern | An environment identified as a potential pollution risk. | BOD5 | Biological Oxygen Demand | The amount of dissolved oxygen consumed in five days by biological processes breaking down organic matter. | BEA | Baseline Environmental Assessment | An evaluation of environmental conditions which exist at a facility at the time of purchase, occupancy, or foreclosure that reasonably defines the existing conditions. | BEN | BEN-EPA's Computer model | EPA's computer model for analyzing a violator's economic gain from not complying with the law. | BACM | Best Available Control Measures | A term used to refer to the most effective measures (according to EPA guidance) for controlling small or dispersed particulates and other emissions from various sources. | 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. | BDAT | Best Demonstrated Available Technology | The most effective commercially available means of treating specific types of hazardous waste. The BDATs may change with advances in treatment technologies. | BMP | Best Management Practice | Methods that have been determined to be the most effective, practical means of preventing or reducing pollution from non-point sources. | BOD | Biochemical Oxygen Demand | A measure of the amount of oxygen consumed in the biological processes that break down organic matter in water. The greater the BOD, the greater the degree of pollution. | Cd | Cadmium | A heavy metal that accumulates in the environment. | CO | Carbon Monoxide | A colorless, odorless, poisonous gas produced by incomplete fossil fuel combustion. | CCl4 | Carbon Tetrachloride | Compound consisting of one carbon atom ad four chlorine atoms, once widely used as a industrial raw material, as a solvent, and in the production of CFCs. Use as a solvent ended when it was discovered to be carcinogenic. | COD | Chemical Oxygen Demand | A measure of the oxygen required to oxidize all compounds, both organic and inorganic, in water. | CFC | Chlorofluorocarbons | A family of inert, nontoxic, and easily liquefied chemicals used in refrigeration, air conditioning, packaging, insulation, or as solvents and aerosol propellants. CFCs drift into the upper atmosphere where their chlorine components destroy ozone. | CFR | Code of Federal Regulations | Document that codifies all rules of the executive departments and agencies of the federal government. It is divided into fifty volumes, known as titles. Title 40 of the CFR (referenced as 40 CFR) lists all environmental regulations. | COH | Coefficient of Haze | A measurement of visibility interference in the atmosphere. | CPT | Cone Penterometer Testing | A direct push system used to measure lithology based on soil penetration resistance. Sensors in the tip of the cone of the DP rod measure tip resistance and side-wall friction, transmitting electrical signals to digital processing equipment. | CBI | Confidential Business Information | Material that contains trade secrets or commercial or financial information that has been claimed as confidential by its source (e.g., a pesticide or new chemical formulation registrant). EPA has special procedures for handling such information. | CSF | Confidential Statement of Formula | A list of the ingredients in a new pesticide or chemical formulation. The list is submitted at the time for application for registration or change in formulation. | CTG | Control Technique Guidelines | EPA documents designed to assist state and local pollution authorities to achieve and maintain air quality standards for certain sources through reasonably available control technologies. | CFM | Cubic Feet Per Minute | A measure of the volume of a substance flowing through air within a fixed period of time. With regard to indoor air, refers to the amount of air, in cubic feet, that is exchanged with outdoor air in a minute's time; i.e., the air exchange rate. | DQO | Data Quality Objectives | Statements of the overall level of uncertainty that a decision-maker will accept in results or decisions based on environmental data. They provide the statistical framework for planning and managing environmental data operations. | DNAPL | Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid | Non-aqueous phase liquids that sink through the water column until they reach a confining layer. Because they are at the bottom of aquifers instead of floating on the water table, typical monitoring wells do not indicate their presence. | (DRE) | Destruction and Removal Efficiency | A percentage that represents the number of molecules of a compound removed or destroyed in an incinerator relative to the number of molecules entering the system. For some pollutants, the RCRA removal requirement may be as stringent as 99.9999 percent. | DDT | Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane | Insecticide that can collect in fatty tissues of certain animals. EPA banned registration and interstate sale of DDT for virtually all but emergency uses in the United States in 1972. | DES | Diethylstilbestrol | A synthetic estrogen, diethylstilbestrol is used as a growth stimulant in food animals. Residues in meat are thought to be carcinogenic. | DO | Dissolved Oxygen | The oxygen freely available in water, vital to fish and other aquatic life and for the prevention of odors. DO levels are most important indicator of a water body's ability to support desirable aquatic life. | DOCC | Description of Current Conditions | A document required by the EPA before a site investigation begins that includes what is known about the background and existing state of the site. | ESP | Electrostatic Precipitator | A device that removes particles from a gas stream (smoke) after combustion occurs. The ESP imparts an electrical charge to the particles, causing them to adhere to metal plates inside the precipitator. | EDD | Enforcement Decision Document | A document that provides an explanation to the public of EPA's selection of the cleanup alternative at enforcement sites on the National Priorities List. Similar to a Record of Decision. | I & M | Enhanced Inspection and Maintenance | An improved automobile inspection and maintenance program--aimed at reducing automobile emissions---that contains, at a minimum, more vehicle types and model years, tighter inspection, and better management practices. | EDB | Ethylene Dibromide | A chemical used as an agricultural fumigant and in certain industrial processes. Extremely toxic and found to be a carcinogen in laboratory animals, EDB has been banned for most agricultural uses in the United States. | EDWL | Equivalent drinking water levels | A standard of protection to prevent exposure to potentially non-carcinogenic or carcinogenic chemicals in potable water. EDWLs are derived using EPA toxicity standards for chemicals without established MCLs. | FCs | Fluorocarbons | Any of a number of organic compounds in which one or more hydrogen atoms are replaced by fluorine. FCs containing chlorine are called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). They are believed to be modifying the ozone layer in the stratosphere. | GRAS | Generally Recognized as Safe | Designation by the FDA that a chemical or substance (including certain pesticides) added to food is considered safe by experts, and so is exempted from the usual FFDCA food additive tolerance requirements. | HLRW | High-Level Radioactive Waste | Waste generated in core fuel of a nuclear reactor, found at nuclear reactors or by nuclear fuel reprocessing; is a serious threat to anyone who comes near the waste without shielding. | HC | Hydrocarbons | Chemical compounds that consist entirely of carbon and hydrogen. | IDLH | Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health | The maximum level to which a healthy individual can be exposed to a chemical for 30 minutes and escape without suffering irreversible health effects or impairing symptoms. Used as a "level of concern.". | ICS | Incident Command System | The organizational arrangement where one person is in charge of a comprehensive emergency response on the emergency incident site, backed by an Emergency Operations Center staff with resources, information, and advice. | ICR | Information Collection Request | A description of information to be gathered in connection with rules, proposed rules, surveys, and guidance documents that contain information-gathering requirements. | IRIS | Integrated Risk Information System | EPA's Integrated Risk Information System, an electronic data base containing the Agency's latest descriptive and quantitative regulatory information on chemical constituents. | IRSL | Initial Risk Screening Level | A Michigan health based level for a carcinogenic effect that is defined as an increased cancer risk of one in one million (i.e., ‘ten to the minus six’ or 10-6 ). | ITSL | Initial Threshold Screening Level | A Michigan health-based screening level designed to be protective for non-carcinogenic effects (an illness that threatens health but is not cancer). It is based on toxicological data. | LI | Langelier Index | An index reflecting the equilibrium pH of water with respect to calcium and alkalinity; used in stabilizing water to control both corrosion and scale deposition. | Pb | Lead | A heavy metal that is hazardous to health if breathed or swallowed. Its use in gasoline, paints, and plumbing compounds has been sharply restricted or eliminated by federal laws and regulations. | LOC | Level of Concern | The concentration in air of an extremely hazardous substance above which there may be serious immediate health effects to anyone exposed to it for short periods. | LNAPL | Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid | A non-aqueous phase liquid with a specific gravity less than 1.0. Because the specific gravity of water is 1.0, most LNAPLs float on top of the water table. Most common petroleum hydrocarbon fuels and lubricating oils are LNAPLs. | LOD | Limit of Detection | The minimum concentration of a substance being analyzed test that has a 99 percent probability of being identified. | LEA | Local Education Agency | In the asbestos program, an educational agency at the local level that exists primarily to operate schools, including primary and secondary public and private schools. A single, unaffiliated school can be considered a LEA for AHERA purposes. | LEPC | Local Emergency Planning Committee | A committee appointed by the state emergency response commission, as required by SARA Title III, to formulate a comprehensive emergency plan for its jurisdiction. | LOPE | Low Density Polyethylene | Plastic material used for both rigid containers and plastic film applications. | LLRW | Low-Level Radioactive Waste | Wastes less hazardous than most of those associated with a nuclear reactor; generated by hospitals, research laboratories, and certain industries. The Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and EPA share responsibilities for managing them. | LEL | Lower Explosive Limit | The concentration of a compound in air below which the mixture will not catch on fire. | LOAEL | Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level | The lowest level of a stressor that causes statistically and biologically significant differences in test samples as compared to other samples subjected to no stressor. | LEV | Low Emission Value | A vehicle meeting the low-emission vehicle standards. | MOE | Margin of Exposure | The ratio of the no-observed adverse-effect-level to the estimated exposure dose. | MSDS | Material Safety Data Sheet | Information required under the OSHA Communication Standard on the identity of hazardous chemicals, health, and physical hazards, exposure limits, and precautions. Section 311 of SARA requires facilities to submit MSDSs under certain circumstances. | MRF | Materials Recovery Facility | A facility that processes residentially collected mixed recyclables into new products available for market. | MACT | Maximum Available Control Technology | The emission standard for sources of air pollution requiring the maximum reduction of hazardous emissions, taking cost and feasibility into account. The MACT must not be less than the average emissions achieved by the best 12 percent of existing sources. | MCLG | Maximum Contaminant Level Goal | Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, a non-enforceable concentration of a drinking water contaminant, set at the level at which no known or anticipated adverse effects on human health occur and which allows an adequate safety margin. | MDL | Method Detection Limit | Refer to limit of detection. | MGD | Million-Gallons Per Day | A measure of water flow. | MABs MCAs | Monoclonal Antibodies | 1. Man-made (anthropogenic) clones of a molecule, produced in quantity for medical or research purposes. 2. Molecules of living organisms that selectively find and attach to other molecules to which their structure conforms exactly. | MSW | Municipal Solid Waste | Residential solid waste and some non-hazardous commercial, institutional, and industrial wastes. This material is generally sent to municipal landfills for disposal. | MOA | Memoranda of Agreement | An agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in which the EPA promised not to plan or anticipate any federal action against an owner, operator, generator or transporter. | NAAQS | National Ambient Air Quality Standards | Standards established by EPA that apply for outdoor air throughout the country. | NESHAPS | National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants | Emissions standards set by EPA for an air pollutant not covered by NAAQS that may cause an increase in fatalities or in serious, irreversible, or incapacitating illness. Primary standards protect human health, secondary standards protect public welfare. | NOHSCP/NCP | National Oil and Hazardous Substances Contingency Plan | The federal regulation that guides determination of the sites to be corrected under both the Superfund program and the program to prevent or control spills into surface waters or elsewhere. | NPDES | National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System | 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. | NPL | National Priorities List | EPA's list of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites identified for possible long-term remedial action under Superfund. The list is based primarily on the score a site receives from the Hazard Ranking System. | NRT | National Response Team | Representatives of 13 federal agencies that coordinate federal responses to nationally significant incidents of pollution-- oil spills, major chemical releases --and provide advice and technical assistance to the responding agency. | NSDWR | National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations | The regulations define secondary maximum contaminant levels, the maximum concentrations of certain substances in drinking water that affect its aesthetic quality. While the NSDWR set aesthetic standards for drinking water, i.e., color, odor, taste, etc., the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR) set standards protective of the public health. | NSPS | New Source Performance Standards | Uniform national EPA air emission and water effluent standards which limit the amount of pollution allowed from new sources or from modified existing sources. | NSR | New Source Review | A Clean Air Act requirement that State Implementation Plans include a permit review that applies to the operation of new and modified stationary sources in nonattainment areas to ensure attainment of national ambient air quality standards. | NO | Nitric Oxide | A gas formed by combustion under high temperature and high pressure in an internal combustion engine; it is converted by sunlight and photochemical processes in ambient air to nitrogen oxide. NO is a precursor of ground-level ozone pollution, or smog. | NOx | Nitrogen Oxide | 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 and to acid deposition. | PCB | Polychlorinated Biphenyls | A group of synthetic, organic, chlorinated, aromatic hydrocarbons having various industrial applications. They are highly toxic, poisonous and potentially carcinogenic environmental pollutants known to cause skin diseases. They tend to accumulate in animal tissues and are suspect of causing birth defects and cancer. | RAP | Remedial Action Plan | A work plan for the cleanup, removal, containment, isolation, treatment, or monitoring of hazardous substances released into the environment. Or taking actions to prevent, minimize, or reduce injury to the public or environmental health from a release of a hazardous substances or a potential release of a hazardous substance. | RD/ RA | Remedial Design and Remedial Action | The step in the cleanup process that follows the RI/ FS and selection of a remedy. A RD is the preparation of the engineering plans and specifications to implement the remedy. The RA is the actual construction or implementation of the remedy. | RI/ FS | Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study | The RI/FS is the step in the cleanup process that is conducted to gather sufficient information to support the selection of a site remedy that will reduce or eliminate the risks associated with the contamination at the site. | RCRA | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act | RCRA is a Federal law that established a regulatory system to track hazardous substances from their generation to their disposal. It requires the use of safe and secure procedures in treating, transporting, storing and disposing of hazardous substances. | SCNR | Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction | Injecting ammonia or urea to control NOx emissions by reacting nitric oxide (NO) with a nitrogen-bearing compound to form nitrogen gas (N2). | SVOC | Semivolatile Organic Compound | A substance that evaporates slowly at standard temperature (20° C and 1 atm pressure). | TIF | Tax Increment Financing | Tax Increment Financing is the ability of an eligible agency to capture from all eligible taxing jurisdictions a defined portion of the property tax revenues on real and personal property in a designated area. | TCLP | Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure | A test designed to determine the potential for toxic chemicals to move through soils and groundwater. Determines the effectiveness of treatment processes designed to contain wastes or toxic chemicals in a solid matrix such as concrete or polyethylene. | TSCA | Toxic Substances Control Act | Provides EPA with comprehensive authority to regulate or prohibit the manufacture, use of chemical substances that pose unreasonable risks; requires premanufacture notification of EPA for new chemicals or significant new uses of existing chemaicals. | UST | Underground Storage Tank | A UST is a tank located entirely or partially underground that is designed to hold gasoline or other petroleum products or chemical solutions. |
