Copy of `EPA - Environmental Terms Glossary`

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EPA - Environmental Terms Glossary Category: Earth and Environment Date & country: 13/09/2007, USA Words: 1829

Amprometric Titration
A way of measuring concentrations of certain substances in water using an electric current that flows during a chemical reaction.

Anaerobic
A life or process that occurs in, or is not destroyed by, the absence of oxygen.

Anaerobic Decomposition
Reduction of the net energy level and change in chemical composition of organic matter caused by microorganisms in an oxygen-free environment.

Animal Dander
Tiny scales of animal skin, a common indoor air pollutant.

Animal Studies
Investigations using animals as surrogates for humans with the expectation that the results are pertinent to humans.

Anisotropy
In hydrology, the conditions under which one or more hydraulic properties of an aquifer vary from a reference point.

Annular Space, Annulus
The space between two concentric tubes or casings, or between the casing and the borehole wall.

Antagonism
Interference or inhibition of the effect of one chemical by the action of another.

Antarctic "Ozone Hole"
Refers to the seasonal depletion of ozone in the upper atmosphere above a large area of Antarctica. (See Ozone Hole.)

Anti-Degradation Clause
Part of federal air quality and water quality requirements prohibiting deterioration where pollution levels are above the legal limit.

Anti-Microbial
An agent that kills microbes.

Applied Dose
In exposure assessment, the amount of a substance in contact with the primary absorption boundaries of an organism (e.g. skin, lung tissue, gastrointestinal track) and available for absorption.

Aqueous
Something made up of water.

Aqueous Solubility
The maximum concentration of a chemical that will dissolve in pure water at a reference temperature.

Aquifer
An underground geological formation, or group of formations, containing water. Are sources of groundwater for wells and springs.

Aquifer Test
A test to determine hydraulic properties of an aquifer.

Aquitard
Geological formation that may contain groundwater but is not capable of transmitting significant quantities of it under normal hydraulic gradients. May function as confining bed.

Architectural Coatings
Coverings such as paint and roof tar that are used on exteriors of buildings.

Area of Review
In the UIC program, the area surrounding an injection well that is reviewed during the permitting process to determine if flow between aquifers will be induced by the injection operation.

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 releases hydrocarbons.

Aromatics
A type of hydrocarbon, such as benzene or toluene, with a specific type of ring structure. Aromatics are sometimes added to gasoline in order to increase octane. Some aromatics are toxic.

Arsenicals
Pesticides containing arsenic.

Artesian (Aquifer or Well)
Water held under pressure in porous rock or soil confined by impermeable geological formations.

Asbestos
A mineral fiber that can pollute air or water and cause cancer or asbestosis when inhaled. EPA has banned or severely restricted its use in manufacturing and construction.

Asbestos Abatement
Procedures to control fiber release from asbestos-containing materials in a building or to remove them entirely, including removal, encapsulation, repair, enclosure, encasement, and operations and maintenance programs.

Asbestos Assessment
In the asbestos-in-schools program, the evaluation of the physical condition and potential for damage of all friable asbestos containing materials and thermal insulation systems.

Asbestos Program Manager
A building owner or designated representative who supervises all aspects of the facility asbestos management and control program.

Asbestosis
A disease associated with inhalation of asbestos fibers. The disease makes breathing progressively more difficult and can be fatal.

Ash
The mineral content of a product remaining after complete combustion.

Assay
A test for a specific chemical, microbe, or effect.

Assessment Endpoint
In ecological risk assessment, an explicit expression of the environmental value to be protected; includes both an ecological entity and specific attributed thereof. entity (e.g. salmon are a valued ecological entity; reproduction and population maintenance--the attribute--form an assessment endpoint.)

Assimilation
The ability of a body of water to purify itself of pollutants.

Assimilative Capacity
The capacity of a natural body of water to receive wastewaters or toxic materials without deleterious effects and without damage to aquatic life or humans who consume the water.

Attainment Area
An area considered to have air quality as good as or better than the national ambient air quality standards as defined in the Clean Air Act. An area may be an attainment area for one pollutant and a non-attainment area for others.

Attenuation
The process by which a compound is reduced in concentration over time, through absorption, adsorption, degradation, dilution, and/or transformation. an also be the decrease with distance of sight caused by attenuation of light by particulate pollution.

Attractant
A chemical or agent that lures insects or other pests by stimulating their sense of smell.

Attrition
Wearing or grinding down of a substance by friction. Dust from such processes contributes to air pollution.

Availability Session
Informal meeting at a public location where interested citizens can talk with EPA and state officials on a one-to-one basis.

Available Chlorine
A measure of the amount of chlorine available in chlorinated lime, hypochlorite compounds, and other materials used as a source of chlorine when compared with that of liquid or gaseous chlorines.

Avoided Cost
The cost a utility would incur to generate the next increment of electric capacity using its own resources; many landfill gas projects' buy back rates are based on avoided costs.

Back Pressure
A pressure that can cause water to backflow into the water supply when a user's waste water system is at a higher pressure than the public system.

Backflow-Back Siphonage
A reverse flow condition created by a difference in water pressures that causes water to flow back into the distribution pipes of a drinking water supply from any source other than the intended one.

Background Level
1. The concentration of a substance in an environmental media (air, water, or soil) that occurs naturally or is not the result of human activities. 2. In exposure assessment the concentration of a substance in a defined control area, during a fixed period of time before, during, or after a data-gathering operation..

Backwashing
Reversing the flow of water back through the filter media to remove entrapped solids.

Backyard Composting
Diversion of organic food waste and yard trimmings from the municipal waste stream by composting hem in one's yard through controlled decomposition of organic matter by bacteria and fungi into a humus-like product. It is considered source reduction, not recycling, because the composted materials never enter the municipal waste stream.

Bacteria
(Singular bacterium) Microscopic living organisms that can aid in pollution control by metabolizing organic matter in sewage, oil spills or other pollutants. However, bacteria in soil, water or air can also cause human, animal and plant health problems.

Bactericide
A pesticide used to control or destroy bacteria, typically in the home, schools, or hospitals.

Baffle
A flat board or plate, deflector, guide, or similar device constructed or placed in flowing water or slurry systems to cause more uniform flow velocities to absorb energy and to divert, guide, or agitate liquids.

Baffle Chamber
In incinerator design, a chamber designed to promote the settling of fly ash and coarse particulate matter by changing the direction and/or reducing the velocity of the gases produced by the combustion of the refuse or sludge.

Baghouse Filter
Large fabric bag, usually made of glass fibers, used to eliminate intermediate and large (greater than 20 PM in diameter) particles. This device operates like the bag of an electric vacuum cleaner, passing the air and smaller particles while entrapping the larger ones.

Bailer
A pipe with a valve at the lower end, used to remove slurry from the bottom or side of a well as it is being drilled, or to collect groundwater samples from wells or open boreholes. 2. A tube of varying length.

Baling
Compacting solid waste into blocks to reduce volume and simplify handling.

Ballistic Separator
A machine that sorts organic from inorganic matter for composting.

Band Application
The spreading of chemicals over, or next to, each row of plants in a field.

Banking
A system for recording qualified air emission reductions for later use in bubble, offset, or netting transactions. (See emissions trading.)

Bar Screen
In wastewater treatment, a device used to remove large solids.

Barrel Sampler
Open-ended steel tube used to collect soil samples.

Barrier Coating(s)
A layer of a material that obstructs or prevents passage of something through a surface that is to be protected; e.g., grout, caulk, or various sealing compounds; sometimes used with polyurethane membranes to prevent corrosion or oxidation of metal surfaces, chemical impacts on various materials, or, for example, to prevent radon infiltration through walls, cracks, or joints in a house.

Basal Application
In pesticides, the application of a chemical on plant stems or tree trunks just above the soil line.

Basalt
Consistent year-round energy use of a facility; also refers to the minimum amount of electricity supplied continually to a facility.

Bean Sheet
Common term for a pesticide data package record.

Bed Load
Sediment particles resting on or near the channel bottom that are pushed or rolled along by the flow of water.

BEN
EPA's computer model for analyzing a violator's economic gain from not complying with the law.

Bench-scale Tests
Laboratory testing of potential cleanup technologies (See treatability studies.)

Benefit-Cost Analysis
An economic method for assessing the benefits and costs of achieving alternative health-based standards at given levels of health protection.

Benthic-Benthos
An organism that feeds on the sediment at the bottom of a water body such as an ocean, lake, or river.

Bentonite
A colloidal clay, expansible when moist, commonly used to provide a tight seal around a well casing.

Beryllium
An metal hazardous to human health when inhaled as an airborne pollutant. It is discharged by machine shops, ceramic and propellant plants, and foundries.

Best Management Practice (BMP)
Methods that have been determined to be the most effective, practical means of preventing or reducing pollution from non-point sources.

Bimetal
Beverage containers with steel bodies and aluminum tops; handled differently from pure aluminum in recycling.

Bioaccumulants
Substances that increase in concentration in living organisms as they take in contaminated air, water, or food because the substances are very slowly metabolized or excreted. (See biological magnification.)

Bioassay
A test to determine te relative strength of a substance by comparing its effect on a test organism with that of a standard preparation.

Bioavailabiliity
Degree of ability to be absorbed and ready to interact in organism metabolism.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
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.

Bioconcentration
The accumulation of a chemical in tissues of a fish or other organism to levels greater than in the surrounding medium.

Biodegradable
Capable of decomposing under natural conditions.

Biodiversity
Refers to the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur. Diversity can be defined as the number of different items and their relative frequencies. For biological diversity, these items are organized at many levels, ranging from complete ecosystems to the biochemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity. Thus, the term encompasses different ecosystems, species, and genes.

Biological Contaminants
Living organisms or derivates (e.g. viruses, bacteria, fungi, and mammal and bird antigens) that can cause harmful health effects when inhaled, swallowed, or otherwise taken into the body.

Biological Control
In pest control, the use of animals and organisms that eat or otherwise kill or out-compete pests.

Biological Integrity
The ability to support and maintain balanced, integrated, functionality in the natural habitat of a given region. Concept is applied primarily in drinking water management.

Biological Magnification
Refers to the process whereby certain substances such as pesticides or heavy metals move up the food chain, work their way into rivers or lakes, and are eaten by aquatic organisms such as fish, which in turn are eaten by large birds, animals or humans. The substances become concentrated in tissues or internal organs as they move up the chain. (See bioaccumulants.)

Biological Measurement
A measurement taken in a biological medium. For exposure assessment, it is related to the measurement is taken to related it to the established internal dose of a compound.

Biological Medium
One of the major component of an organism; e.g. blood, fatty tissue, lymph nodes or breath, in which chemicals can be stored or transformed. (See ambient medium, environmental medium.)

Biological Oxidation
Decomposition of complex organic materials by microorganisms. Occurs in self-purification of water bodies and in activated sludge wastewater treatment.

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
An indirect measure of the concentration of biologically degradable material present in organic wastes. It usually reflects the amount of oxygen consumed in five days by biological processes breaking down organic waste.

Biological pesticides
Certain microorganism, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa that are effective in controlling pests. These agents usually do not have toxic effects on animals and people and do not leave toxic or persistent chemical residues in the environment.

Biological Stressors
Organisms accidentally or intentionally dropped into habitats in which they do not evolve naturally; e.g. gypsy moths, Dutch elm disease, certain types of algae, and bacteria.

Biological Treatment
A treatment technology that uses bacteria to consume organic waste.

Biologically Effective Dose
The amount of a deposited or absorbed compound reaching the cells or target sites where adverse effect occur, or where the chemical interacts with a membrane.

Biologicals
Vaccines, cultures and other preparations made from living organisms and their products, intended for use in diagnosing, immunizing, or treating humans or animals, or in related research.

Biomass
All of the living material in a given area; often refers to vegetation.

Biome
Entire community of living organisms in a single major ecological area. (See biotic community.)

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.

Biosensor
Analytical device comprising a biological recognition element (e.g. enzyme, receptor, DNA, antibody, or microorganism) in intimate contact with an electrochemical, optical, thermal, or acoustic signal transducer that together permit analyses of chemical properties or quantities. Shows potential development in some areas, including environmental monitoring.

Biosphere
The portion of Earth and its atmosphere that can support life.

Biostabilizer
A machine that converts solid waste into compost by grinding and aeration.

Biota
The animal and plant life of a given region.

Biotechnology
Techniques that use living organisms or parts of organisms to produce a variety of products (from medicines to industrial enzymes) to improve plants or animals or to develop microorganisms to remove toxics from bodies of water, or act as pesticides.

Biotic Community
A naturally occurring assemblage of plants and animals that live in the same environment and are mutually sustaining and interdependent. (See biome.)