CPH - Environmental Health Studies

Latency

Time from the first exposure of a chemical until the appearance of a toxic effect.

Aqueous

1. of, relating to, or resembling water (an aqueous vapor) 2. made from, with, or by water (an aqueous solution)

Sustainable Development

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." — from the World Commission on Environment and Development's

Synergistic effect

A biologic response to multiple substances where one substance worsens the effect of another substance. The combined effect of the substances acting together is greater than the sum of the effects of the substances acting by themselves [see additive effect and antagonistic effect].

Statistics

A branch of mathematics that deals with collecting, reviewing, summarizing, and interpreting data or information. Statistics are used to determine whether differences between study groups are meaningful.

Bacteria

(Singular - bacterium) Microscopic living organisms. Bacteria in soil, water or air may be pathogenic and cause illnesses in humans, animals and plants. They can also be non-pathogenic and be beneficial in pollution control by metabolizing organic matter in sewage, oil spills or other pollutants.

No public health hazard

A category used in ATSDR's public health assessment documents for sites where people have never and will never come into contact with harmful amounts of site-related substances.

Hazardous Substance

1. Any material that poses a threat to human health and/or the environment. Typical hazardous substances are toxic, corrosive, ignitable, explosive, or chemically reactive. 2. Any substance designated by EPA to be reported if a designated quantity of the substance is spilled in the waters of the United States or is otherwise released into the environment.

Public health hazard

A category used in ATSDR's public health assessments for sites that pose a public health hazard because of long-term exposures (greater than 1 year) to sufficiently high levels of hazardous substances or radionuclides that could result in harmful health effects.

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.

Composite Sample

1. Composite sampling is a technique whereby multiple temporally or spatially discrete, media or tissue samples are combined, thoroughly homogenized, and treated as a single sample. An example would be a series of water samples taken over a given period of time and weighted by flow rate.

Particulates

1. Fine liquid or solid particles such as dust, smoke, mist, fumes, or smog, found in air or emissions. 2. Very small solids suspended in water; they can vary in size, shape, density and electrical charge and can be gathered together by coagulation and flocculation.

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.

Chronic Effect

1. An adverse effect on a human or animal resulting from long term exposure to a substance. 2. A persistent (month, years or permanent) adverse health effect resulting from a short term (acute) exposure

Vector

1. An organism, often an insect or rodent which carries disease. 2. Plasmids, viruses, or bacteria used to transport genes into a host cell. A gene is placed in the vector; the vector then "infects" the bacterium.

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.

Tumor

1. Any abnormal swelling or growth of tissue, whether benign or malignant. 2. An abnormal growth, in rate and structure, that arises from normal tissue, but serves no physiological function SN neoplasm

Somatic

1. Pertaining to the body as opposed to the mind. 2. Pertaining to nonreproductive cells or tissues. 3. Pertaining to the framework of the body as opposed to the viscera.

Hazard

1. Potential for radiation, a chemical or other pollutant to cause human illness or injury. 2. In the pesticide program, the inherent toxicity of a compound. Hazard identification of a given substances is an informed judgment based on verifiable toxicity data from animal models or human studies.

Non-ionizing Electromagnetic Radiation

1. Radiation that does not change the structure of atoms but does heat tissue and may cause harmful biological effects. 2. Microwaves, radio waves, and low-frequency electromagnetic fields from high-voltage transmission lines.

Organic

1. Referring to or derived from living organisms. 2. In chemistry, any compound containing carbon.

Landfills

1. Sanitary landfills are disposal sites for non-hazardous solid wastes spread in layers, compacted to the smallest practical volume, and covered by material applied at the end of each operating day. 2. Secure chemical landfills are disposal sites for hazardous waste, selected and designed to minimize the chance of release of hazardous substances into the environment.

Dosage/Dose

1. The actual quantity of a chemical administered to an organism or to which it is exposed. 2. The amount of a substance that reaches a specific tissue (e.g. the liver). 3. The amount of a substance available for interaction with metabolic processes after crossing the outer boundary of an organism. (See: absorbed dose, administered dose, applied dose, potential dose.)

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.

Half-Life

1. The time required for half the atoms in a sample to decay, or a pollutant to lose one-half of its original concentration, for example, the biochemical half-life of DDT in the environment is 15 years. 2. The time required for half of the atoms of a radioactive element to undergo self-transmutation or decay (half-life of radium is 1620 years). 3. The time required for the elimination of half a total dose from the body.

No apparent public health hazard

A category used in ATSDR's public health assessments for sites where human exposure to contaminated media might be occurring, might have occurred in the past, or might occur in the future, but where the exposure is not expected to cause any harmful health effects.

Urgent public health hazard

A category used in ATSDR's public health assessments for sites where short-term exposures (less than 1 year) to hazardous substances or conditions could result in harmful health effects that require rapid intervention.

Biomarker

A cellular or molecular indicator of exposure, health effects, or susceptibility. Biomarkers can be used to measure internal dose, biologically effective dose, early biological response, altered structure or function, susceptibility.

Anaerobic

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

Solvent

A liquid capable of dissolving or dispersing another substance (for example, acetone or mineral spirits).

Public health action

A list of steps to protect public health.

Exposure Point

A location of potential contact between an organism and a chemical or physical agent.

Acute Exposure

A single exposure to a toxic substance which may result in severe biological harm or death. Acute exposures are usually characterized as lasting no longer than a day, as compared to longer, continuing exposure over a period of time.

Additive effect

A biologic response to exposure to multiple substances that equals the sum of responses of all the individual substances added together [compare with antagonistic effect and synergistic effect].

Mutation

A change (damage) to the DNA, genes, or chromosomes of living organisms.

Measure of effect (measurement endpoint)

A change in an attribute of an assessment endpoint or its surrogate in response to a stressor to which it is exposed.

Adverse health effect

A change in body function or cell structure that might lead to disease or health problems.

Beta particle

A charged particle emitted from a nucleus during radioactive decay, with a mass equal to 1/1837 that of a proton. A negatively charged beta particle is identical to an electron. A positively charged beta particle is called a positron. Large amounts of beta radiation may cause skin burns, and beta emitters are harmful if they enter the body. Beta particles may be stopped by thin sheets of metal or plastic.

Promoter

A chemical believed to promote carcinogenicity or mutagenicity

Rodenticide

A chemical or agent used to destroy rats or other rodent pests, or to prevent them from damaging food, crops, etc.

Disinfectant

A chemical or physical process that kills or prevent the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms in water, air, or on surfaces. Chlorine is often used to disinfect sewage treatment effluent, water supplies, wells, and swimming pools.

Latrine

A site or structure (not connected to a main water supply and sewer) designed to receive and dispose of excreta . A pit latrine is a simple pit covered by a slab of wood or concrete with a drophole. A 'pour-flush' latrine uses water to flush away the excreta into a pit

Injury Prevention

A combination of research, development of data collection systems, the introduction of specific prevention measures such as improvements in the local environment, legislation, public education, product safety, and improvements in the level and quality of emergency care.

Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)

A committee appointed by the state emergency response commission, as required by SARA Title III, to formulate a comprehensive emergency plan for its jurisdiction.

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

A compilation of 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.

Disinfectant By-Product

A compound formed by the reaction of a disinfenctant such as chlorine with organic material in the water supply; a chemical byproduct of the disinfection process.

Physiologically based pharmacokinetic model (PBPK model)

A computer model that describes what happens to a chemical in the body. This model describes how the chemical gets into the body, where it goes in the body, how it is changed by the body, and how it leaves the body.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A computer system designed for storing, manipulating, analyzing, and displaying data in a geographic context.

Malaria

A mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite. People with malaria often experience fever, chills, and flu-like illness. Left untreated, they may develop severe complications and die. Each year 350500 million cases of malaria occur worldwide, and over one million people die, most of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa. This sometimes fatal disease can be prevented and cured. Bednets, insecticides, and antimalarial drugs are effective tools to fight malaria in areas where it is transmitted. Travelers to a malaria-risk area should avoid mosquito bites and take a preventive antimalarial drug.

Sampling Strategy

A detailed outline of which measurements will be taken at what times, on which material, in what manner, and by whom. Sampling plans should be designed in such a way that the resulting data will contain a representative sample of the parameters of interest and allow for all questions, as stated in the goals, to be answered.

Certified Output Protection Protocol

A device driver technology used to enable high-bandwidth Digital Content Protection ( HDCP ) during the transmission of digital video between applications and high-definition displays. COPP is a Microsoft security technology for video systems that require a logo certification. For security drivers are authenticated and protected from tampering to prevent unauthorized high-quality recording from the video outputs. COPP control signals are also encrypted .

Delayed health effect

A disease or an injury that happens as a result of exposures that might have occurred in the past.

Wastewater Treatment Plant

A facility containing a series of tanks, screens, filters, and other processes by which pollutants are removed from water. Most treatments include chlorination to attain safe drinking water standards.

Population

A group of interbreeding organisms occupying a particular space; the number of humans or other living creatures in a designated area.

Helminths

A group of parasites commonly referred to as worms. The group includes trematodes, cestodes, and nematodes. Schistosomes are trematodes; the species that most commonly infect humans are: Schistosoma haematobium , S. intercalatum , S. japonicum , S. mansoni , and S.mekongi . Cestodes include the beef and pork tapeworms, the largest of the helminths, and nematodes include the roundworm Ascaris lumbri-coides , the whipworm Trichuris trichiura , and the hookworms Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale ; these nematodes are collectively referred to as soil-transmitted helminths.

Community Assistance Panel (CAP)

A group of people from a community and from health and environmental agencies who work with ATSDR to resolve issues and problems related to hazardous substances in the community. CAP members work with ATSDR to gather and review community health concerns, provide information on how people might have been or might now be exposed to hazardous substances, and inform ATSDR on ways to involve the community in its activities.

Toxicant

A harmful substance or agent that may injure an exposed organism.

Inversion

A layer of warm air that prevents the rise of cooling air and traps pollutants beneath it; can cause an air pollution episode.

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.

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

A measure of the oxygen required to oxidize all compounds, both organic and inorganic, in water.

Risk

A measure of the probability that damage to life, health, property, and/or the environment will occur as a result of a given hazard.

Exposure-dose reconstruction

A method of estimating the amount of people's past exposure to hazardous substances. Computer and approximation methods are used when past information is limited, not available, or missing.

Nanoparticle

A microscopic particle whose size is measured in nanometers <drugs bound to biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles >

Public health advisory

A statement made by ATSDR to EPA or a state regulatory agency that a release of hazardous substances poses an immediate threat to human health. The advisory includes recommended measures to reduce exposure and reduce the threat to human health.

Teratogen

A substance capable of causing birth defects.

CAS Registration Number

A number assigned by the Chemical Abstract Service to identify a chemical.

Analyte

A substance that is undergoing analysis or is being measured. For example, if the analyte is mercury, the laboratory test will determine the amount of mercury in the sample.

Disease Vector

A phrase used in parasitology and entomology to describe a special type of intermediate host for parasites. A vector is not only required as part of the parasite's development, but it also delivers the parasite directly to subsequent hosts, avoiding free living stages such as those observed in Schistosoma which infects snails before having a brief free living stage that actively infects their next host.

Sample

A portion or piece of a whole. A selected subset of a population or subset of whatever is being studied. For example, in a study of people the sample is a number of people chosen from a larger population [see population ]. An environmental sample (for example, a small amount of soil or water) might be collected to measure contamination in the environment at a specific location.

Alpha particle

A positively charged particle ejected spontaneously from the nuclei of some radioactive elements. It is identical to a helium nucleus that has a mass number of 4 and an electrostatic charge of +2. It has low penetrating power and a short range (a few centimeters in air). The most energetic alpha particle will generally fail to penetrate the dead layers of cells covering the skin and can be easily stopped by a sheet of paper. Alpha particles are hazardous when an alpha-emitting isotope is inside the body.

Tumor promotion

A process in which existing tumors are stimulated to grow. Tumor promoters are not able to cause tumors to form.

Tumor initiation

A process in which normal cells are changed so that they are able to form tumors. Substances that cause cancer can be tumor initiators.

Substance-specific applied research

A program of research designed to fill important data needs for specific hazardous substances identified in ATSDR's toxicological profiles . Filling these data needs would allow more accurate assessment of human risks from specific substances contaminating the environment. This research might include human studies or laboratory experiments to determine health effects resulting from exposure to a given hazardous substance.

Cryptosporidium

A protozoan microbe associated with the disease cryptosporidiosis in man. The disease can be transmitted through ingestion of drinking water, person-to-person contact, or other pathways, and can cause acute diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, fever, and can be fatal as it was in the 1993 Milwaukee episode.

Public meeting

A public forum with community members for communication about a site. Pulmonary airways: The lung is the essential respiration organ in air-breathing vertebrates , the most primitive being the lungfish . The two lungs are located in the chest on either side of the heart . Their principal function is to transport oxygen from the atmosphere into the bloodstream , and to release carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere. This exchange of gases is accomplished in the mosaic of specialized cells that form millions of tiny, exceptionally thin-walled air sacs called alveoli . The lungs also have non respiratory functions.

Total maximum daily load

A regulatory term in the U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA), describing a value of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water quality standards. [1] Alternatively, TMDL is an allocation of that pollutant deemed acceptable to the subject receiving waters. TMDLs have been used extensively by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state environmental agencies in implementing the CWA by establishing maximum pollution limits for industrial wastewater dischargers. EPA published regulations in 1992 establishing TMDL procedures. [2] Application of TMDL has broadened significantly in the last decade to include many watershed-scale efforts. This process incorporates both point source and nonpoint source pollutants within a watershed.

Cluster investigation

A review of an unusual number, real or perceived, of health events (for example, reports of cancer) grouped together in time and location. Cluster investigations are designed to confirm case reports; determine whether they represent an unusual disease occurrence; and, if possible, explore possible causes and contributing environmental factors.

Health Consultation

A review of available information or collection of new data to respond to a specific health question or request for information about a potential environmental hazard. Health consultations are focused on a specific exposure issue. Health consultations are therefore more limited than a public health assessment, which reviews the exposure potential of each pathway and chemical [compare with public health assessment].

Protocol

A series of formal steps for conducting a test.

Signaling Pathways

A series of specific actions in a cell in which a signal is passed from one molecule to the next in the series. Signaling pathways are used to control many cell functions, such as cell division and programmed cell death.

Missense mutations

A single base pair substitution that results in the translation of a different amino acid at that position.

Susceptible populations

A susceptible population is a group who may experience more severe adverse effects at comparable levels or adverse effects at lower exposure levels than the general population. The greater response of these sensitive subpopulations may be a result of a variety of intrinsic or extrinsic factors.

Exposure registry

A system of ongoing follow-up of people who have had documented environmental exposures.

Disease registry

A system of ongoing registration of all cases of a particular disease or health condition in a defined population.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

A system of procedures, checks, audits, and corrective actions to ensure that all EPA research design and performance, environmental monitoring and sampling, and other technical and reporting activities are of the highest achievable quality.

Registry

A systematic collection of information on persons exposed to a specific substance or having specific diseases [see exposure registry and disease registry].

Survey

A systematic collection of information or data. A survey can be conducted to collect information from a group of people or from the environment. Surveys of a group of people can be conducted by telephone, by mail, or in person. Some surveys are done by interviewing a group of people.

Cancer risk

A theoretical risk for getting cancer if exposed to a substance every day for 70 years (a lifetime exposure). The true risk might be lower.

Incineration

A treatment technology involving destruction of waste by controlled burning at high temperatures; e.g., burning sludge to remove the water and reduce the remaining residues to a safe, nonburnable ash that can be disposed of safely on land, in some waters, or in underground locations.

B lymphocyte (B-cell)

A type of lymphocyte (white blood cells), produced in the bone marrow, which synthesizes and secretes antibodies in response to the presence of a foreign substance or one identified by it as being foreign.

Virus

A virus is an extremely tiny infectious agent that is only able to live inside a cell. To reproduce, a virus invades a cell within the body of a human or other creature. Once replicated, the new viruses leave the host cell and are ready to invade others.

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)

ACGIH® is a member-based organization that advances occupational and environmental health. Examples of this include our annual editions of the TLVs® and BEIs ® and work practice guides in ACGIH®'s Signature Publications.

Trauma

a physical injury or wound caused by an external force which may cause death or permanent disability. Trauma is also used to describe severe emotional or psychological shock or distress.

Biodegradable

Capable of decomposing under natural conditions.

DNA Repair

As a major defense against environmental damage to cells DNA repair is present in all organisms examined including bacteria, yeast, drosophila, fish, amphibians, rodents and humans. DNA repair is involved in processes that minimize cell killling, mutations, replication errors, persistence of DNA damage and genomic instability. Abnormalities in these processes have been implicated in cancer and aging.

Receptor

Ecological entity exposed to a stressor.

Morbidity

Rate of disease incidence.

Acid Deposition/Acid Rain

Acidification occurs after the release of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide from point or nonpoint sources into the atmosphere. Chemical processes may transform these chemicals into sulfuric and nitric acids. These are returned to the earth in snowfall, rain, fog, and dust and may deposit at distances far from the original sources.

ALARA

Acronym for "as low as (is) reasonably achievable." Means making every reasonable effort to maintain exposures to ionizing radiation as far below the dose limits as practical, consistent with the purpose for which the licensed activity is undertaken, taking into account the state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to state of technology, the economics of improvements in relation to benefits to the public health and safety, and other societal and socioeconomic considerations, and in relation to utilization of nuclear energy and licensed materials in the public interest.

Prevention

Actions that reduce exposure or other risks, keep people from getting sick, or keep disease from getting worse.

Remedial Investigation

After a site is listed on the NPL, a remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) is performed at the Superfund site to 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".

Surface Water

All water naturally open to the atmosphere (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, streams, impoundments, seas, estuaries, etc.)

Permissible Exposure Limit

Also referred to as PEL, federal limits for workplace exposure to contaminants as established by OSHA.

Preliminary Assessment

An assessment of information about a site and its surrounding area. A Preliminary Assessment is designed to determine whether a sites poses little or no threat to human health and the environment or if it does pose a threat, whether the threat requires further investigation. PA investigations collect readily available information about a site and its surrounding area. The PA is designed to distinguish, based on limited data, between sites that pose little or no threat to human health and the environment and sites that may pose a threat and require further investigation. The PA also identifies sites requiring assessment for possible emergency response actions. If the PA results in a recommendation for further investigation, a Site Inspection is performed.

Public health assessment (PHA)

An ATSDR document that examines hazardous substances, health outcomes, and community concerns at a hazardous waste site to determine whether people could be harmed from coming into contact with those substances. The PHA also lists actions that need to be taken to protect public health [compare with health consultation].

Minimal Risk Level (MRL)

An MRL is an estimate of the daily human exposure to a hazardous substance that is likely to be without appreciable risk of adverse noncancer health effects over a specified duration of exposure. These substance specific estimates, which are intended to serve as screening levels, are used by ATSDR health assessors and other responders to identify contaminants and potential health effects that may be of concern at hazardous waste sites.

Biohazard

An agent of biological origin that has the capacity to produce deleterious effects on humans, i.e. microorganisms, toxins, and allergens derived from those organisms; and allergens and toxins derived from higher plants and animals.

Mutagen/Mutagenicity

An agent that causes a permanent genetic change in a cell other than that which occurs during normal growth. Mutagenicity is the capacity of a chemical or physical agent to cause such permanent changes.

Cohort study

An epidemiological method of identifying two groups (cohorts) of individuals, one which has received the exposure of interest and one which has not, and following both groups forward for the outcome of interest.

Toxicological Profile

An examination, summary, and interpretation of a hazardous substance to determine levels of exposure and associated health effects.

Assessment endpoint

An explicit expression of the environmental value that is to be protected, operationally defined by an ecological entity and its attributes. For example, salmon are valued ecological entities; reproduction and age class structure are some of their important attributes. Together "salmon reproduction and age class structure" form an assessment endpoint.

No Observable Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL)

An exposure level at which there are no statistically or biologically significant increases in the frequency or severity of adverse effects between the exposed population and its appropriate control; some effects may be produced at this level, but they are not considered as adverse, or as precursors to adverse effects. In an experiment with several NOAELs, the regulatory focus is primarily on the highest one, leading to the common usage of the term NOAEL as the highest exposure without adverse effects.

Global Warming

An increase in the near surface temperature of the Earth. Global warming has occurred in the distant past as the result of natural influences, but the term is most often used to refer to the warming predicted to occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases. Scientists generally agree that the Earth's surface has warmed by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past 140 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently concluded that increased concentrations of greenhouse gases are causing an increase in the Earth's surface temperature and that increased concentrations of sulfate aerosols have led to relative cooling in some regions, generally over and downwind of heavily industrialized areas. (See: climate change)

Public availability session

An informal, drop-by meeting at which community members can meet one-on-one with ATSDR staff members to discuss health and site-related concerns.

Case study

An uncontrolled (prospective or retrospective) observational study involving an intervention and outcome in a single patient. (Also known as a single case report or anecdote.)

Aquifer

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

Radioisotope

An unstable isotope of an element that decays or disintegrates spontaneously, emitting radiation. Approximately 5,000 natural and artificial radioisotopes have been identified.

Lymphocyte

Animal white blood cell (as opposed to red blood cell) that interacts with a foreign substance or organism, or one which it identifies as foreign, and initiates an immune response against the substance or organism. There are two groups of lymphocytes, B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes NT B lymphocyte, immune response , T lymphocyte

Zoonotic diseases

Any disease and/or infection which is naturally "transmissible from vertebrate animals to man" is classified as a zoonosis according to the PAHO publication "Zoonoses and communicable diseases common to man and animals". Over 200 zoonoses have been described and they are known since many centuries. They involve all types of agents -z bacteria, parasites, viruses and unconventional agents.

Air Toxics

Any air pollutant for which a national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) does not exist (i.e. excluding ozone, carbon monoxide, PM-10, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide) that may reasonably be anticipated to cause cancer; respiratory, cardiovascular, or developmental effects; reproductive dysfunctions, neurological disorders, heritable gene mutations, or other serious or irreversible chronic or acute health effects in humans

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Any explosive or incendiary device, as defined in Title 18 USC, Section 921, a bomb, grenade, rocket, missile, mine, or other device with a charge of more than four ounces; Any weapon designed or intended to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals or their precursors; Any weapon involving a disease organism; or Any weapon designed to release radiation or radioactivity at a level dangerous to human life.

Potentially Responsible Party (PRP)

Any individual or company--including owners, operators, transporters or generators--potentially responsible for, or contributing to a spill or other contamination at a Superfund site. Whenever possible, through administrative and legal actions, EPA requires PRPs to clean up hazardous sites they have contaminated.

Cytokine

Any of a group of soluble proteins that are released by a cell causing a change in function or development of the same cell (autocrine), an adjacent cell (paracrine), or a distant cell (endocrine); cytokines are involved in reproduction, growth and development, normal homeostatic regulation, response to injury and repair, blood clotting, and host resistance (immunity and tolerance).

Estrogen

Any of various natural steroids (as estradiol) that are formed from androgen precursors, that are secreted chiefly by the ovaries, placenta, adipose tissue, and testes, and that stimulate the development of female secondary sex characteristics and promote the growth and maintenance of the female reproductive system.

Cancer

Any one of a group of diseases that occur when cells in the body become abnormal and grow or multiply out of control.

Volatile Organic Compound (VOC)

Any organic compound that participates in atmospheric photochemical reactions except those designated by EPA as having negligible photochemical reactivity.

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.

Contaminant

Any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter that has an adverse effect on air, water, or soil.

Ionizing radiation

Any radiation capable of displacing electrons from atoms or molecules, thereby producing ions. Some examples are alpha, beta, gamma, x-rays, neutrons, and ultraviolet light. High doses of ionizing radiation may produce severe skin or tissue damage.

Medical Waste

Any solid waste generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or testing of biologicals, excluding hazardous waste or any household waste.

Carcinogen

Any substance that can cause or aggravate cancer.

Volatile

Any substance that evaporates readily.

Metabolites

Any substances produced by biological processes, such as those from pesticides.

Ambient Air

Any unconfined portion of the atmosphere: open air, surrounding air.

Biological Exposure Indices (BEI)

Biological Exposure Indices. A guidance value recommended by ACGIH ® for assessing biological monitoring results.

Hazardous Waste

By-products of society that can pose a substantial or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly managed. Possesses at least one of four characteristics (ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity), or appears on special EPA lists.

Comparison value (CV)

Calculated concentration of a substance in air, water, food, or soil that is unlikely to cause harmful (adverse) health effects in exposed people. The CV is used as a screening level during the public health assessment process. Substances found in amounts greater than their CVs might be selected for further evaluation in the public health assessment process.

Chemical, Biological, Radioactive Nuclear, Explosive (CBRNE) Incidents

CBRNE incidents are deliberate, malicious acts with the intention to kill or sicken and disrupt society. CBRNE may be used in warfare or terrorism.

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA)

CERCLA, also known as Superfund, is the federal law that concerns the removal or cleanup of hazardous substances in the environment and at hazardous waste sites. ATSDR, which was created by CERCLA, is responsible for assessing health issues and supporting public health activities related to hazardous waste sites or other environmental releases of hazardous substances. This law was later amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) .

Anthropogenic

Caused by or influenced by human activities.

Probability

Chance (a measure of how likely it is that some event will occur; a number expressing the ratio of favorable cases to the whole number of cases possible) "the probability that an unbiased coin will fall with the head up is 0.5"

Gradient

Change in the value of a quantity (as temperature, pressure, or concentration) with change in a given variable and especially per unit on a linear scale.

Toxic agent

Chemical or physical (for example, radiation, heat, cold, microwaves) agents that, under certain circumstances of exposure, can cause harmful effects to living organisms.

Inorganic Chemicals

Chemical substances of mineral origin, not of basically carbon structure.

Site Inspection

The collection of information from a Superfund site to determine the extent and severity of hazards posed by the site. It follows and is more extensive than a preliminary assessment. The purpose is to gather information necessary to score the site, using the Hazard Ranking System, and to determine if it presents an immediate threat requiring prompt removal.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease characterized by chronic obstruction of lung airflow that interferes with normal breathing and is not fully reversible. The more familiar terms 'chronic bronchitis' and 'emphysema' are no longer used, but are now included within the COPD diagnosis. COPD is not simply a "smoker's cough" but an under-diagnosed, life-threatening lung disease.

Asthma

Chronic respiratory disease characterized by bronchoconstriction, excessive mucus secretion and oedema of the pulmonary alveoli, resulting in difficulty in breathing out, wheezing, and cough.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Collaborates to create the expertise, information, and tools that people and communities need to protect their health - through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability, and preparedness for new threats. CDC seeks to accomplish its mission by working with partners throughout the nation and the world to monitor health, detect and investigate health problems, conduct research to enhance prevention, develop and advocate sound public health policies, implement prevention strategies, promote healthy behaviors, foster safe and healthful environments, provide leadership and training.

Antagonism (in toxicology)

Combined effect of two or more factors that is smaller than the solitary effect of any one of those factors.

State Emergency Response Commission (SERC)

Commission appointed by each state governor according to the requirements of SARA Title III. The SERCs designate emergency planning districts, appoint local emergency planning committees, and supervise and coordinate their activities.

Dermal Exposure

Contact between a chemical and the skin.

Intermediate duration exposure

Contact with a substance that occurs for more than 14 days and less than a year [compare with acute exposure and chronic exposure ].

Metabolism

The conversion or breakdown of a substance from one form to another by a living organism.

Effective Dose 50 (ED50)

The dose of a drug that is pharmacologically effective for 50% of the population exposed to the drug or a 50% response in a biological system that is exposed to the drug.

LD 50/Lethal Dose

The dose of a toxicant or microbe that will kill 50 percent of the test organisms within a designated period. The lower the LD 50, the more toxic the compound.

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)

DNA sequence variations that occur when a single nucleotide (A, T, C, or G) in the genome sequence is altered. Each individual has many single nucleotide polymorphisms that together create a unique DNA pattern for that person. SNPs promise to significantly advance our ability to understand and treat human disease.

Mortality

Death rate.

Sustainable Management

Defined under the RMA as managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, which enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural well being and for their health and safety while (a) sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources (excluding minerals) to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; (b) safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil, and ecosystems; and (c) avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of activities on the environment.

State Implementation Plans (SIP)

EPA approved state plans for the establishment, regulation, and enforcement of air pollution standards.

IRIS

EPA's Integrated Risk Information System, an electronic data base containing the Agency's latest descriptive and quantitative regulatory information on chemical constituents. The information in IRIS is intended for those without extensive training in toxicology, but with some knowledge of health sciences.

National Priorities List (NPL)

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. EPA is required to update the NPL at least once a year. A site must be on the NPL to receive money from the Trust Fund for remedial action.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) establishes requirements for Federal, state and local governments, Indian Tribes, and industry regarding emergency planning and "Community Right-to-Know" reporting on hazardous and toxic chemicals. The Community Right-to-Know provisions help increase the public's knowledge and access to information on chemicals at individual facilities, their uses, and releases into the environment. States and communities, working with facilities, can use the information to improve chemical safety and protect public health and the environment. EPCRA was passed in response to concerns regarding the environmental and safety hazards posed by the storage and handling of toxic chemicals. These concerns were triggered by the disaster in Bhopal, India, in which more than 2,000 people suffered death or serious injury from the accidental release of methyl isocyanate. To reduce the likelihood of such a disaster in the United States, Congress imposed requirements on both states and regulated facilities.

Environmental media and transport mechanism

Environmental media include water, air, soil, and biota (plants and animals). Transport mechanisms move contaminants from the source to points where human exposure can occur. The environmental media and transport mechanism is the second part of an exposure pathway .

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.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the study of human characteristics for the appropriate design of the living and working environment. Ergonomic researchers strive to learn about human characteristics (capabilities, limitations, motivations, and desires) so that this knowledge can be used to adapt a human-made environment to the people involved. There are three levels of ergonomic knowledge utilization: tolerable, acceptable, and optimal.

Relative Risk Assessment

Estimating the risks associated with different stressors or management actions.

Life Cycle management

Every activity that a business performs has an impact - on a social, economic and environmental level. Often these impacts are not obvious or immediate, there are many that are hidden or indirect, that only appear when you take a more holistic view - essentially, when you take a step back and examine the complete life cycle of your products and services . A life cycle is made up of all the activities that go into making, selling, using, transporting and disposing of a product or service - from initial design, right through the supply chain.

Endocrine disruptor

Exogenous chemical that alters function(s) of the endocrine system and consequently causes adverse health effects in an intact organism, its progeny or (sub) populations.

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points

HACCP is a production control system for the food industry. It is a process that identifies where potential contamination can occur (the critical control points or CCPs) and strictly manages and monitors these points as a way of ensuring the process is in control and that the safest product possible is being produced. HACCP is designed to prevent rather than catch potential hazards.

Hydrophilic

Having a strong affinity for water.

Hydrophobic

Having a strong aversion for water.

Lipophilic

Having an affinity for fat and high lipid solubility: a physicochemical property which describes a partitioning equilibrium of solute molecules between water and an immiscible organic solvent, favoring the latter, and which correlates with bioaccumulation. RT bioaccumulation, bioaccumulation factor, bioconcentration, octanol-water partition coefficient . SN hydrophobicity. AN hydrophilicity, lipophobicity.

Gamma radiation

High-energy, short wavelength, electromagnetic radiation emitted from the nucleus. Gamma radiation frequently accompanies alpha and beta emissions and always accompanies fission. Gamma rays are very penetrating and are best stopped or shielded by dense materials, such as lead or depleted uranium. Gamma rays are similar to x-rays.

International Agency for Research on Cancer

IARC's mission is to coordinate and conduct research on the causes of human cancer, the mechanisms of carcinogenesis, and to develop scientific strategies for cancer control. The Agency is involved in both epidemiological and laboratory research and disseminates scientific information through publications, meetings, courses, and fellowships.

Exposure Assessment

Identifying the pathways by which toxicants may reach individuals, estimating how much of a chemical an individual is likely to be exposed to, and estimating the number likely to be exposed.

Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)

In 1986, SARA amended the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) and expanded the health-related responsibilities of ATSDR. CERCLA and SARA direct ATSDR to look into the health effects from substance exposures at hazardous waste sites and to perform activities including health education, health studies, surveillance, health consultations, and toxicological profiles.

U.S Department of Homeland Security

In 2002, the Homeland Security Act was created as a vehicle to mobilize and organize the nation to secure the US from terrorist attacks. In order for this mission to be successful, it requires focused effort from our entire society. The Homeland Security was established, primarily, to unify, guide and coordinate this vast national effort. The DHS has developed its own high level strategic plan, a vision, mission statements, strategic goals and objectives to guide the approximately 180,000 DHS employees that daily perform this very important task.

Polarity

In electricity, the quality of having two oppositely charged poles, one positive and one negative.

In vitro

In glass, referring to a study in the laboratory usually involving isolated organ, tissue, cell, or biochemical systems AN in vivo

In vivo

In the living body, referring to a study performed on a living organism AN in vitro

Renewable Energy Production Incentive (REPI)

Incentive established by the Energy Policy Act available to renewable energy power projects owned by a state or local government or nonprofit electric cooperative.

Economic Incentives

Incentives are a different approach. The idea of incentives is not to strictly forbid/allow, but rather to provide signals on public objectives while leaving some room for individual and collective decision-making to respond to them. Incentives play indirectly through the determinants of individual/collective choices, such as the profit motive or normative values. Market or social forces can be very efficient vectors to force the global outcome of individual actions towards collectively set objectives. Different kinds of incentives can be developed in isolation or in combination: improving the institutional framework (definition of rights and participatory processes); developing collective values (education, information, training); creating nonmarket economic incentives (taxes and subsidies); and establishing market incentives (tradable property/access rights; eco-labelling).

Tumor progression

Increase in the size of a tumor or spread of cancer in the body.

Unit risk (as used by the USEPA)

Incremental upper-boundary lifetime risk estimated to result from lifetime exposure to an agent if it is in air at a concentration of 1 mg/m3 or in the water at a concentration of 1 mg/L.

Industrial Hygiene

Industrial hygiene is the science of anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, and controlling workplace conditions that may cause workers' injury or illness. Industrial hygienists use environmental monitoring and analytical methods to detect the extent of worker exposure and employ engineering, work practice controls, and other methods to control potential health hazards.

Infection control

Infection control refers to all policies, procedures and activities, which aim to prevent or minimize the risk of transmission of infectious diseases. This refers to health care acquired infections (HAI) as well as to infections of public health concern, making it a crosscutting, multidisciplinary activity.

Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi; the diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another. Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases of animals that can cause disease when transmitted to humans.

Noise-induced hearing loss

Irreversible hearing loss caused by exposure to very loud impulse sounds, such as an explosion, or to less-intense sounds for an extended period of time. Loud noise levels damage hair cells of the inner ear.

Built Environment

It encompasses all buildings, spaces and products that are created, or modified, by people. It includes homes, schools, workplaces, parks/recreation areas, greenways, business areas and transportation systems. It extends overhead in the form of electric transmission lines, underground in the form of waste disposal sites and subway trains, and across the country in the form of highways. It includes land-use planning and policies that impact our communities in urban, rural and suburban areas.

Bench-scale Tests

Laboratory testing of potential cleanup technologies.

Macrophage

Large (10-20 mm diameter) amoeboid and phagocytic cell found in many tissues, especially in areas of inflammation; macrophages are derived from blood monocytes and play an important role in host defense mechanisms.

Aerobic

Life or processes that require, or are not destroyed by, the presence of oxygen. (See: anaerobic.)

Lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL)

Lowest concentration or amount of a substance (dose), found by experiment or observation, which causes an adverse effect on morphology, functional capacity, growth, development, or life span of a target organism distinguishable from normal (control) organisms of the same species and strain under defined conditions of exposure .

Mesothelioma

Malignant tumor of the mesothelium of the pleura, pericardium or peritoneum, that may be caused by exposure to asbestos fibers and some other fibers.

Nanoscale

Materials and structures range from 1-100 nanometers. They can have different properties at the nanoscale.

TD50

May be defined as follows: for a given target site(s), if there are no tumors in control animals, then TD50 is that chronic dose-rate in mg/kg body wt/day which would induce tumors in half the test animals at the end of a standard lifespan for the species. Since the tumor(s) of interest often does occur in control animals, TD50 is more precisely defined as: that dose-rate in mg/kg body wt/day which, if administered chronically for the standard lifespan of the species, will halve the probability of remaining tumorless throughout that period. A TD50 can be computed for any particular type of neoplasm, for any particular tissue, or for any combination of these. The range of statistically significant TD50 values for chemicals in the CPDB that are carcinogenic in rodents is more than 10 million-fold.

Waste Minimization

Measures or techniques that reduce the amount of wastes generated during industrial production processes; term is also applied to recycling and other efforts to reduce the amount of waste going into the waste stream.

Heavy Metals

Metallic elements with high atomic weights; (e.g. mercury, chromium, cadmium, arsenic, and lead); can damage living things at low concentrations and tend to accumulate in the food chain.

MRSA

Methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus : any of several bacterial strains of the genus Staphylococcus ( S. aureus ) that are resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics (as methicillin and nafcillin, amoxicillin, and penicillin. ) and that are typically benign colonizers of the skin and mucous membranes (as of the nostrils) but may cause severe infections (as by entrance through a surgical wound) especially in immunocompromised individuals.

Recycle/Reuse

Minimizing waste generation by recovering and reprocessing usable products that might otherwise become waste (.i.e. recycling of aluminum cans, paper, and bottles, etc.).

Aerosol

Mixture of small droplets or particles (solid, liquid, or a mixed variety) and a carrier gas (usually air).

Radiation Measurement Units

Most scientists in the international community measure radiation using the System Internationale (SI), a uniform system of weights and measures that evolved from the metric system. In the United States, however, the conventional system of measurement is still widely used. Different units of measure are used depending on what aspect of radiation is being measured. For example, the amount of radiation being given off, or emitted, by a radioactive material is measured using the conventional unit curie (Ci), named for the famed scientist Marie Curie, or the SI unit becquerel (Bq). The radiation dose absorbed by a person (that is, the amount of energy deposited in human tissue by radiation) is measured using the conventional unit rad or the SI unit gray (Gy). The biological risk of exposure to radiation is measured using the conventional unit rem or the SI unit sievert (Sv).

Migration

Moving from one location to another.

Chronic Exposure

Multiple exposures occurring over an extended period of time or over a significant fraction of an animal's or human's lifetime (Usually seven years to a lifetime.)

Not in my Back Yard (NIMBY)

Not in My Backyard thoroughly analyzes the issues and documents the problems that make enforcement of environmental justice almost nonexistent. Executive Order 12,898, which created a right to environmental justice, has yet to be fully realized or enforced. As a result of judicial decisions limiting the ability of individuals to file disparate impact cases under § 602 of Title VI and § 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, communities have been forced to rely even more on what should be but often is not—vigorous agency enforcement to remedy environmental justice complaints.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

OSHA's mission is to assure the safety and health of America's workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health.

Polluter-pays principle

Office of Site Remediation Enforcement manages the enforcement of EPA's national hazardous waste cleanup programs: Superfund (officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), and underground storage tanks (UST). OSRE support and provide the means for the regions and states to vigorously and effectively enforce these statutes. OSRE goals are to achieve prompt site cleanup and maximum liable party participation in performing and paying for cleanup in ways which promote environmental justice and fairness.

Uncertainty Factor

One of several factors used in calculating the reference dose from experimental data. UFs are intended to account for (1) the variation in sensitivity among humans; (2) the uncertainty in extrapolating animal data to humans; (3) the uncertainty in extrapolating data obtained in a study that covers less than the full life of the exposed animal or human; and (4) the uncertainty in using LOAEL data rather than NOAEL data.

T-lymphocyte (T cell)

One type of white blood cell that attacks virus-infected cells, foreign cells, and cancer cells. T lymphocytes also produce a number of substances that regulate the immune response.

Protozoa

One-celled animals that are larger and more complex than bacteria. May cause disease.

Target organ(s)

Organ(s) in which the toxic injury manifests itself in terms of dysfunction or overt disease WHO, 1979 RT receptor

PM-10/PM-2.5

PM-10 is a measure of particles in the atmosphere that are less than 10 micrometers in diameter that include both fine and coarse dust particles. These particles pose the greatest health concern because they can pass through the nose and throat and get into the lungs. PM-2.5 is a measure of smaller particles in the air. The particle mix in most U.S. cities is dominated by fine particles (less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) generated by combustion sources, with smaller amounts of coarse dust (between 2.5 and 10 micrometers in diameter).PM-10 has been the pollutant particulate level standard against which EPA has been measuring Clean Air Act compliance. On the basis of newer scientific findings, the Agency is considering regulations that will make PM-2.5 the new "standard".

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

POPs are a set of chemicals that are toxic, persist in the environment for long periods of time, and biomagnify as they move up through the food chain. POPs have been linked to adverse effects on human health and animals, such as cancer, damage to the nervous system, reproductive disorders, and disruption of the immune system. Because they circulate globally via the atmosphere, oceans, and other pathways, POPs released in one part of the world can travel to regions far from their source of origin.

X-rays

Penetrating electromagnetic radiation (photon) having a wavelength that is much shorter than that of visible light. These rays are usually produced by excitation of the electron field around certain nuclei. In nuclear reactions, it is customary to refer to photons originating in the nucleus as x-rays.

Absorption (in biology)

Penetration of a substance into an organism and its cells by various processes, some specialized, some involving expenditure of energy (active transport), some involving a carrier system, and others involving passive movement down an electrochemical gradient. In mammals, absorption is usually through the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, or skin into the circulatory system and from the circulation into organs, tissues and cells.

Special populations

People who might be more sensitive or susceptible to exposure to hazardous substances because of factors such as age, occupation, sex, or behaviors (for example, cigarette smoking). Children, pregnant women, and older people are often considered special populations.

Organophosphates

Pesticides that contain phosphorus, some of which are used in fertilizers and pesticides, are short-lived, but some can be toxic when first applied.

Water Quality Management

Planning for the protection of a water's quality for various beneficial uses, for the provision of adequate wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal for municipalities and industries, and for activities that might create water quality problems, and regulating and enforcing programs to accomplish the planning goals and laws and regulations dealing with water pollution control.

Toxin

Poisonous substance produced by a biological organism such as a microbe, animal or plant PS venom

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.

¬Dermal Absorption/Penetration

Process by which a chemical penetrates the skin and enters the body as an internal dose.

Apoptosis

Programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

Health Assessment

Public health assessments challenge ATSDR to integrate environmental sampling data, health outcome data, and community concerns successfully in the evaluation of the health implications of hazardous substances released to the environment. Doing so enables ATSDR staff members to make the difficult decisions as to why, where, and for whom public health actions should be undertaken.

Public health hazard categories

Public health hazard categories are statements about whether people could be harmed by conditions present at the site in the past, present, or future. One or more hazard categories might be appropriate for each site. The five public health hazard categories are no public health hazard, no apparent public health hazard , indeterminate public health hazard , public health hazard and urgent public health hazard .

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.

Ionizing Radiation

Radiation that can strip electrons from atoms; e.g. alpha, beta, and gamma radiation.

Radionuclide

Radioactive particle, man-made (anthropogenic) or natural, with a distinct atomic weight number.

Persistence

Refers to the length of time a compound stays in the environment, once introduced. A compound may persist for less than a second or indefinitely.

Natural attenuation

Reliance on natural attenuation processes (within the context of a carefully controlled and monitored site cleanup approach) to achieve site-specific remediation objectives within a time frame that is reasonable compared to that offered by other more active methods. The 'natural attenuation processes' that are at work in such a remediation approach include a variety of physical, chemical, or biological processes that, under favorable conditions, act without human intervention to reduce the mass, toxicity, mobility, volume, or concentration of contaminants in soil or groundwater. These in-situ processes include biodegradation; dispersion; dilution; sorption; volatilization; radioactive decay; and chemical or biological stabilization, transformation, or destruction of contaminants."

Nanotechnology

Research and technology development at the atomic, molecular or macromolecular levels, in the length scale of approximately 1 - 100 nanometer range, to provide a fundamental understanding of phenomena and materials at the nanoscale and to create and use structures, devices and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small and/or intermediate size. The novel and differentiating properties and functions are developed at a critical length scale of matter typically under 100 nm.

Toxicology

Scientific discipline involving the study of the actual or potential danger presented by the harmful effects of substances (poisons) on living organisms and ecosystems, of the relationship of such harmful effects to exposure, and of the mechanisms of action, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of intoxications NT chemical toxicology

Secondary infection

Secondary infection occurs during or after treatment of a primary infection because the normal bacterial flora is destroyed, allowing yeast to flourish.

Silicosis

Silicosis is a disabling, nonreversible and sometimes fatal lung disease caused by overexposure to respirable crystalline silica. Silica is the second most common mineral in the earth's crust and is a major component of sand, rock, and mineral ores. Overexposure to dust that contains microscopic particles of crystalline silica can cause scar tissue to form in the lungs (fibrosis), which reduces the lungs' ability to extract oxygen from the air we breathe.

Environmental media

Soil, water, air, biota (plants and animals), or any other parts of the environment that can contain contaminants.

Command and control (C&C)

Standards are usually tailor-made to regulate how a specific activity or class of activities need to be carried out. Compliance monitoring and eventual sanctioning of trespasses are usually indispensable features of effective C&C. The primary disadvantages of the C&C approach are that it is overly constraining, leaves little room for flexibility, is not adaptable on a case-by-case basis and tends to retard technological change. Moreover, regulations underlying the C&C approach offer no incentive for producers to attain standards higher than those imposed by the law. While C&C is often criticized for these reasons, it is widely used by government agencies and even sometimes requested by the industry. Producing regulations is done within the logic of public administration, often regardless of their enforceability. In terms of political relations, "something has been done", and since the same norm or standard applies to everybody, it provides a sense of fairness. The frequent weakness of results monitoring and accountability, in the political arena, however, often leaves implementation in the shadow.

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

Standards established by EPA that apply for outdoor air throughout the country. (See: criteria pollutants , state implementation plans , emissions trading .)

Gene

Structurally a basic unit of hereditary material; an ordered sequence of nucleotide bases that encodes one polypeptide chain (following transcription to mRNA).

Technical safety services (TSS)

Technical Safety Services, Inc. has built its foundation by providing superior testing and certification services to the most demanding Fortune 100 biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies in the nation. Our ability to listen to clients' needs, in addition to our flexibility, innovation, and precision, are the qualities that distinguish TSS from all other service companies.

Bioterrorism

Terrorism by intentional release or dissemination of biological agents ( bacteria , viruses or toxins ); these may be in a naturally-occurring or in a human-modified form.

Epidemiology

Study of the distribution of disease, or other health-related states and events in human populations, as related to age, sex, occupation, ethnicity, and economic status in order to identify and alleviate health problems and promote better health.

Descriptive epidemiology

Study of the occurrence of disease or other health -related characteristics in populations, including general observations concerning the relationship of disease to basic characteristics such as age, sex, race, occupation, and social class; it may also be concerned with geographic location. The major characteristics in descriptive epidemiology can be classified under the headings: individuals, time and place.

Biocide

Substance intended to kill living organisms.

Herbicide

Substance intended to kill plants.

Substrate (in biology)

Substance material on which an enzyme acts. Surface on which an organism grows or to which is attached.

Pesticide

Substances or mixture intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest. Also, any substance or mixture intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.

Bioaccumulants

Substances that increase in concentration in various tissues of living organisms as they take in contaminated air, water, or food because the substances are very slowly metabolized or excreted.

Biomedical testing

Testing of persons to find out whether a change in a body function might have occurred because of exposure to a hazardous substance.

Temperature Danger Zone

The "danger zone" is the range of temperatures at which bacteria can grow - usually between 40° and 140° F (4° and 60° C). For food safety, it's important to keep food below or above the "danger zone."

Criteria Pollutants

The 1970 amendments to the Clean Air Act required EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for certain pollutants known to be hazardous to human health. EPA has identified and set standards to protect human health and welfare for six pollutants: ozone, carbon monoxide, total suspended particulates, sulfur dioxide, lead, and nitrogen oxide. The term, "criteria pollutants" derives from the requirement that EPA must describe the characteristics and potential health and welfare effects of these pollutants. It is on the basis of these criteria that standards are set or revised.

Health Registry

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) , based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . ATSDR serves the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), based in Atlanta, Georgia, is a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ATSDR serves the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances.

U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)

The Defense Department manages an inventory of installations and facilities to keep Americans safe. The Department's physical plant is huge by any standard, consisting of more than several hundred thousand individual buildings and structures located at more than 5,000 different locations or sites. When all sites are added together, the Department of Defense utilizes over 30 million acres of land.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

The Department of Energy's overarching mission is to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States; to promote scientific and technological innovation in support of that mission; and to ensure the environmental cleanup of the national nuclear weapons complex.

U.S Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)

The Department of Health and Human Services is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation's food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation. The FDA is also responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed innovations that make medicines and foods more effective, safer, and more affordable; and helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use medicines and foods to improve their health.

Institute of Medicine (IOM)

The IOM was established in 1970 and chartered under the National Academy of Sciences. IOM provides independent, objective, evidence-based advice to policy makers, health professionals, the private sector and the public. The mission of the IOM is to embrace the health of people everywhere.

National Toxicology Program (NTP)

The NTP is an interagency program, within the Department of Health and Human Services, whose mission is to evaluate agents of public health concern by developing and applying tools of modern toxicology and molecular biology. The program maintains an objective, science-based approach in dealing with critical issues in toxicology and is committed to using the best science available to prioritize, design, conduct, and interpret its studies. To that end, the NTP is continually evolving to remain at the cutting edge of scientific research and to develop and apply new technologies.

National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is an honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Department of Health and Human Services.

National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.

Select Agent Program

The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-188; June 12, 2002 ) requires that the United States improve its ability to prevent, prepare for, and respond to acts of bioterrorism and other public health emergencies that could threaten either public health and safety or American Agriculture. It necessitates that individuals possessing, using, or transferring agents or toxins deemed a severe threat to public, animal or plant health, or to animal or plant products notify either the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Reference Dose (RfD)

The RfD is a numerical estimate of a daily oral exposure to the human population, including sensitive subgroups such as children, that is not likely to cause harmful effects during a lifetime. RfDs are generally used for health effects that are thought to have a threshold or low dose limit for producing effects.

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $800 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

Dermal Toxicity

The ability of a pesticide or toxic chemical to poison people or animals by contact with the skin.

Ventilation/Suction

The act of admitting fresh air into a space in order to replace stale or contaminated air; achieved by blowing air into the space. Similarly, suction represents the admission of fresh air into an interior space by lowering the pressure outside of the space, thereby drawing the contaminated air outward.

Inhalation

The act of breathing. A hazardous substance can enter the body this way [see route of exposure].

Ingestion

The act of swallowing something through eating, drinking, or mouthing objects. A hazardous substance can enter the body this way [see route of exposure].

BOD5

The amount of dissolved oxygen consumed in five days by biological processes breaking down organic matter.

Solubility

The amount of mass of a compound that will dissolve in a unit volume of solution. Aqueous Solubility is the maximum concentration of a chemical that will dissolve in pure water at a reference temperature.

Health Statistics Review

The analysis of existing health information (i.e., from death certificates, birth defects registries, and cancer registries) to determine if there is excess disease in a specific population, geographic area, and time period. A health statistics review is a descriptive epidemiologic study.)

Biota

The animal and plant life of a given region.

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.

Route of Exposure

The avenue by which a chemical comes into contact with an organism, e.g., inhalation, ingestion, dermal contact, injection.

Curie (Ci)

The basic unit used to describe the intensity of radioactivity in a sample of material. The curie is equal to 37 billion (3.7 x 10 10 ) disintegrations per second, which is approximately the activity of 1 gram of radium. A curie is also a quantity of any radionuclide that decays at a rate of 37 billion disintegrations per second. It is named for Marie and Pierre Curie, who discovered radium in 1898. 37 billion (3.7 x 10 10 ) becquerels = 1 curie (Ci).

Biotechnology

The broad definition of biotechnology is simply the industrial use of living organisms (or parts of living organisms) to produce foods, drugs, or other products.

Risk communication

The exchange of information to increase understanding of health risks.

Indeterminate public health hazard

The category used in ATSDR's public health assessment documents when a professional judgment about the level of health hazard cannot be made because information critical to such a decision is lacking.

Exposure investigation

The collection and analysis of site-specific information and biologic tests (when appropriate) to determine whether people have been exposed to hazardous substances.

Health investigation

The collection and evaluation of information about the health of community residents. This information is used to describe or count the occurrence of a disease, symptom, or clinical measure and to evaluate the possible association between the occurrence and exposure to hazardous substances.

Social Capital

The fabric of a community and the community pool of human resources available to it is often called its "social capital." This term refers to the individual and communal time and energy that is available for such things as community improvement, social networking, civic engagement, personal recreation, and other activities that create social bonds between individuals and groups.

Public health statement

The first chapter of an ATSDR toxicological profile. The public health statement is a summary written in words that are easy to understand. The public health statement explains how people might be exposed to a specific substance and describes the known health effects of that substance.

Risk Reduction

The goal of risk reduction is to reduce the risk to life and property, which includes existing structures and future construction, in the pre and post-disaster environments. This is achieved through regulations, local ordinances, land use and building practices, and Mitigation projects that reduce or eliminate long-term risk from hazards and their effects.

Sievert (SV)

The international system (SI) unit for dose equivalent equal to 1 Joule/kilogram. 1 sievert = 100 rem. Named for physicist Rolf Sievert.

Gray (Gy)

The international system (SI) unit of absorbed dose. One gray is equal to an absorbed dose of 1 Joule/kilogram (one gray equals 100 rads).

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.

Detection Limit

The lowest concentration of a chemical that can reliably be distinguished from a zero concentration.

Threshold

The lowest dose of a chemical at which a specified measurable effect is observed and below which it is not observed. Dose or exposure concentration below which a defined effect will not occur.

Aqueous Solubility

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

Maximum Contaminant Level

The maximum permissible level of a contaminant in water delivered to any user of a public system. MCLs are enforceable standards.

Prevalence survey

The measure of the current level of disease(s) or symptoms and exposures through a questionnaire that collects self-reported information from a defined population.

Biologic monitoring

The measuring of hazardous substances in biologic materials (such as blood, hair, urine, or breath) to determine whether exposure has occurred. A blood test for lead is an example of biologic monitoring.

Odor Threshold

The minimum odor of a water or air sample that can just be detected after successive dilutions with odorless water. Also called threshold odor.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and the environment. Since 1970, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people. View the Agency's complete strategic plan , annual report , and policy resources.

National Research Council

The mission of the NRC is to improve government decision making and public policy, increase public education and understanding, and promote the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge in matters involving science, engineering, technology, and health.

Prevalence

The number of existing disease cases in a defined population during a specific time period [contrast with incidence ]. When used without qualification, the term usually refers to the situation at a specified point in time (point prevalence). Note that this is a number not a rate.

Incidence

The number of new cases of disease in a defined population over a specific time period [contrast with prevalence]. Often confused with incidence rate.

Sample size

The number of units chosen from a population or an environment.

Public health surveillance

The ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data. This activity also involves timely dissemination of the data and use for public health programs.

Central nervous system

The part of the nervous system that consists of the brain and the spinal cord.

Metabolomics

The use of genomic information to facilitate studies of metabolic processes.

Source of contamination

The place where a hazardous substance comes from, such as a landfill, waste pond, incinerator, storage tank, or drum. A source of contamination is the first part of an exposure pathway.

Point of exposure

The place where someone can come into contact with a substance present in the environment [see exposure pathway].

Leaching

The process by which soluble constituents are dissolved and filtered through the soil by a percolating fluid. (See: leachate.)

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.

Superfund

The program operated under the legislative authority of CERCLA and SARA that funds and carries out EPA solid waste emergency and long-term removal and remedial activities. These activities include establishing the National Priorities List, investigating sites for inclusion on the list, determining their priority, and conducting and/or supervising cleanup and other remedial actions.

Dose-Response Relationship

The quantitative relationship between the amount of exposure to a substance and the extent of toxic injury or disease produced.

Basal metabolic rate

The rate at which heat is given off by an organism at complete rest.

Permeability

The rate at which liquids pass through soil or other materials in a specified direction.

Concentration

The relative amount of a substance within another substance. An example is five ppm of carbon monoxide in air or 1 mg/l of iron in water.

Acceptable Risk

The risk that has minimal detrimental effects or for which benefits outweigh the potential hazards. Calculated risk of an increase of one case in a million people per year for cancer is usually considered to be negligible.

Exposure pathway

The route a substance takes from its source (where it began) to its end point, and how people get exposed to it. An exposure pathway has five parts: a source of contamination (such as an abandoned business); an environmental media and transport mechanism (such as movement through groundwater); a point of exposure (such as a private well); a route of exposure (eating, drinking, breathing, or touching), and a receptor population (people potentially or actually exposed). When all five parts are present, the exposure pathway is termed a completed exposure pathway.

Hazardous Substance Release and Health Effects Database (HazDat)

The scientific and administrative database system developed by ATSDR to manage data collection, retrieval, and analysis of site-specific information on hazardous substances, community health concerns, and public health activities.

Waterborne Disease Outbreak

The significant occurrence of acute illness associated with drinking water from a public water system that is deficient in treatment, as determined by appropriate local or state agencies.

Gas phase

The simplest chemical reactions are those that occur in the gas phase in a single step, such as the transfer of a chlorine atom from ClNO 2 to NO to form NO 2 and ClNO. [ ClNO 2( g )+NO( g ) NO 2 ( g )+ClNO( g ) ] This reaction can be understood by writing the Lewis structures for all four components of the reaction. Both NO and NO 2 contain an odd number of electrons. Both NO and NO 2 can therefore combine with a neutral chlorine atom to form a molecule in which all of the electrons are paired. This reaction therefore involves the transfer of a chlorine atom from one molecule to another, as shown in the figure below.

Eutrophication

The slow aging process during which a lake, estuary, or bay evolves into a bog or marsh and eventually disappears. During the later stages of eutrophication the water body is choked by abundant plant life due to higher levels of nutritive compounds such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Human activities can accelerate the process.

Molecule

The smallest division of a compound that still retains or exhibits all the properties of the substance.

Bedrock

The solid rock underneath surface soils.

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.

Proteomics

The term 'proteome' was first used in 1994 to refer to all the proteins in a cell, tissue, or organism. Proteomics refers to the study of the proteome. Because proteins are involved in almost all biological activities, including disease, the proteome is a critical target for understanding how disease arises and how to prevent it. Protein scientists pursue many avenues of inquiry about proteins, working to determine their function and amino acid sequence; their three-dimensional structure; how the addition of sugars, phosphates, or fats affects protein function; and how proteins interact with other molecules, including other proteins. Some researchers focus on the proteins present in particular parts of the cell such as the outer cell membrane, the nucleus, the cytoplasm (the region of the cell outside the nucleus), or the nuclear membrane; others analyze protein-protein interactions in a particular cell or organism; some study the differences between the proteins present in diseased vs. healthy cells.

Public Comment Period

The time allowed for the public to express its views and concerns regarding an action by EPA (e.g. a Federal Register Notice of proposed rule-making, a public notice of a draft permit, or a Notice of Intent to Deny).

Biologic uptake

The transfer of substances from the environment to plants, animals, and humans.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976, 1984) (RCRA)

This Act regulates management and disposal of hazardous wastes currently generated, treated, stored, disposed of, or distributed.

Body burden

Total amount of a substance, organism, or noxious agent present in an organism at a given time.

Parts Per Billion (ppb)/Parts Per Million (ppm)

Units commonly used to express contamination ratios, as in establishing the maximum permissible amount of a contaminant in water, land, or air.

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.

Slope factor

Value, in inverse concentration or dose units, derived from the slope of a dose response curve; in practice, limited to carcinogenic effects with the curve assumed to be linear at low concentrations or doses. The product of the slope factor and the exposure is taken to reflect the probability of producing the related effect. RT concentration-effect curve, concentration-response curve, dose, dose-effect curve, dose response curve.

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.

Potable Water

Water that is safe for drinking and cooking.

Precautionary Principle

When information about potential risks is incomplete, basing decisions about the best ways to manage or reduce risks on a preference for avoiding unnecessary health risks instead of on unnecessary economic expenditures.

Health effects studies related to contaminants

a combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, program or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population.

Medical Monitoring

an automated medical device that senses a patient's vital signs and displays the results. In critical care units of hospitals it allows continuous supervision of a patient without continuous attendance thus improving patient care.

Hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase ( HGPRT )

an enzyme in purine metabolism . The enzyme primarily functions to salvage purines from degraded DNA to renewed purine synthesis. In this role, it acts as a catalyst in the reaction between guanine and phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate (PRPP) to form GMP.

Mold

include all species of microscopic fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments, called hyphae . [1] In contrast, microscopic fungi that grow as single cells are called yeasts . A connected network of these tubular branching hyphae has multiple, genetically identical nuclei and is considered a single organism, referred to as a colony or in more technical terms a mycelium .

Toxic substances Control Act (TSCA)

regulates the introduction of new or already existing chemicals. It grandfathered most existing chemicals, in contrast to the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) legislation of the European Union . However, as explained below, the TSCA specifically regulates polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) products.

Lumen

the cavity of a tubular organ <the lumen of a blood vessel>

Exposure-Response relationship

the connection between the amount of a chemical administered and a specific toxic effect in the organism, also called the dose-response relationship.