Glossary of Terms

WATER

List of Acronyms

E200.7
Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP – Analytical Method)

E200.8
Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS – Analytical Method)

E200.9
Stabilized Temperature Graphite Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
(STGFAA – Analytical Method)

A
Standard Methods

ASTM
American Society for Testing & Materials

BOD
Biochemical Oxygen Demand

CaCO3
Calcium Carbonate

CO3
Carbonate

COD
Chemical Oxygen Demand

DBCP
1, 2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane

DOC
Dissolved Organic Carbon

EDB
Dibromoethane

E or EPA
US Environmental Protection Agency

GC/FID
Gas Chromatograph/Flame Ionization Detector

H2SO4
Sulfuric Acid

HCl
Hydrochloric Acid

HCO3
Bicarbonate

HNO3
Nitric Acid

ICP
Inductively Coupled Plasma

ICP-MS
Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrophotometer

MCL
Maximum Contaminant Level

MCLG
Maximum Contamination Level Goals

MDL
Method Detection Limit

NaOH
Sodium Hydroxide

NPDES
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

NR
Not Regulated

NTU
Nephelometric Turbidity Units

OH
Hydroxide

PCBs
Polychlorinated Biphenyls

pCi/L
Picocuries per Liter

ppb
Parts per billion

ppm
Parts per million

PQLs
Practical Quantitation Limits
If the sample is contaminated, it may require dilution prior to analysis. The PQL of diluted samples will be correspondingly higher.

PVC
Polyvinyl Chloride

TDS
Total Dissolved Solids

TKN
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen

TOC
Total Organic Carbon

TOX
Total Organic Halogens

TPH
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons

TSS
Total Suspended Solids

VOA
Volatile Organic Analysis

VOCs
Volatile Organic Chemicals

VSS
Volatile Suspended Solids

WAD
Weak Acid Dissociable

The analytical methods listed above are typically referenced for drinking water and clean water regulations.

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

List of Acronyms

A
Standard Methods

BTEX
Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes

CFR
Code of Federal Regulations

DBCP
1, 2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane

DRO
Diesel Range Organics

EDB
Dibromoethane

EOX
Extractable Organic Halogens

E or EPA
US Environmental Protection Agency

EPH
Extractable Petroleum Hydrocarbons

GC
Gas Chromatograph

GC/FID
Gas Chromatograph/Flame Ionization Detector

GC/MS
Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer

GRO
Gasoline Range Organics

H2SO4
Sulfuric Acid

HCl
Hydrochloric Acid

HPLC
High Performance Liquid Chromatography

IR
Infrared Spectroscopy

MCL
Maximum Contaminant Level

NaOH
Sodium Hydroxide

NH4CI
Ammonium Chloride

NR
Not Regulated

PAH
Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons

PCBs
Polychlorinated Biphenyls

POX
Purgeable Halocarbons

ppb
Parts per billion

ppm
Parts per million

PQLs
Practical Quantitation Limits
The PQL of diluted samples will be correspondingly higher.

PVC
Polyvinyl Chloride

SVOC
Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds

TCL
Target Compound List

TOC
Total Organic Carbon

TOX
Total Organic Halogens

TEPH
Total Extractable Petroleum Hydrocarbons

TPH
Total Petroleum Hydorcarbons

TPH-D
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons as Diesel

TPH-G
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons as Gasoline

TPH-IR
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons by Infrared Spectroscopy

TRPH
Total Recoverable Petroleum Hydrocarbons

VOCs
Volatile Organic Chemicals

VPH
Volatile Petroleum Hydrocarbons

WASTES

List of Acronyms

SW 6010B
Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) (Analytical Method)

SW 6020
Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) (Analytical Method)

A
Standard Methods

AOAC
Association of Official Analytical Chemists

ASTM
American Society for Testing & Materials

BTEX
Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes

BTU
British Thermal Units

DRO
Diesel Range Organics

E or EPA
US Environmental Protection Agency

FLAA
Flame Atomic Absorption

GFAA
Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption

GRO
Gasoline Range Organics

ICP
Inductively Coupled Plasma

ICP-MS
Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry

NIOSH
National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health

PCBs
Polychlorinated Biphenyls

RCRA
Resource Conservation Recovery Act

SW
Solid Waste 846

TCLP
Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure

TPH
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons

TPH-D
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons as Diesel

TPH-G
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons as Gasoline

TPH-IR
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons – Infrared Spectroscopy

VOCs
Volatile Organic Chemicals

The analytical methods listed above are typically referenced for liquid and solid waste regulations.

RADIOCHEMISTRY

List of Acronyms

A
Standard Methods

ASTM
American Society for Testing & MaterialsE or EPA
US Environmental Protection Agency

HNO3
Nitric Acid

LAACC
Large Area Activated Charcoal Canister

NERHL
North Eastern Health Radiological Laboratory

NORM
Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials

SW
Solid Waste – 846

TSP
Total Suspended Particulate

USNRC
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

AQUATIC TOXICITY

Terms and acronyms used in aquatic toxicity

The acute Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) test is short term, generally 4 days or less, usually with multiple concentrations. Mortality is the response measured.The chronic WET test runs for a longer period of time, generally 7 days but may be longer, measuring continuous long-term effects such as reproduction for the Ceriodaphnia dubia and growth in the fathead minnow. The chronic test also tests for mortality and may have multiple or single concentrations.

Test conditions and durations of the WET tests vary with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. Methods and procedures used to test effluents are strictly defined by the EPA guidelines and Region VIII requirements.

TEST ORGANISMS

Ceriodaphnia dubia
A small invertibrate commonly known as a “water flea” and found throughout most of the aquatic world.

Pimephales promelas
More popularly known as the “fathead minnow” is widely distributed in North America.

Both animals are raised in-house to maintain a readily available source of healthy test organisms. These test organisms are used in Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) testing for both acute and chronic tests.

List of Acronyms

Acute
A stimulus that lasts a brief time. Acute aquatic toxicity tests last 48 hours for Ceriodaphnia dubia and 96 hours for fathead minnows. Mortality is the response measured.

Bioassay
A test used to evaluate the relative potency of a chemical by comparing its affect on a living organism with respect to a “standard” control.

CO2
Carbon Dioxide

Chronic
A stimulus that lingers. In the case of the ceriodaphnia, the toxicity test continues until 3 broods are born in 60% of the control population. Average number of young is the response measured. Fathead minnow chronic tests last seven days. Growth weight is the response measured.

Composite Sample
Effluent water that is caught over a continuous period of recorded time by a trickle, or by use of an auto sampling device. It may also be a series of grab samples taken at recorded time internals and blended into a single sample.

Control
A treatment in a toxicity test that duplicates all the conditions of the exposure treatments but contains no test material.

Dilution Water
(diluent) Water used to dilute the test water in an aquatic toxicity test in order to prepare different percentages of an effluent. Can be reconstituted or receiving water.

Effluent
A liquid industrial discharge or sewage, which my be released to the environment.

Flow-Thru (system)
An exposure system for aquatic toxicity tests in which the test solutions and control water flow into and out of test chambers or flumes on a once-through basis either intermittently or continuously.

Grab Sample
Effluent or dilution water that is caught in the briefest possible time it takes to fill the rinsed container.

IC
Inhibition Concentration – A point estimation of the chemical concentration that would cause a given percent reduction (e.g. IC25) in a non-lethal biological measurement of the test organisms, such as reproduction or growth.

IC25
Inhibition Concentration – (Causes 25% reduction in reproduction of growth)

LC50
Lethal Concentration: 50% – The concentration of pollutant in water to which test organisms are exposed that is statistically or observably estimated to be lethal to 50% of the test organisms.

LOEC
Least Observable Effect Concentration – The lowest concentration in a dilution series having a statistically significant toxic effect (death, reduced fecundity, or curtailed growth) on an exposed population of test organisms when compared to the controls.

NOEC
No Observable Effect Concentration – The highest concentration of a pollutant in a toxicity test that has no statistically significant adverse effect (death, reduced fecundity, or curtailed growth) on the exposed population of test organisms when compared to the controls.

NPDES
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

Non-Renewal
Implies that once a toxicity test is set up, it remains undisturbed and unreplaced throughout its total time interval.

Receiving Water
(influent) This is the water that the industry/city obtains for its use before it is processed and becomes effluent.

Reconstituted Water
A water used in culturing and testing animals prepared with de-ionized water and reagent grade chemicals.

Renewal
Implies that the controls and dilution waters are replaced each 24 hours or a static toxicity test.

Screen Test
A preliminary test used to estimate the concentrations to be used in a real test or to observe consistency of an effluent on a routine basis. This test is available and priced according to requirements of the client.

Static (system)
An exposure system for aquatic toxicity tests in which the test chambers contain still solutions of test materials and controls. Tests are static renewal or static non-renewal.

T.C.P.
Toxicity Confirmation Procedures

T.I.E.
Toxicity Identification Evaluation

T.R.E.
Toxicity Reduction Evaluation

TU
Toxic Unit – A standard mechanism for quantifying whole effluent toxicity. The TU increases as toxicity increases. Acute Toxic Unit (TUa) is 100/LC50. Chronic Toxic Unit is 100/IC25 or 100/NOEC.

Toxicity Test
Determines the adverse toxic effects of a test material at a specific stimulus level or concentration using living organisms.

WET
Whole Effluent Toxicity

Zero Headspace
When a lid is placed on a container so that no airspace or air bubbles exist below it.

SOILS

List of Acronyms

ABDTPA
Ammonium Bicarbonate Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid

ABP
Acid Base Potential

AGP
Acid Generating Potential

ASA
American Society of Agronomy

ASTM
American Society for Testing and Materials

Ca
Calcium

DEQ
Department of Environmental Quality

DTPA
Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid

EC
Electrical Conductivity

E or EPA
US Environmental Protection Agency

HCl
Hydrochloric Acid

HNO3
Nitric Acid

ICP
Inductively Coupled Plasma

KCI
Potassium Chloride

Mg
Magnesium

N
Nitrogen

Na
Sodium

NaHCO3
Sodium Bicarbonate

NH4
Ammonia

NH4OAC
Ammonia Acetate

NO3
Nitrate

PSA
Particle Size Analysis

SAR
Sodium Adsorption Ratio

SSSA
Soil Science Society of America

TKN
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen

USDA
US Department of Agriculture

WAD
Weak Acid Dissociable

OTHER SERVICES

List of Acronyms

AOAC
Association of Official Agricultural Chemists

API
American Petroleum Insitute

ASTM
American Society for Testing Materials

BS&W
Bottom Sediment and Water

BTEX
Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes

BTU
British Thermal Unit

E or EPA
US Environmental Protection Agency

GC
Gas Chromatograph

GC-FID
Gas Chromatograph Flame Ionization Detector

GC-PID
Gas Chromatograph Photo – Ionization Detector

GC/ECD
Gas Chromatograph / Electron Capture Detector

GC/FID
Gas Chromatograph/ Flame Ionization Detector

GC/MS
Gas Chromatograph / Mass Spectrometer

ICP
Inductivity Coupled Plasma

ICP-MS
Inductivity Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry

LPG
Liquified Petroleum Gas

MA-VPH
Volatile Petroleum Hydrocarbons by Massachusetts Method

MCEF
Mixed Cellulose Ester Filter

MSDS
Material Safety Data Sheets

NIOSH
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

OSHA
Occupational Safety & Health Administration

PAHs
Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons

PCM
Phase Contrast Microscopy

PCP
Pentachlorophenol

PLM
Polarized Light Microscopy

PM-10
Particulate Matter Less than 10 Microns in Diameter

PVC
Polyvinyl Chloride

QC
Quality Control

SKC
SKC Incorporated

SW or SW846
Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical & Chemical Methods

TDS
Total Dissolved Solids

TSP
Total Suspended Particles

UOP
Universal Oil Products Co.

VOA
Volatile Organic Analysis

VPH
Volatile Petroleum Hydrocarbons

XAD
Amerlite XADTM (Rohm & Haas)