| Acronym or Term |
Description or Agency |
| ACGIH |
American Council of Governmental Industrial Hygienists |
| ANSI |
American National Standards Institute |
| ASTM |
American Society for Testing and Materials |
| ATSDR |
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry |
| C, or Ceiling |
The maximum allowable human exposure limit for an airborne substance; not to be exceeded, even momentarily. Also see "PEL" and "TLV." |
| CAS Registry Number |
This number is given to a chemical by the Chemical Abstracts Service Division of the American Chemical Society. |
| CERCLA |
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (Superfund) |
| CERCLIS |
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System |
| CESQG |
Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator |
| CFR |
Code of Federal Regulations |
| Concentration |
The amount of a substance in a stated unit of a mixture or solution. Example: 2 parts per million hydrogen sulfide in air, or a 50 percent caustic solution. |
| CWA |
Clean Water Act |
| DOT |
Department of Transportation |
| DOT |
U.S. Department of Transportation |
| Effects of Overexposure |
Clinical signs and symptoms that may occur or be experienced when one has been overexposed to concentrations of a particular substance above established exposure limits. |
| EPA |
Environmental Protection Agency |
| EPCRTK |
Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know |
| Exposure Limit |
Limit set to minimize occupational exposure to a hazardous substance. Recommended occupational exposure limits used are American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values (TLVs). Mandatory limits are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs). |
| Exposure Limits |
These are the legislated or recommended limits of an airborne substance to which a worker is allowed to be exposed. These limits generally represent conditions in which it is believed that nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed day after day without adverse effect. |
| Acronym or Term |
Description or Agency |
| FDA |
U.S. Food and Drug Administration |
| FEMA |
Federal Emergency Management Agency |
| FFA |
Federal Facility Agreement |
| Flammable Limits in Air |
These are the upper (maximum) and lower (minimum) concentrations of a gas or vapor in air between which an explosion or propagation of flame will occur when an ignition source is present. The Upper Flammable Limit (UFL) is sometimes known as the Upper Explosive Limit (UEL) and the Lower Flammable Limit (LFL) is sometimes known as the Lower Explosive Limit (LEL). |
| Flash Point |
The minimum temperature at which a liquid gives off sufficient vapor to form, with air, an ignitable mixture. |
| Flashpoint |
This is the minimum temperature, under specified test circumstances (closed-cup or open-cup), at which a liquid product gives off enough vapor to ignite in the presence of a source of ignition such as an open flame or spark. For a given test method, the lower the flashpoint, the more flammable the material. |
| Hazardous Decomposition Products |
This is a listing of dangerous products that may be released if the substance is exposed to aging, heating, burning or other chemical reactions. An example would be the formation of peroxides with the aging of various ethers and unsaturated cyclic compounds. |
| Ignitable |
A solid, liquid, or compressed gas that exhibits a "characteristic of ignitability," as defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and may be regulated (by the Environmental Protection Agency) as a hazardous waste. |
| Incompatibility |
Two substances are incompatible if, on combination, they react dangerously and produce toxic or corrosive by-products, excessive heat or explosion. Such chemicals should be stored apart and handled so as to minimize the likelihood of contact with each other. |
| Acronym or Term |
Description or Agency |
| LD50 and LC50 (species and routes) |
These are the concentrations of a chemical which is expected to cause the death of 50 percent of an animal test. LD50 applies to a single dose of solids and liquids, normally given in a mass of chemical to mass of body ratio. LC50 applies to gases and corresponds to the concentration of the gas in the air that killed 50 percent of the population in the time indicated. |
| LDR |
Land Disposal Restriction |
| LEPC |
Local Emergency Planning Commission |
| Local Exhaust |
A system for capturing and removing airborne contaminants (gases, particulates) at the point at which they are released. Not to be confused with general exhaust. |
| LQG |
Large Quantity Generator |
| MDF |
Medium Density Fibreboard |
| mg/m3 |
Milligrams per cubic meter of air; a unit for measuring concentrations of particulates in the air (a weight per unit volume). |
| MSDS |
Material Safety Data Sheet |
| NAAQS |
National Ambient Air Quality Standards |
| NESHAP |
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants |
| Neutralize |
To render chemically neutral or harmless; neither acid nor base; to counteract the activity or effect of. The addition of a base (sodium hydroxide) to an acid hydrochloric acid) results in water and a salt (sodium chloride); thus the acid has been "neutralized" or rendered harmless. |
| NIOSH |
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health |
| NIOSH |
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); a Federal agency which, in addition to other activities, tests and certifies respiratory protective devices and air sampling detector tubes, recommends occupational exposure limits for various substances, and assists OSHA in occupational safety and health investigations and research. |
| NPDES |
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System |
| NYCDEP |
New York City Department of Environmental Protection |
| OSHA |
Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
| Acronym or Term |
Description or Agency |
| PEL |
Permissible Exposure Limit |
| PEL |
Permissible Exposure Limit: an exposure limit established by OSHA's regulatory authority. May be a time weighted average (TWA) limit or a ceiling concentration exposure limit. |
| pH |
This is a numerical expression on a scale from 0 to 14 of the extent of acidity or alkalinity of a product: |
| PPE |
Personal Protective Equipment |
| PPM |
Parts Per Million |
| ppm |
Parts per million: a unit for measuring the concentration of a gas or vapor in contaminated air. Also used to indicate the concentration of a particular substance in a liquid or solid. |
| Protective Cream (Barrier Cream) |
A protective skin cream provides an invisible flexible protection for the hands from soils, solvents, dusts, powders, oils, greases, paints, epoxies, resins, inks, and irritants. It can be easily removed by washing with any cleansing product. |
| RCRA |
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act |
| Reactivity - |
The tendency of a substance to undergo a chemical change with the release of energy. Reactive chemicals are liable to cause fire or promote an explosion. Undesirable effects (pressure buildup, temperature increase, formation of noxious, toxic, or corrosive by-products) may occur because of a reaction to heating, burning, direct contact with other materials, or other conditions when in use or in storage. |
| Respiratory Protection |
Devices for use in conditions exceeding the permissible exposure limits, which, when properly selected, maintained, operated, and worn by the user, will protect the user's respiratory system from exposure to airborne contaminants by inhalation. |
| Route of Entry |
A chemical can enter the body by several routes:
- Inhalation (breathing)
- Contact with skin or eyes (localized irritation)
- Absorption through the skin and eyes (systemic)
- Ingestion
- Injection with a needle or cuts from contaminated glassware
|
| SARA |
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 |
| SDWA |
Safe Drinking Water Act |
| SEPC |
State Emergency Planning Commission |
| SOPs |
Standard Operating Procedures |
| SQG |
Small Quantity Generator |
| Acronym or Term |
Description or Agency |
| Target Organ Effect - |
Damage caused in a specific organ following exposure to certain chemicals. For example, a "neurotoxin" is a chemical, such as mercury, that product is its primary toxic effect on the nervous system. |
| TCLP |
Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure |
| TLV |
Threshold Limit Value |
| TLV - |
Threshold Limit Value: a term used by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) to express the airborne concentration of a material to which nearly all persons can be exposed day after day, for a normal 8-hour workday or 40-hour work-week, without adverse effects. |
| Toxicity - |
Basic biological property of a material reflecting its inherent capacity to produce injury; adverse effects resulting from overexposure to a material, generally via the mouth, skin, eyes, or respiratory tract. |
| TSCA |
Toxic Substances Control Act |
| TWA - |
Time Weighted Average exposure; the airborne concentration of a material to which a person is exposed, averaged over the total exposure time, generally the total workday (8 to 12 hours). It is calculated by multiplying measured concentration levels times the duration of exposure (in hours), adding these values together, then dividing by the total sampled time (in hours). Also see "TLV" and "PEL." |
| UEL or UFL |
Upper Explosive Limit or Upper Flammable Limit -The highest concentration of a flammable vapor or gas in air (usually expressed in percent by volume) above which propagation of a flame will not occur in the presence of an ignition source. Also see "LEL." |
| UV |
Ultraviolet |
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