Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
CREG
Cancer Risk Evaluation Guide
COC
Contaminant of Concern
CSO
Combined Sewer Overflow
DOH
Washington State Department of Health
DRCC
Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition
Ecology
Washington State Department of Ecology
ECOSS
Environmental Coalition of South Seattle
EMEG
Environmental Media Evaluation Guide
EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
ICD
International Classification of Disease
LDW
Lower Duwamish Waterway
LDWG
Lower Duwamish Waterway Group
LOAEL
Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level
MRL
Minimum Risk Level
MTCA
Model Toxics Control Act
NOAEL
No Observed Adverse Effect Level
NMFS
National Marine Fisheries Service
NPDES
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
NPL
National Priorities List
PAEP
Pacific Asian Empowerment Program
PCB
Polychlorinated Biphenyl
RfD
Reference Dose
RMEG
Reference Dose Media Evaluation Guide
PH-SKC
Public Health - Seattle & King County
WDFW
Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
UNITS OF MEASURE
g
gram
g/day
grams per day
kg
kilogram
mg
milligram
mg/l
milligrams per liter = parts per million
mg/kg
milligrams per kilogram = parts per million
mg/kg/day
milligrams per kilogram per day
ppb
parts per billion
ppm
parts per million
µg
microgram
µg/l
micrograms per liter = parts per billion
µg/kg
micrograms per kilogram = parts per billion
GLOSSARY
Acute:
Occurring over a short period of time. An acute exposure is
one which lasts for less than 2 weeks.
Agency for Toxic
Substances and
Disease Registry
(ATSDR):
The principal federal public health agency involved with
hazardous waste issues, responsible for preventing or reducing
the harmful effects of exposure to hazardous substances on
human health and quality of life. ATSDR is part of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
Anadromous Fish:
Fish that ascend rivers from the sea at certain seasons for
breeding, such as salmon.
Benthic Fish:
Fish that live and eat near the bottom of a water body.
Cancer Risk
Evaluation Guide
(CREG):
The concentration of a chemical in air, soil or water that is
expected to cause no more than one excess cancer in a million
persons exposed over a lifetime. The CREG is a comparison
value used to select contaminants of potential health concern
and is based on the cancer slope factor (CSF).
Cancer Slope Factor:
A number assigned to a cancer causing chemical that is used to
estimate its ability to cause cancer in humans.
Carcinogen:
Any substance that can cause or contribute to the production of
cancer.
CERCLA:
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act, commonly known as Superfund. This law
created a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries and
provided broad Federal authority to respond directly to releases
or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may
endanger public health or the environment.
Chronic:
A long period of time. A chronic exposure is one which lasts
for a year or longer.
Comparison value:
A concentration of a chemical in soil, air or water that, if
exceeded, requires further evaluation as a contaminant of
potential health concern. The terms comparison value and
screening level are often used synonymously.
Congener:
A single, unique, well-defined chemical compound in the
PCB, dioxin or furan category. The name of the congener
specifies the total number and position of chlorine atoms.
Contaminant:
Any chemical that exists in the environment or living
organisms that is not normally found there.
Dose:
A dose is the amount of a substance that gets into the body
through ingestion, skin absorption or inhalation. It is
calculated per kilogram of body weight per day.
Environmental Media
Evaluation Guide
(EMEG):
A concentration in air, soil, or water below which adverse non-cancer health effects are not expected to occur. The EMEG is a
comparison value used to select contaminants of potential
health concern and is based on ATSDR's minimal risk level
(MRL).
Epidemiology:
The study of the occurrence and causes of health effects in
human populations. An epidemiological study often compares
two groups of people who are alike except for one factor, such
as exposure to a chemical or the presence of a health effect.
The investigators try to determine if any factor (i.e., age, sex,
occupation, economic status) is associated with the health
effect.
Exposure:
Contact with a chemical by swallowing, by breathing, or by
direct contact (such as through the skin or eyes). Exposure
may be short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic).
Groundwater:
Water found underground that fills pores between materials
such as sand, soil, or gravel. In aquifers, groundwater often
occurs in quantities where it can be used for drinking water,
irrigation, and other purposes.
Hazardous substance:
Any material that poses a threat to public health and/or the
environment. Typical hazardous substances are materials that
are toxic, corrosive, ignitable, explosive, or chemically
reactive.
Indeterminate public
health hazard:
Sites for which no conclusions about public health hazard can
be made because data are lacking.
Ingestion rate:
The amount of an environmental medium which could be
ingested typically on a daily basis. Units for IR are usually
liter/day for water, and mg/day for soil.
Inorganic:
Compounds composed of mineral materials, including
elemental salts and metals such as iron, aluminum, mercury,
and zinc.
Lowest Observed
Adverse Effect Level
(LOAEL):
LOAELs have been classified into "less serious" or "serious"
effects. In dose-response experiments, the lowest exposure
level at which there are statistically or biologically significant
increases in the frequency or severity of adverse effects
between the exposed population and its appropriate control.
Maximum
Contaminant Level
(MCL):
A drinking water regulation established by the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act. It is the maximum permissible
concentration of a contaminant in water that is delivered to the
free flowing outlet of the ultimate user of a public water
system. MCLs are enforceable standards.
Media:
Soil, water, air, plants, animals, or any other part of the
environment that can contain contaminants.
Minimal Risk Level
(MRL):
An amount of chemical that gets into the body (i.e., dose)
below which health effects are not expected. MRLs are derived
by ATSDR for acute, intermediate, and chronic duration
exposures by the inhalation and oral routes.
Model Toxics Control
Act (MTCA):
The hazardous waste cleanup law for Washington State.
No apparent public
health hazard:
Sites where human exposure to contaminated media is
occurring or has occurred in the past, but the exposure is
below a level of health hazard.
No Observed Adverse
Effect Level
(NOAEL):
The dose of a chemical at which there were no statistically or
biologically significant increases in frequency or severity of
adverse effects seen between the exposed population and its
appropriate control. Effects may be observed at this dose but
were judged not to be "adverse."
No public health
hazard:
Sites for which data indicate no current or past exposure or no
potential for exposure and therefore no health hazard.
Oral Reference Dose
(RfD):
An amount of chemical ingested into the body (i.e., dose)
below which health effects are not expected. RfDs are
published by EPA.
Organic:
Compounds composed of carbon, including materials such as
solvents, oils, and pesticides which are not easily dissolved in
water.
Parts per billion
(ppb)/Parts per
million (ppm):
Units commonly used to express low concentrations of
contaminants. For example, 1 ounce of trichloroethylene
(TCE) in 1 million ounces of water is 1 ppm. one ounce of
TCE in 1 billion ounces of water is 1 ppb. If one drop of TCE
is mixed in a competition size swimming pool, the water will
contain about 1 ppb of TCE.
Pelagic Fish:
Fish that live and eat near the surface of a water body.
Plume:
An area of contaminants in a specific media such as
groundwater.
Reference Dose Media
Evaluation Guide
(RMEG):
A concentration in air, soil, or water below which adverse non-cancer health effects are not expected to occur. The EMEG is a
comparison value used to select contaminants of potential
health concern and is based on EPA's oral reference dose
(RfD).
Remedial
investigation:
A study designed to collect the data necessary to determine the
nature and extent of contamination at a site.
Route of exposure:
The way in which a person may contact a chemical substance
that includes ingestion, skin contact and breathing.
U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency
(EPA):
Established in 1970 to bring together parts of various
government agencies involved with the control of pollution.
Volatile organic
compound (VOC):
An organic (carbon-containing) compound that evaporates
(volatilizes) easily at room temperature. A significant number
of the VOCs are commonly used as solvents.
