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Chemical Spill Glossary
Accumulation - the storage of hazardous waste by the generator without a permit if certain requirements for volume and time limits are met.
Acquisition - the acquiring by contract with appropriated funds for supplies or services (including construction) by and for the use of the Federal Government through purchase or lease.
Bulk Packaging - a packaging, other than a vessel or barge, including a transport vehicle or freight container in which hazardous materials are loaded with no intermediate form of containment and which has a maximum capacity greater than 450 L (119-gal.) as a receptacle for a liquid; a maximum net mass greater than 400 kg (882-pounds) and a maximum capacity greater than 450 L (119-gal.) as a receptacle for a solid; or a water capacity greater than 454 kg (1,000 lbs.) as a receptacle for a gas.
Categorical Exclusion (CE) - an action which the agency has determined will not have any significant environmental effect and hence will not require application of the NEPA process.
Characteristic Waste - a hazardous waste that meets one of the characteristics of a hazardous waste in Subpart C of 40 CFR Part 261. These wastes are ignitable, corrosive, reactive or toxic and are identified with the alphabetical letter “D”.
Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) - the mechanism through which EPA designates items as containing recycled content, for purchase by Federal, State and local agencies or by government contractors using appropriated Federal funds.
Conditionally-Exempt Small Quantity Generator (Cesog) - produces less than 100 kilograms (220-pounds) of hazardous waste and no more than 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of acute hazardous waste.
Department of Transportation (Dot) - governmental agency responsible for the transportation of materials via roads, air and sea.
Designated Responsible Official (Dro) - the senior NWS official on-site. This official has authority over operations or activities which are subject to environmental statutes. The DRO could be the MIC, OIC or HIC. The Designated Responsible Official (DRO) at every NOAA facility is the senior NOAA official on-site. This official has authority over operations or activities which are subject to environmental statutes. The responsibility of the DROs is inherent in their position and need not be formally designated or ascribed. For the NWS, the DRO could be: the Assistant Administrator (AA), the Deputy Assistant Administration (DAA), the Regional/Center/Office Director, the Meteorologist-in-Charge (MIC), Hydrologist-in-Charge (HIC) or Official-in-Charge (OIC).
Designated Person - an NWS employee designated by the Facility Manager to coordinate the compliance efforts for a specific environmental program.
Electronic Waste - discarded computers, cathode ray tubes (CRTs), cell phones, fax machines, electronic instrumentation.
Emergency Coordinator - The person in charge of the NWS site during an emergency. This may be the Designated Official or someone appointed by the Designated Official to fulfill the functions of this position.
Environmentally Preferable - products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environmental when compared with competing products or services.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - governmental agency responsible for the protection of our nation’s environmental resources.
EPA ID Number - a unique number assigned by the EPA or authorized State to each generator, transporter and treatment, storage or disposal facility.
Extremely Hazardous Substance (Ehs) - any material listed in 40 CFR 355.
Facility Environmental Coordinator - a NOAA employee who is responsible for ensuring activities carried out at a facility are conducted in accordance with Federal, State and local environmental regulations. In the NWS, the FEC is typically referred to as the “Environmental Focal Point.”
Field Office - a Field Office may include the following: Weather Forecast Office (WFO), River Forecast Center (RFC), Weather Service Office (WSO), and a Data Collection Office (DCO).
Finding of No Significant Impact (Fonsi) - the determination that a proposed action will not adversely impact the environment.
Flashpoint - the minimum temperature at which a liquid gives off vapor within a test vessel in sufficient concentration to form an ignitable mixture with air near the surface of the liquid.
Generator - any person (i.e. an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, Federal Agency, corporation, partnership, association, State, municipality, commission, political subdivision of a State or any interstate body) by site, whose act or process produces hazardous waste identified or listed in 40 CFR Part 261 or whose act first causes a hazardous waste to become subject to regulation, and “Generator” produces 1,000 kilograms (2,200-pounds) per month of hazardous waste or 1 kg of acutely hazardous waste.
Hazard Communication Standard - is also known as “the Worker Right-to-Know” program and is required by 29 Cfr 1910.1200.
Hazardous Chemical (HC) - a substance regulated by the Osha Hazard Communication Standard in 29 CFR 1910.1200.
Hazardous Material (HM) - means a substance or material which has been designated by the DOT as being capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety and property when transported in commerce. The term includes hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, marine pollutants and elevated temperature materials.
Hazardous Material Regulations (HMR) - regulations promulgated by the Department of Transportation to affect the safe shipment and transport of hazardous materials. HMR are found in 49 CFR Parts 171-180.
Hazardous Material Table (HMT) - an alphabetical listing of hazardous materials regulated in transport by the Department of Transportation found in 49 CFR 172.101.
Hazardous Substance (HS) - any material listed in 40 CFR 302.4.
Hazardous Waste (HW) - a solid waste which (1) is not excluded by 40 CFR 261.4(b) and (2) it meets the characteristic of a hazardous waste in Subpart C or (3) is listed in Subpart D of 40 CFR 261 or, is a mixture of a solid waste and a hazardous waste.
Land Disposal Notice - a certification signed by the generator that a hazardous waste either needs further treatment or has been treated to meet EPA standards for land disposal.
Lead-Based Paint - is paint manufactured prior to 1978 which contains lead oxide as the base pigment (coloring).
Life Cycle Assessment - the comprehensive examination of a product’s environmental and economic aspects and potential impacts throughout its lifetime, including raw material extraction, transportation, manufacturing, use and disposal.
Life Cycle Cost - the amortized annual cost of a product, including capital costs, installation costs, operating costs, maintenance costs and disposal costs discounted over the lifetime of the product.
Limited Quantities - the maximum amounts of a hazardous material for which there is a specific labeling or packaging exception.
Listed Waste - a hazardous waste that meets the listing in Subpart D of 40 CFR 261. These wastes are identified with the alphabetical letters “F”, “K”, “U” or “P”.
Lower Explosive Limit - the minimum concentration of a vapor or gas in air below which it is not possible to ignite the vapors with a proper ignition source.
Manifest - a shipping document originated by the generator of a hazardous waste in accord with the requirements in 40 CFR 262.
Mitigation System - Any system or steps designed to reduce radon concentrations in the indoor air of a building.
Non-Bulk Packaging - a packaging which has a maximum capacity of 450 L (119-gal.) or less as a receptacle for a liquid; a maximum net mass of 400 kg (882-pounds) or less and a maximum capacity of 450 L (119-gal.) or less as a receptacle for a solid; or a water capacity of 454 kg (1,000 lbs.) or less as a receptacle for a gas.
Occupied Building - A building occupied more than 4 hours per day.
Operating Unit - includes the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (Ncep), National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), NWS Training Center (NWSTC), National Reconditioning Center (NRC), Radar Operations Center (ROC) or the Sterling Research & Development Center (SR&DC).
Orm-D - a material other than a regulated quantity which presents a limited hazard during transportation due to its form, quantity and packaging.
pH - a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of an aqueous (water) solution. If less than 7.0, the solution is acidic. If greater than 7.0, the solution is alkaline or basic.
Phase I Property Investigation - the study of a piece of property to determine the potential that it might be contaminated.
Picocuries - A unit of measurement used to describe certain types of nuclear radiation. A curie is the amount of any radionuclide that undergoes exactly 3.7 x 1010 radioactive disintegrations per second. A picocurie is one trillionth (10-12) of a curie, or 0.037 radioactive disintegrations per second.
Picocurie per liter (pCi/L) - A common unit of measurement of the concentration of radioactivity in a fluid (liquid or gas). A picocurie per liter corresponds to 0.037 radioactive disintegrations per second in every liter of fluid.
Pollution Prevention - a continual process to use materials, processes or practices that reduce or eliminate the creation of pollutants or waste at the source. It includes practices that reduce the use of hazardous materials, energy, water or other resources and practices that protect natural resources through conservation or more efficient use.
POTW - Publicly-Owned Treatment Works otherwise known as a sewage treatment plant.
Qualified Person - A person qualified by education, training and experience to estimate employee exposures to hazardous materials and work conditions.
Radon - A colorless, odorless, radioactive gas formed by the decay of radium. Radon exists in soils, rocks and some groundwater supplies. It can infiltrate into buildings.
Recovered Materials Advisory Notice (RMAN) - Periodically updated purchasing guidelines issued by the EPA. RMANs recommend recycled-content levels and/or ranges to look for when purchasing products and materials.
Recyclables - Solid wastes which can be treated or processed to allow direct reuse or introduction into new products.
Release - any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, ingesting, escaping, leaching, dumping or disposing into the environment as defined in 40 CFR Part 302.4.
Reportable Quantity (RQ) - that quantity of a hazardous substance, as set forth in 40 CFR 302.4, which when released into the environment within any 24-hour period, requires an immediate report to the National Response Center.
Regional Safety Manager (RSM) - located at the respective Administrative Support Center (ASC).
Small Quantity Generator (SQG) - produces more than 100 kilograms (220-pounds) but less than 1,000 kilograms of waste per month.
Solid Waste - A term used to describe garbage. The EPA defines it as any discarded material that is not excluded from regulation by 40 CFR 261.4(a) or that is not excluded by a variance granted in 40 CFR 260.30 and 260.31.
Specific Gravity - is the weight of a solid or liquid as compared to the weight of an equal volume of water.
Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Plan (SPCC) - a formal plan prepared by a Professional Engineer which describes the procedures and equipment needed to prevent a release from a storage tank or area as well as the procedures to be used should a release occur.
Station Manager - For the purpose of this procedure, the Station Manager shall be either the NWS Regional Director; Directors of Centers under NCEP (Aviation Weather Center, NP6; Storm Preduction center, NP7; and Tropical Prediction Center, NP8), Directors of the NDBC, NWSTC, and Chiefs of NRC, ROC and SR & DC facilities; or Meteorologist-in-Charge (MIC), Hydrologist-in-Charge (HIC) or Official-in-Charge (OIC).
Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ) - that quantity of an extremely hazardous substance as listed in 40 CFR 355 that, if stored at any time at a facility, requires the facility to comply with the EPCRA reporting requirements.
Tier I Form - a summary of the amount and hazards presented by hazardous materials stored on-site.
Tier II Form - provides information about a specific hazardous material stored at a site.
Threshold Limit Value (Tlv) - published by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) which represents conditions under which it is believed that nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed to day after day without adverse health effects.
Underground Storage Tank (UST) - a tank and any underground piping connected to the tank that has at least 10 percent of its combined volume underground that stores petroleum or any hazardous substance listed in 40 CFR 302.4.
Universal Wastes - hazardous wastes that are subject to significantly reduced regulatory requirements if recycled (40 CFR Part 273). These wastes include batteries, fluorescent bulbs, mercury-containing thermostats and pesticides.
Upper Explosive Limit - the maximum concentration of vapors or gas in the air above which it is not possible to cause ignition of the vapors with a proper ignition source.
Xeriscaping - landscaping technique which minimizes the use of water.
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