|
Glossary: T
Tail Water:
The runoff of irrigation water from the lower end of an irrigated field.
Tailings:
Residue of raw material or waste separated out during the processing of crops or
mineral ores.
Tailpipe Standards:
Emissions limitations applicable to mobile source engine exhausts.
Tampering:
Adjusting, negating, or removing pollution control equipment on a motor vehicle.
Technical-Grade Active Ingredient (TGA):
A pesticide chemical in pure form as it is manufactured prior to being
formulated into an end-use product (e.g. wettable powders, granules,
emulsifiable concentrates). Registered manufactured products composed of such
chemicals are known as Technical Grade Products.
Technology-Based Limitations:
Industry-specific effluent limitations based on best available preventive
technology applied to a discharge when it will not cause a violation of water
quality standards at low stream flows. Usually applied to discharges into large
rivers.
Technology-Based Standards:
Industry-specific effluent limitations applicable to direct and indirect sources
which are developed on a category-by-category basis using statutory factors, not
including water-quality effects.
Teratogen:
A substance capable of causing birth defects.
Teratogenesis:
The introduction of nonhereditary birth defects in a developing fetus by
exogenous factors such as physical or chemical agents acting in the womb to
interfere with normal embryonic development.
Terracing:
Dikes built along the contour of sloping farm land that hold runoff and sediment
to reduce erosion.
Tertiary Treatment:
Advanced cleaning of wastewater that goes beyond the secondary or biological
stage, removing nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and most BOD and
suspended solids.
Theoretical Maximum Residue Contribution:
The theoretical maximum amount of a pesticide in the daily diet of an average
person. It assumes that the diet is composed of all food items for which there
are tolerance-level residues of the pesticide. The TMRC is expressed as
milligrams of pesticide/kilograms of body weight/day.
Therapeutic Index:
The ratio of the dose required to produce toxic or lethal effects to the dose
required to produce nonadverse or therapeutic response.
Thermal Pollution:
Discharge of heated water from industrial processes that can kill or injure
aquatic organisms.
Thermal Stratification:
The formation of layers of different temperatures in a lake or reservoir.
Thermal System Insulation (TSI):
Asbestos-containing material applied to pipes, fittings, boilers, breeching,
tanks, ducts, or other interior structural components to prevent heat loss or
gain or water condensation.
Thermal Treatment:
Use of elevated temperatures to treat hazardous wastes. (See: incineration;
pyrolysis.)
Thermocline:
The middle layer of a thermally stratified lake or reservoir. In this layer,
there is a rapid decrease in temperatures in a lake or reservoir.
Threshold:
The lowest dose of a chemical at which a specified measurable effect is observed
and below which it is not observed.
Threshold:
The dose or exposure level below which a significant adverse effect is not
expected.
Threshold Level:
Time-weighted average pollutant concentration values, exposure beyond which is
likely to adversely affect human health. (See: environmental exposure)
Threshold Limit Value (TLV):
The concentration of an airborne substance to which an average person can be
repeatedly exposed without adverse effects. TLVs may be expressed in three ways:
(1) TLV-TWA--Time weighted average, based on an allowable exposure averaged over
a normal 8-hour workday or 40-hour work- week; (2) TLV-STEL--Short-term exposure
limit or maximum concentration for a brief specified period of time, depending
on a specific chemical (TWA must still be met); and (3) TLV-C--Ceiling Exposure
Limit or maximum exposure concentration not to be exceeded under any
circumstances. (TWA must still be met.)
Threshold Odor:
(See: Odor threshold)
Threshold Planning Quantity:
A quantity designated for each chemical on the list of extremely hazardous
substances that triggers notification by facilities to the State Emergency
Response Commission that such facilities are subject to emergency planning
requirements under SARA Title III.
Thropic Levels:
A functional classification of species that is based on feeding relationships
(e.g. generally aquatic and terrestrial green plants comprise the first thropic
level, and herbivores comprise the second.)
Tidal Marsh:
Low, flat marshlands traversed by channels and tidal hollows, subject to tidal
inundation; normally, the only vegetation present is salt-tolerant bushes and
grasses. (See: wetlands.)
Time-weighted Average (TWA):
In air sampling, the average air concentration of contaminants during a given
period.
Tolerance Petition:
A formal request to establish a new tolerance or modify an existing one.
Tolerances:
Permissible residue levels for pesticides in raw agricultural produce and
processed foods. Whenever a pesticide is registered for use on a food or a feed
crop, a tolerance (or exemption from the tolerance requirement) must be
established. USEPA establishes the tolerance levels, which are enforced by the
Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture.
Tonnage:
The amount of waste that a landfill accepts, usually expressed in tons per
month. The rate at which a landfill accepts waste is limited by the landfill's
permit.
Topography:
The physical features of a surface area including relative elevations and the
position of natural and man-made (anthropogenic) features.
Total Dissolved Phosphorous:
The total phosphorous content of all material that will pass through a filter,
which is determined as orthophosphate without prior digestion or hydrolysis.
Also called soluble P. or ortho P.
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS):
All material that passes the standard glass river filter; now called total
filterable residue. Term is used to reflect salinity.
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH):
Measure of the concentration or mass of petroleum hydrocarbon constituents
present in a given amount of soil or water. The word "total" is a misnomer--few,
if any, of the procedures for quantifying hydrocarbons can measure all of them
in a given sample. Volatile ones are usually lost in the process and not
quantified and non-petroleum hydrocarbons sometimes appear in the analysis.
Total Recovered Petroleum Hydrocarbon:
A method for measuring petroleum hydrocarbons in samples of soil or water.
Total Suspended Particles (TSP):
A method of monitoring airborne particulate matter by total weight.
Total Suspended Solids (TSS):
A measure of the suspended solids in wastewater, effluent, or water bodies,
determined by tests for "total suspended non-filterable solids." (See: suspended
solids.)
Toxaphene:
Chemical that causes adverse health effects in domestic water supplies and is
toxic to fresh water and marine aquatic life.
Toxic Chemical:
Any chemical listed in USEPA rules as "Toxic Chemicals Subject to Section 313 of
the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986."
Toxic Chemical Release Form:
Information form required of facilities that manufacture, process, or use (in
quantities above a specific amount) chemicals listed under SARA Title III.
Toxic Chemical Use Substitution:
Replacing toxic chemicals with less harmful chemicals in industrial processes.
Toxic Cloud:
Airborne plume of gases, vapors, fumes, or aerosols containing toxic materials.
Toxic Concentration:
The concentration at which a substance produces a toxic effect.
Toxic Dose:
The dose level at which a substance produces a toxic effect.
Toxic Pollutants:
Materials that cause death, disease, or birth defects in organisms that ingest
or absorb them. The quantities and exposures necessary to cause these effects
can vary widely.
Toxic Release Inventory:
Database of toxic releases in the United States compiled from SARA Title III
Section 313 reports.
Toxic Substance:
A chemical or mixture that may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health
or the environment.
Toxic Waste:
A waste that can produce injury if inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the
skin.
Toxicant:
A harmful substance or agent that may injure an exposed organism.
Toxicity:
The degree to which a substance or mixture of substances can harm humans or
animals. Acute toxicity involves harmful effects in an organism through a
single or short-term exposure. Chronic toxicity is the ability of a
substance or mixture of substances to cause harmful effects over an extended
period, usually upon repeated or continuous exposure sometimes lasting for the
entire life of the exposed organism. Subchronic toxicity is the ability
of the substance to cause effects for more than one year but less than the
lifetime of the exposed organism.
Toxicity Assessment:
Characterization of the toxicological properties and effects of a chemical, with
special emphasis on establishment of dose-response characteristics.
Toxicity Testing:
Biological testing (usually with an invertebrate, fish, or small mammal) to
determine the adverse effects of a compound or effluent.
Toxicological Profile:
An examination, summary, and interpretation of a hazardous substance to
determine levels of exposure and associated health effects.
Transboundary Pollutants:
Air pollution that travels from one jurisdiction to another, often crossing
state or international boundaries. Also applies to water pollution.
Transfer Station:
Facility where solid waste is transferred from collection vehicles to larger
trucks or rail cars for longer distance transport.
Transient Water System:
A non-community water system that does not serve 25 of the same nonresidents per
day for more than six months per year.
Transmission Lines:
Pipelines that transport raw water from its source to a water treatment plant,
then to the distribution grid system.
Transmissivity:
The ability of an aquifer to transmit water.
Transpiration:
The process by which water vapor is lost to the atmosphere from living plants.
The term can also be applied to the quantity of water thus dissipated.
Transporter:
Hauling firm that picks up properly packaged and labeled hazardous waste from
generators and transports it to designated facilities for treatment, storage, or
disposal. Transporters are subject to USEPA and DOT hazardous waste regulations.
Trash:
Material considered worthless or offensive that is thrown away. Generally
defined as dry waste material, but in common usage it is a synonym for garbage,
rubbish, or refuse.
Trash-to-Energy Plan:
Burning trash to produce energy.
Treatability Studies:
Tests of potential cleanup technologies conducted in a laboratory (See:
bench-scale tests.)
Treated Regulated Medical Waste:
Medical waste treated to substantially reduce or eliminate its pathogenicity,
but that has not yet been destroyed.
Treated Wastewater:
Wastewater that has been subjected to one or more physical, chemical, and
biological processes to reduce its potential of being health hazard.
Treatment:
(1) Any method, technique, or process designed to remove solids and/or
pollutants from solid waste, waste-streams, effluents, and air emissions. (2)
Methods used to change the biological character or composition of any regulated
medical waste so as to substantially reduce or eliminate its potential for
causing disease.
Treatment Plant:
A structure built to treat wastewater before discharging it into the
environment.
Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility:
Site where a hazardous substance is treated, stored, or disposed of. TSD
facilities are regulated by USEPA and states under RCRA.
Tremie:
Device used to place concrete or grout under water.
Trial Burn:
An incinerator test in which emissions are monitored for the presence of
specific organic compounds, particulates, and hydrogen chloride.
Trichloroethylene (TCE):
A stable, low boiling-point colorless liquid, toxic if inhaled. Used as a
solvent or metal degreasing agent, and in other industrial applications.
Trickle Irrigation:
Method in which water drips to the soil from perforated tubes or emitters.
Trickling Filter:
A coarse treatment system in which wastewater is trickled over a bed of stones
or other material covered with bacteria that break down the organic waste and
produce clean water.
Trihalomethane (THM):
One of a family of organic compounds named as derivative of methane. THMs are
generally by-products of chlorination of drinking water that contains organic
material.
Troposphere:
The layer of the atmosphere closest to the earth's surface.
Trust Fund (CERCLA):
A fund set up under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and
Liability Act (CERCLA) to help pay for cleanup of hazardous waste sites and for
legal action to force those responsible for the sites to clean them up.
Tube Settler:
Device using bundles of tubes to let solids in water settle to the bottom for
removal by conventional sludge collection means; sometimes used in sedimentation
basins and clarifiers to improve particle removal.
Tuberculation:
Development or formation of small mounds of corrosion products on the inside of
iron pipe. These tubercules roughen the inside of the pipe, increasing its
resistance to water flow.
Tundra:
A type of treeless ecosystem dominated by lichens, mosses, grasses, and woody
plants. Tundra is found at high latitudes (arctic tundra) and high altitudes
(alpine tundra). Arctic tundra is underlain by permafrost and is usually water
saturated. (See: wetlands.)
Turbidimeter:
A device that measures the cloudiness of suspended solids in a liquid; a measure
of the quantity of suspended solids.
Turbidity:
1. Haziness in air caused by the presence of particles and pollutants. 2. A
cloudy condition in water due to suspended silt or organic matter.
Next Back
|
