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Contaminated Sediment Glossary & Acronyms

Long Name:

Contaminated Sediment: Glossary & Acronyms

Description:

Terms and definitions specific to contaminated sediments. The definitions do not constitute the Agency's official use of terms and phrases for regulatory purposes.

Publishing Organization:

Office of Water/Office of Science and Technology

Last Update:

March 6, 2012

Terms & Acronyms

	Term
	Aquatic	Definition: Living or growing in or on the water.
	Benthic Environment	Definition: The environment at the bottom of lakes, rivers, estuaries, or oceans.
	Bioaccumulation	Definition: The process in which a substance is taken up by an aquatic organism through any route, including respiration, ingestion, or direct contact with water or sediment.
	Bioavailability	Definition: The ability of a substance to affect organisms.
	Biodegrade	Definition: To decompose a substance by living organisms.
	Biodiversity	Definition: The presence of many species of organisms, plant and animal.
	Biomagnification	Definition: The increased accumulation and concentration of a contaminant at higher levels of the food chain; organisms higher on the food chain will have larger amounts of contaminants than those lower on the food chain, because the contaminants are not eliminated or broken down into other chemicals within the organisms.
	Bulk Organics	Definition: A class of hydrocarbon compounds including oil and grease.
	Clean Air Act	Acronym: CAA
	Coastal Zone Management Act	Acronym: CZMA
	Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act	Acronym: CERCLA
	Confined Disposal Facility	Acronym: CDF
	Contaminated Sediment	Definition: Soil, sand, organic matter, or minerals that accumulate on the bottom of a water body and contain toxic or hazardous materials at concentrations that may adversely affect human health or the environment.
	Dredging	Definition: Removal of material from the bottom of a water body by excavation or similar removal activity.
	Ecological	Definition: Relating to the interrelationships of organisms and their environment.
	Endangered	Definition: Referring to an endangered species; any species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range/habitat.
	EPA Office of Water	Acronym: OW
	Geologic	Definition: Referring to the history and structure of the solid portion (rocks, soils, and minerals) of the earth.
	Great Lakes Critical Programs Act of 1990	Acronym: GLCPA
	Halogenated Hydrocarbons	Definition: A group of chemicals that are very resistant to decay. The banned pesticide DDT and PCBs fall into this category.
	Listing of Fish and Wildlife Advisories	Acronym: LFWA
	Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act	Acronym: MPRSA
	Metalloids	Definition: Metalloids are nonmetallic elements, such as arsenic and selenium, with some of the chemical properties of metals.
	Metals	Definition: Metals include elements with a metallic luster and are found on and beneath the earth's surface, such as iron, manganese, lead, cadmium, zinc, nickel, gold and mercury.
	National Environmental Policy Act	Acronym: NEPA
	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	Acronym: NOAA
	National Sediment Quality Survey	Acronym: NSQS
	Nonpoint Source Pollution	Definition: Pollution sources that are diffuse, without a single identifiable point of origin, including runoff from agriculture, forestry, and construction sites.
	Nutrients	Definition: Substances such as nitrogen and phosphorus compounds necessary for growth and survival. Elevated levels can cause unwanted growth of algae, and can result in the lowering of the amount of oxygen in the water when the algae die and decay.
	Persistent Organics	Definition: A group of chemicals that are very resistant to decay. The banned pesticide DDT and PCBs fall into this category.
	Point Source Pollution	Definition: Point source pollution refers to the pollution that comes from a specific, identifiable source, such as a pipe or channel.
	Pollutant	Definition: A chemical or biological substance in a form that can be incorporated into, onto, or be ingested by aquatic organisms, consumers of aquatic organisms, or users of the aquatic environment.
	Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons	Definition: A group of organic chemicals that includes several petroleum products and their derivatives. Acronym: PAHs
	Sediment	Definition: Loose particles of sand, clay, silt, and other substances that settle at the bottom of a body of water. Sediment can come from the erosion of soil or from the decomposition of plants and animals. Wind, water, and ice often carry these particles great distances.
	Toxic Substance	Definition: A substance that can cause short-term or long-term damage to biological tissue following contact or absorption. Routes of exposure of the substance include ingestion, inhalation, or assimilation into any organism, either directly from the environment or indirectly by ingestion through food chains.
	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers	Acronym: USACE
	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	Acronym: EPA
	Water Column	Definition: A hypothetical "cylinder" of water from the surface of a water body to the bottom and within which physical and chemical properties can be measured.
	Water Resources Development Act	Acronym: WRDA

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