Terms

ACIDIC...Having a pH of 5 or less. Highly acidic solutions have a pH of 2 or less and are corrosive.

ALIPHATIC...Belonging to a class of "fatty" open-chained carbon compounds which do not contain aromatic rings.

ALKALINE...Having a pH of 9 or more. Highly alkaline solutions have a pH of 12.5 or more and are corrosive.

ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY...Technology developed or used to reduce hazardous waste generation, promote recycling, or develop alternative disposal methods.

AROMATIC...Belonging to a class of carbon compounds derived from benzene or containing one or more benzene rings such as benzene, phenol, stryrene, toluene, and xylene.

BATCH PROCESS...Process in which no new material is fed into or removed from reactor vessel.

BIODEGRADABLE...Capable of being decomposed by biological means (e.g. metabolic processing by microorganisms).

CARCINOGEN...A substance which can cause cancer.

CATALYST...A substance, usually present in small amounts, that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process.

CHELATING AGENT...Organic compound which binds with metals in solution and inhibits precipitation.

CHLORINATED...Refers to substances, especially solvents, which contain chlorine.

COMBUSTIBLE...Able to ignite at 100°F or above.

CONTINUOUS PROCESS...Process in which material is introduced and withdrawn simultaneously in a continuous or on-going manner.

CORROSIVE...Able to eat away living tissue or other materials by chemical action.

COUNTERCURRENT RINSING...A multi-stage rinse system in which the cleanest (last) rinse is transferred progressively closer to the initial rinse as it becomes contaminated in order to maximize cleaning efficiency while conserving water.

CRADLE-TO-GRAVE...Refers to the full life-cycle of an object or waste from generation to disposal.

DRAG-OUT...Process or cleaning solution adhering to workpiece after removal from bath. "Drag-in" to subsequent baths contributes impurities.

EFFLUENT...The outflow from a process or treatment unit.

e.g....Abbreviation for exempli gratia (latin) meaning "for example".

ELECTROCLEANING...Parts cleaning method in which hydrogen and oxygen gas bubbles produced during the splitting of water molecules by electricity provide improved cleaning action.

EMISSIONS...Pollutants released to land, air, or surface/groundwater.

EMULSIFY...To form a suspension of very finely divided oily or resinous liquid in another (watery) liquid.

EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS WASTE...A hazardous waste or mixture of wastes which would result in death, disabling personal injury, or serious illness because of its quantity, concentration, or chemical characteristics. Refer to CCR Title 22, Div. 4, Ch. 30, Articles 9 and 11.

FLAMMABLE...Able to ignite below 100°F.

GENERATOR...A person or facility which, by nature, ownership, management, or control, is responsible for the generation of hazardous waste.

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING PRACTICES...General operation and maintenance practices which can reduce or eliminate unnecessary spills, leaks, and other material losses.

HALOGENATED...Refers to substances, especially solvents, containing chlorine, bromine, fluorine, and/or iodine.

HAZARDOUS MATERIAL...Includes but is not limited to a hazardous substance, hazardous waste, or any other material that may pose a significant present or potential hazard to human health or the environment.

HAZARDOUS WASTE...Any discarded material that may pose a significant threat to human health or the environment. In California, a waste is considered hazardous if it is ignitable, toxic, reactive, or corrosive as defined in CCR Title 22, Div. 4, Ch. 30, Article 11.

HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY...A prioritization of methods to manage hazardous waste. Management priorities, from the most favorable to least favorable, are source reduction, recycling, treatment, and disposal. Refer to page 1-5, Figure 1.

HAZARDOUS WASTE REDUCTION ASSESSMENT... An analysis of hazardous waste generating processes to identify opportunities for waste reduction. Also referred to as a waste reduction "audit." See page 3-5.

HAZARDOUS WASTE SOURCE REDUCTION & MANAGEMENT REVIEW ACT OF 1989 (SB-14)... The first piece of legislation in California that requires hazardous waste generators to identify and consider implementing opportunities for source reduction as the preferred method of managing waste. For more information, see page 2-4.

HAZMAT...Common abbreviation for "hazardous materials."

HEAVY METALS...Toxic metals such as lead, barium, chromium, cadmium, copper, and mercury.

i.e....Abbreviation for id est (latin) meaning "in other words."

IGNITABLE...Able to ignite at less than 140°F and burn easily.

LIFE-CYCLE...Refers to the full life-span of a product from delivery of raw materials to shipping of final products and waste.

MATERIAL RECOVERY...Recovering materials from a process for reuse or recycling.

MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET (MSDS)...A data sheet which contains the manufacturer’s information on the chemical, physical, and toxicological properties of a potentially hazardous product and recommendations for proper handling, storage, disposal, and emergency response.

MILK-RUN...See Route Hauler. In addition, usually implies delivery of fresh product to replace used product collected.

MULTI-MEDIA...All environmental media, including land, air, and water. Multi-media pollution prevention refers to preventing pollutant emissions to land, air, and water.

NONPOINT SOURCE...Scattered, not-easily identified sources of discharge/contamination.

NON-RCRA HAZARDOUS WASTE...Hazardous waste which is regulated under state law but not by the federal government under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

OFFSITE...Refers to commercial services which treat or recycle another facilities’ waste.

ONSITE...Refers to treatment or recycling done at the facility where the waste is generated.

ORGANIC...Belonging to the class of carbon-containing compounds.

OXIDIZE...To degrade a compound through exposure to air (causes electron loss).

PERMEABILITY...Ability of a material to allow water to pass through.

pH...A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance on a scale i of 0 to 14 , in which 0 to 6 is acidic, 7 is neutral, and 8 to 14 is alkaline (also called "basic").

POINT SOURCE...Well-defined, easily identified sources of discharge/contamination.

POLLUTION PREVENTION...See Waste Minimization. Usually emphasizes the multi-media reduction of all wastes.

PRETREATMENT...Onsite process to remove hazardous constituents from industrial wastewaters prior to their release to the sanitary sewer system.

PROFILE...Chemical analysis of a wastestream required by TSDFs prior to acceptance for treatment or disposal.

RCRA WASTE...Hazardous waste regulated by the federal government under RCRA and defined by lists and characteristics found in Part 261 of 40 CFR.

REACTIVE...Able to catch fire, explode, or give off fumes when exposed to water or air, or displaying extreme chemical activity when combined with other chemicals.

RESOURCE CONSERVATION "RCRA" & RECOVERY ACT... is the law that provides for federal regulation of hazardous waste activities from "cradle to grave"(e.g. generation, transportation, treatment, and disposal) to prevent improper disposal and encourage resource conservation.

RESOURCE RECOVERY... Salvaging discarded materials or converting them into a reusable, saleable, or valuable form.

REUSE... The use of a previously-used material in the same or different process.

ROUTE HAULER... A hazardous waste transporter who picks up hazardous waste typically from small quantity generators (see definition below) with similar wastes along an established route.

SCRUBBER... A unit which removes undesired substances from a gas by dissolving them in a liquid "scrubbing" agent.

SECONDARY CONTAINMENT... A container or other containment (e.g. bermed area) which is capable of holding the hazardous contents of a primary container should it fail.

SMALL QUANTITY GENERATOR (SQG)... A business that generates more than 100 kg (220 pounds) and less than 1,000 kg (2,200 pounds) of hazardous waste per month.

SKIMMER... Device which removes floating contaminants.

SOLVENT... A substance used for dissolving another substance.

SOURCE REDUCTION... A reduction in the volume and/or toxicity of a waste prior to its generation. Includes good "house-keeping" practices, material and product changes, and technological modifications.

TOXIC... Able to cause injury, illness, or damage through ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through body surfaces. Acute toxicity results from a single exposure. Chronic toxicity results from recurring exposures over a longer period of time.

TRANSFER FACILITY... A facility where hazardous wastes are collected and consolidated for subsequent transportation to a TSDF.

TREATMENT METHODS... Processes which reduce the volume and/or hazardous properties of hazardous wastes prior to disposal. Specific examples are listed at the end of the glossary.

TREATMENT, STORAGE, & DISPOSAL FACILITY... A "TSDF" is a multi-user, commercial offsite facility for the treatment (includes recycling), storage and/or disposal of hazardous wastes.

ULTRASONIC CLEANING... A method of parts cleaning using high frequency sound waves to produce small vacuum bubbles which collapse and cause strong cleaning action on nearby parts (useful for hard-to-reach surfaces).

UNIFORM HAZARDOUS WASTE MANIFEST... Shipping/waste tracking document which must accompany all shipments of hazardous waste. Must be signed by the generator, transporter, and receiving facility.

VERY SMALL QUANTITY GENERATOR (VSQG)... A business that generates less-than 100 kg (220 lbs) of hazardous waste per month. VSQGs are regulated by the state but not by the federal government.

VOLATILE... Vaporizing or evaporating quickly.

VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND (VOC)...Organic compounds which are volatile and react with sunlight to form groundlevel ozone, the main component of smog.

WASTE MINIMIZATION...The reduction of hazardous waste generated and subsequently treated, stored, or disposed of by means of source reduction and recycling.

WASTESTREAM MINIMIZATION...The reduction of hazardous waste generated and subsequently treated, stored, or disposed of by means of source reduction and recycling.

WASTE REDUCTION...See Waste Minimization. Sometimes includes treatment.

WASTESTREAM SEGREGATION... Separation of watses in order to prevent reactions among incompatible materials, and to facilitate recycling or treatment and reduce disposal costs.

WETTING AGENT...Chemical which reduces the surface tension of water and prevents beading on part surfaces.

ZERO DISCHARGE...Not having industrial discharges to the sanitary sewer or storm drain.

Treatment & Recovery Methods ACTIVATED SLUDGE...Using sludge to treat dilute solvent waste containing less than 1 percent suspended solids by oxidizing waste in an aeration tank and clarifying the wastewater.

ADSORPTION...Collecting a liquid on the surface of a solid (usually activated carbon).

BIODEGRADATION...Using aerobic bacteria to decompose organic wastes.

CARBON ADSORPTION...Decontaminating solvents by collecting them on heated activated carbon, and distilling the solvent vapor.

CARBON TREATMENT...Using bulk or imbedded activated carbon to remove organic contaminants.

CENTRIFUGATION...Separating substances by spinning them in a cylinder.

CHEMICAL OXIDATION...Using oxidants (e.g. potassium permanganate, ozone, hydrogen peroxide) to break down organic wastestreams.

CLARIFICATION...Removing solids and floating contaminants and from wastes which have been allowed to settle.

CRYSTALLIZATION...Chilling waste to form crystals which are separated by gravity or filtration.

DISSOLVED AIR FLOTATION...Separating oil and grease from a mixture using compressed air and rotating skimmer blades (midstream and at the bottom of the mixture) when simple gravity separation is not sufficient.

DISTILLATION...Separating a mixture by heating it to the evaporation point and condensing the resulting vapor, leaving behind the less easily-vaporized components. Common solvent recovery technique.

ELECTRODIALYSIS...Plating out metal ions by passing the wastestream through membranes positively charged on one side and negatively charged on the other. Used to recover nickel, copper, chromic acid, iron, and zinc.

ELECTROLYTIC RECOVERY...Plating out metal ions by passing the wastestream between positively- and negatively-charged poles (anodes and cathodes). Used to recover copper, tin, silver, zinc, cadmium, and precious metals from plating and etching drag-out.

ELECTROWINNING...See Electrolytic Recovery.

FLOCCULATION...Adding a coagulant (congealing compound) during precipitation to produce large easily-removable particles.

FUEL BLENDING...Blending treatment residuals with other high energy materials to make fuel for industrial furnaces.

GASIFICATION...Incinerating waste (without air or open flame combustion) through vaporization, vapor destruction, and slow condensation of the off-gases as they slowly cool and pass through a secondary heating device.

INCINERATION...Burning waste using air or open flame combustion to reduce its volume and destroy hazardous components.

ION EXCHANGE...Passing wastewater through resin beds to absorb metal ions. Used to recover aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, hexavalent and trivalent chromium, cyanide, gold, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, selenium, silver, tin, and zinc.

MEMBRANE SEPARATION...Forcing wastestreams through membranes with micron-sized pores which prevent impurities/contaminants from passing through.

PRECIPITATION...Causing a slightly soluble substance (e.g. metal ion) to become insoluble, as by heat or a chemical reagent (e.g. lime), and separate out from solution.

PYROLYSIS...Heating a waste in the absence of oxygen to break it down into smaller chemical units.

REVERSE OSMOSIS...Type of membrane separation in which pores are .0005 to .0025 microns. Used to recover nickel, nickel sulfate, copper pyrophosphate, nickel fluoroborate, zinc chloride, copper cyanide, zinc cyanide, and cadmium cyanide.

SIMPLE GRAVITY SEPARATION...Separating out differently-weighted components of a wastestream by allowing mixture to settle into layers and extracting them.

SOLIDIFICATION...Adding cementious materials (e.g. cement, lime, pozzolan, fly ash) to a liquid/semi-liquid wastestream to render it solid and limit the solubility of the hazardous constituents.

SOLVENT EXTRACTION...Separating solvents by adding a solution in which some solvents dissolve while others remain insoluble.

SPRAY ABSORPTION...Capturing and recovering solvents from the air after solvents pass through spray booths and ovens.

STABILIZATION...See Solidification.

ULTRAFILTRATION...Type of membrane separation in which pores are .0025 to .01 microns.