ACGIH:
Abbreviation for the American
Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, a private
organization of occupational safety and health professionals.
The ACGIH recommends occupational exposure limits for numerous
toxic substances, and it updates and revises its recommendations
as more information becomes available. ACGIH limits are not legally
enforceable.
Air
Contaminant: Means solid or liquid particulate matter, dust,
fumes, gas, and mist, smoke or vapor.
BAAQMD:
Bay Area Air
Quality Management District. An agency created by California
state law to be responsible for management of air quality in the
San Francisco metropolitan area.
Carcinogenic:
Capable of causing cancer.
Ceiling
Limit: The maximum amount of a toxic substance allowed to
be in workroom air at any time during the day.
CERCLA:
Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (the
original Superfund law). Certain releases of over 700 chemicals
covered by this law require reporting to state emergency response
commission, local emergency planning committee, and the National
Response Center.
CFR:
Code
of Federal Regulations.
CHEMTREC:
Chemical
Transportation Emergency Center. A public service created
by the Chemical Manufacturers Association to provide 24 hour information
to persons responding to emergencies involving chemicals.
Chemical
Referral Center: A part of the Chemical
Manufacturers Association which provides general, non-emergency
information about chemicals through an 800 toll-free telephone
number.
Combustible:
Able to catch fire and burn. Materials with flash point above
100°F (Closed Cup Method) (D.O.T. regulation)
Concentration:
The amount of one substance in another substance.
Decomposition:
Breakdown of a chemical.
Density:
The mass of a substance per unit volume. The density of a substance
is usually compared to water, which has a density of 1. Substances
which float on water have densities less than 1; substances which
sink have densities greater than l.
Dermal:
By or through the skin.
DOT:
U.S. Department
of Transportation.
EPA:
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPCRA:
Emergency
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. A free-standing
law enacted to encourage and support emergency planning efforts
at the state and local level, and to provide citizens and local
governments with information concerning potential chemical hazards
present in their communities.
Explosive
Limits: The amounts of vapor which form explosive mixtures.
Explosive limits are expressed as LOWER EXPLOSIVE LIMITS and UPPER
EXPLOSIVE LIMITS; these give the range of vapor concentrations
in air which will explode if heat is added. Explosive limits are
expressed as percentage of vapor in air.
Flammable:
Catches on fire easily and burns rapidly. Materials with flash
point below 100°F.
Flammable
Limits: Same as EXPLOSIVE LMITS.
Flash
Off Area: Space between the application area and source of
application.
Flash
Point: The lowest temperature at which the vapor of a substance
will catch on fire, even momentarily, if heat is applied. Provides
an indication of how flammable a substance is.
Fluid
Ounce: Volumetric unit. 128 Fluid ounces = one American gallon.
Gram:
The unit of mass in the metric system.
Health
Hazard: Anything which can have a harmful effect on health
under the conditions in which it is used or produced.
HMIS:
Hazardous
Materials Identification System
Hydrocarbon:
Any organic compound consisting predominantly of carbon and hydrogen.
Ignition
Temperature: The lowest temperature at which a substance will
catch on fire and continue to burn. The lower the ignition temperature,
the more likely the substance is going to be a fire hazard.
Ingestion:
Swallowing.
Kilogram:
1000 grams = 2.20 lb.
LC50:
The concentration of a substance in air that causes death in 50%
of the animals exposed by inhalation. A measure of acute toxicity.
LD50:
The dose that causes death in 50% of the animals exposed by swallowing
a substance. A measure of acute toxicity.
MG/KG:
A way of expressing dose: milligrams (mg) of a substance per kilogram
(kg) of body weight. Example: A 100 kg person given 10,000 mg
of a substance would be getting a dose of 100 mg/kg (10,000 mg/100
kg).
MG/M3:
A way of expressing the concentration of a substance in air: milligrams
(mg) of substance per cubic meter (m3) of air.
Milligram:
One one-thousandth of a gram.
NFPA:
National Fire Protection
Association
NIOSH:
Abbreviation for the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.
S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIOSH does research
on occupational safety and health questions and makes recommendations
to OSHA.
N.O.S.:
Not otherwise specified. Used for shipping hazardous materials
if the material is not specifically listed in the DOT Hazardous
Materials Table.
Occupational
Exposure Limits: Maximum allowable concentrations of toxic
substances in workroom air to protect workers who are exposed
to toxic substances over a working lifetime.
ORM:
Other Regulated Material. A material which poses a risk in transportation,
but does not meet the definitions of any other hazard classes.
OSHA:
Abbreviation for the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor. OSHA develops and enforces federal standards
for occupational safety and health.
Oxidizer:
A material which may cause the ignition of combustible materials
without the aid of an external source of ignition or which, when
mixed with combustible materials, increases the rate of burning
of these materials when the mixtures are ignited.
PEL:
Permissible Exposure Limit.
Polymerization:
A chemical reaction in which individual molecules combine to form
a single large chemical molecule (a polymer). Usually involves
the release of a lot of energy.
PPM:
Parts per million. Generally used to express small concentrations
of on substance in a mixture.
Prime
Coat: First film of coating applied in a multiple coat operation.
Proposition
65: California's
Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. Regulates
certain chemicals known to the State to cause cancer or reproductive
toxicity.
RCRA:
Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act. Act which regulates the handling,
storage, treatment, transportation and disposal of solid waste.
Reactivity:
The ability of a substance to undergo change, usually by combining
with another substance or by breaking down. Certain conditions,
such as heat and light, may cause a substance to become more reactive.
Highly reactive substances may explode.
SARA:
Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986. Title III of SARA
is known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know
Act of 1986. Calls for facilities that store hazardous materials
to provide officials and citizens with data on the types, amounts
on hand, and specific locations of these chemicals.
SCAQMD:
South Coast Air
Quality Management District. Agency created by California
state law to be responsible for management of air quality in Los
Angeles metropolitan area.
Sensitizer:
A chemical that causes a substantial proportion of exposed people
or animals to develop an allergic reaction in normal tissue after
repeated exposure to the chemical.
SIC:
Standard
Industrial Classification.
Solubility:
The amount of a substance that can be dissolved in a solvent,
usually water.
Solvent:
Organic materials which are liquid at standard conditions and
which are used as dissolvers, viscosity reducers or cleaning agents.
STEL:
Short term exposure limit.
Suspect
Carcinogen: A substance that might cause cancer in humans
or animals, but has not been proven to do so.
TDG:
Transportation of Dangerous Goods.
Teratogenic:
Capable of causing birth defects.
Thermal:
Involving heat.
TLV:
Abbreviation for Threshold Limit Value. The average 8-hour occupational
exposure limit. This means that the actual exposure level may
sometimes be higher, sometimes lower, but the average must not
exceed the TLV. TLVs are calculated to be safe exposures for a
working lifetime.
Top
Coat: The final film of coating applied in a multiple coat
operation.
Toxic
Substance: Any substance which can cause acute or chronic
injury to the human body, or which is suspected of being able
to cause disease or injury under some conditions.
Vapor:
The gas given off by a solid or liquid substance at ordinary temperatures.
Vapor
Density: The density of the gas given off by a substance.
It is usually compared with air, which has a vapor density set
a l. If the vapor is more dense than air (greater than 1), it
will sink to the ground; if it is less dense than air (less than
l), it will rise.
Viscosity:
A relative measure of how slowly a substance pours or flows. Very
viscous substances, like molasses, pour very slowly. Slightly
viscous substances, like water, pour and splash easily.
VOC:
Volatile organic compound. Volatile compounds of carbon.
Volatility:
A measure of how quickly a substance forms vapor at ordinary temperatures.
WHMIS:
Workplace
Hazardous Materials Information System. Canadian system for
providing information to workers on the adverse effect of hazardous
materials through cautionary labeling. Material Safety Data Sheets
and employee training.
