Public Health Assessment
NAVAL WEAPONS STATION YORKTOWN, CHEATHAM ANNEX
WILLIAMSBURG, YORK COUNTY, VA
CERCLIS NO. VA3170024605
Appendix C - ATSDR Glossary of Environmental Health Terms
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a federal public health agency with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and 10 regional offices in the United States. ATSDR's mission is to serve the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances. ATSDR is not a regulatory agency, unlike the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is the federal agency that develops and enforces environmental laws to protect the environment and human health.
This glossary defines words used by ATSDR in communications with the public. It is not a complete dictionary of environmental health terms. If you have questions or comments, call ATSDR's toll-free telephone number, 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a federal public health agency with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and 10 regional offices in the United States. ATSDR's mission is to serve the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances. ATSDR is not a regulatory agency, unlike the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is the federal agency that develops and enforces environmental laws to protect the environment and human health.
This glossary defines words used by ATSDR in communications with the public. It is not a complete dictionary of environmental health terms. If you have questions or comments, call ATSDR's toll-free telephone number, 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737).
Acute
Occurring over a short time [compare with chronic].
Acute exposure
Contact with a substance that occurs once or for only a short time (up to 14
days) [compare with intermediate duration exposure and chronic exposure].
Adverse health effect
A change in body function or cell structure that might lead to disease or health
problems
Ambient
Surrounding (for example, ambient air).
Analyte
A substance measured in the laboratory. A chemical for which a sample (such
as water, air, or blood) is tested in a laboratory. For example, if the analyte
is mercury, the laboratory test will determine the amount of mercury in the
sample.
Background level
An average or expected amount of a substance or radioactive material in a specific
environment, or typical amounts of substances that occur naturally in an environment.
Biota
Plants and animals in an environment. Some of these plants and animals might
be sources of food, clothing, or medicines for people.
Brownfields site
Abandoned, idled or under-used real property where expansion or redevelopment
is complicated by real or perceived contamination.
Cancer
Any one of a group of diseases that occur when cells in the body become abnormal
and grow or multiply out of control.
Cancer risk
A theoretical risk for getting cancer if exposed to a substance every day for
70 years (a lifetime exposure). The true risk might be lower.
Carcinogen
A substance that causes cancer.
CERCLA [see Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980]
Chronic
Occurring over a long time [compare with acute].
Chronic exposure
Contact with a substance that occurs over a long time (more than 1 year) [compare
with acute exposure and intermediate duration exposure]
Comparison value (CV)
Calculated concentration of a substance in air, water, food, or soil that is
unlikely to cause harmful (adverse) health effects in exposed people. The CV
is used as a screening level during the public health assessment process. Substances
found in amounts greater than their CVs might be selected for further evaluation
in the public health assessment process.
Completed exposure pathway [see exposure pathway].
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act of 1980 (CERCLA)
CERCLA, also known as Superfund, is the federal law that concerns the removal
or cleanup of hazardous substances in the environment and at hazardous waste
sites. ATSDR, which was created by CERCLA, is responsible for assessing health
issues and supporting public health activities related to hazardous waste sites
or other environmental releases of hazardous substances. This law was later
amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA).
Concentration
The amount of a substance present in a certain amount of soil, water, air, food,
blood, hair, urine, breath, or any other media.
Contaminant
A substance that is either present in an environment where it does not belong
or is present at levels that might cause harmful (adverse) health effects.
Dermal
Referring to the skin. For example, dermal absorption means passing through
the skin.
Dermal contact
Contact with (touching) the skin [see route of exposure].
Detection limit
The lowest concentration of a chemical that can reliably be distinguished from
a zero concentration.
Dose (for chemicals that are not radioactive)
The amount of a substance to which a person is exposed over some time period.
Dose is a measurement of exposure. Dose is often expressed as milligram (amount)
per kilogram (a measure of body weight) per day (a measure of time) when people
eat or drink contaminated water, food, or soil. In general, the greater the
dose, the greater the likelihood of an effect. An "exposure dose" is how much
of a substance is encountered in the environment. An "absorbed dose" is the
amount of a substance that actually got into the body through the eyes, skin,
stomach, intestines, or lungs.
Environmental media
Soil, water, air, biota (plants and animals), or any other parts of the environment
that can contain contaminants.
Environmental media and transport mechanism
Environmental media include water, air, soil, and biota (plants and animals).
Transport mechanisms move contaminants from the source to points where human
exposure can occur. The environmental media and transport mechanism is the second
part of an exposure pathway.
EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Exposure
Contact with a substance by swallowing, breathing, or touching the skin or eyes.
Exposure may be short-term [acute exposure], of intermediate duration, or long-term
[chronic exposure].
Exposure assessment
The process of finding out how people come into contact with a hazardous substance,
how often and for how long they are in contact with the substance, and how much
of the substance they are in contact with.
Exposure pathway
The route a substance takes from its source (where it began) to its end point
(where it ends), and how people can come into contact with (or get exposed to)
it. An exposure pathway has five parts: a source of contamination (such as an
abandoned business); an environmental media and transport mechanism (such as
movement through groundwater); a point of exposure (such as a private well);
a route of exposure (eating, drinking, breathing, or touching), and a receptor
population (people potentially or actually exposed). When all five parts are
present, the exposure pathway is termed a completed exposure pathway.
Feasibility study
A study by EPA to determine the best way to clean up environmental contamination.
A number of factors are considered, including health risk, costs, and what methods
will work well.
Groundwater
Water beneath the earth's surface in the spaces between soil particles and between
rock surfaces [compare with surface water].
Hazard
A source of potential harm from past, current, or future exposures.
Hazardous waste
Potentially harmful substances that have been released or discarded into the
environment.
Indeterminate public health hazard
The category used in ATSDR's public health assessment documents when a professional
judgment about the level of health hazard cannot be made because information
critical to such a decision is lacking.
Ingestion
The act of swallowing something through eating, drinking, or mouthing objects.
A hazardous substance can enter the body this way [see route of exposure].
Inhalation
The act of breathing. A hazardous substance can enter the body this way [see
route of exposure].
Intermediate duration exposure
Contact with a substance that occurs for more than 14 days and less than a year
[compare with acute exposure and chronic exposure].
Lowest-observed adverse effect level (LOAEL)
The lowest tested dose of a substance that has been reported to cause harmful
(adverse) health effects in people or animals.
mg/kg
Milligram per kilogram.
Migration
Moving from one location to another.
Minimal risk level (MRL)
An ATSDR estimate of daily human exposure to a hazardous substance at or below
which that substance is unlikely to pose a measurable risk of harmful (adverse),
noncancerous effects. MRLs are calculated for a route of exposure (inhalation
or oral) over a specified time period (acute, intermediate, or chronic). MRLs
should not be used as predictors of harmful (adverse) health effects [see reference
dose].
National Priorities List for Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites (National
Priorities List or NPL)
EPA's list of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites
in the United States. The NPL is updated on a regular basis.
Nitroaromatic
A type of contaminant associated with explosives, such as TNT.
No apparent public health hazard
A category used in ATSDR's public health assessments for sites where human exposure
to contaminated media might be occurring, might have occurred in the past, or
might occur in the future, but where the exposure is not expected to cause any
harmful health effects.
No-observed adverse effect level (NOAEL)
The highest tested dose of a substance that has been reported to have no harmful
(adverse) health effects on people or animals.
No public health hazard
A category used in ATSDR's public health assessment documents for sites where
people have never and will never come into contact with harmful amounts of site-related
substances.
NPL [see National Priorities List for Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites]
Plume
A volume of a substance that moves from its source to places farther away from
the source. Plumes can be described by the volume of air or water they occupy
and the direction they move. For example, a plume can be a column of smoke from
a chimney or a substance moving with groundwater.
Point of exposure
The place where someone can come into contact with a substance present in the
environment [see exposure pathway].
ppb
Parts per billion.
ppm
Parts per million.
Prevention
Actions that reduce exposure or other risks, keep people from getting sick,
or keep disease from getting worse.
Public comment period
An opportunity for the public to comment on agency findings or proposed activities
contained in draft reports or documents. The public comment period is a limited
time period during which comments will be accepted.
Public health action
A list of steps to protect public health.
Public health assessment (PHA)
An ATSDR document that examines hazardous substances, health outcomes, and community
concerns at a hazardous waste site to determine whether people could be harmed
from coming into contact with those substances. The PHA also lists actions that
need to be taken to protect public health [compare with health consultation].
Public health hazard
A category used in ATSDR's public health assessments for sites that pose a public
health hazard because of long-term exposures (greater than 1 year) to sufficiently
high levels of hazardous substances or radionuclides that could result in harmful
health effects.
Public health hazard categories
Public health hazard categories are statements about whether people could be
harmed by conditions present at the site in the past, present, or future. One
or more hazard categories might be appropriate for each site. The five public
health hazard categories are no public health hazard, no apparent public health
hazard, indeterminate public health hazard, public health hazard, and urgent
public health hazard.
RCRA [see Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976, 1984)]
Reference dose (RfD)
An EPA estimate, with uncertainty or safety factors built in, of the daily lifetime
dose of a substance that is unlikely to cause harm in humans.
Remedial investigation
The CERCLA process of determining the type and extent of hazardous material
contamination at a site.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976, 1984) (RCRA)
This Act regulates management and disposal of hazardous wastes currently generated,
treated, stored, disposed of, or distributed.
RfD [see reference dose]
Risk
The probability that something will cause injury or harm.
Route of exposure
The way people come into contact with a hazardous substance. Three routes of
exposure are breathing [inhalation], eating or drinking [ingestion], or contact
with the skin [dermal contact].
SARA [see Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act]
Sample
A portion or piece of a whole. A selected subset of a population or subset of
whatever is being studied. For example, in a study of people the sample is a
number of people chosen from a larger population [see population]. An environmental
sample (for example, a small amount of soil or water) might be collected to
measure contamination in the environment at a specific location.
Source of contamination
The place where a hazardous substance comes from, such as a landfill, waste
pond, incinerator, storage tank, or drum. A source of contamination is the first
part of an exposure pathway.
Substance
A chemical.
Superfund [see Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) and Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)]
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)
In 1986, SARA amended the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) and expanded the health-related responsibilities
of ATSDR. CERCLA and SARA direct ATSDR to look into the health effects from
substance exposures at hazardous waste sites and to perform activities including
health education, health studies, surveillance, health consultations, and toxicological
profiles.
Surface water
Water on the surface of the earth, such as in lakes, rivers, streams, ponds,
and springs [compare with groundwater].
Toxic agent
Chemical or physical (for example, radiation, heat, cold, microwaves) agents
that, under certain circumstances of exposure, can cause harmful effects to
living organisms.
Toxicological profile
An ATSDR document that examines, summarizes, and interprets information about
a hazardous substance to determine harmful levels of exposure and associated
health effects. A toxicological profile also identifies significant gaps in
knowledge on the substance and describes areas where further research is needed.
Urgent public health hazard
A category used in ATSDR's public health assessments for sites where short-term
exposures (less than 1 year) to hazardous substances or conditions could result
in harmful health effects that require rapid intervention.
Volatile organic compound (VOC)
An organic compound that evaporates readily into the air. VOCs include substances
such as benzene, toluene, methylene chloride, and methyl chloroform.
- Other glossaries and dictionaries:
- Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/OCEPAterms/)
- National Center for Environmental Health (CDC) (http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/dls/report/glossary.htm)
- National Library of Medicine (NIH) (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mplusdictionary.html)
For more information on the work of ATSDR, please contact:
Office of Policy and External Affairs
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
1600 Clifton Road, N.E. (MS E-60)
Atlanta, GA 30333
Telephone: (404) 498-0080
