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Incineration
(1) burning of certain types of solid, liquid or gaseous materials. (2) a treatment technology involving destruction of waste by controlled burning at high temperatures, e.g., burning sludge to remove the water and reduce the remaining residues to a safe, non-burnable ash which can be disposed of safely on land, in some waters or in underground locations.
HSWA
Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (1984); amendments to RCRA establishing a timetable for landfill bans and more stringent UST requirements.
acute health effect
Health effects that usually occur rapidly as a result of short-term exposures, and are of short duration. Some examples are irritation, corrosivity (tissue destruction), narcosis, and death
Latency period
The period of time between exposure to something that causes a disease and the onset of the health effect. Cancer caused by chemical exposure may have a latency period of 5 to 40 years.
Exposure
Contact with a chemical by swallowing, by breathing or by direct contact (such as through the skin or eyes). Exposure may be either short term (acute) or long term (chronic).
Preliminary Site Assessment (PSA)
A process followed by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to determine if a site contains hazardous waste and its potential for harming the public health or environment.
Superfund (federal and state)
The federal and state programs to investigate and clean up inactive hazardous waste sites.
Route of exposure
The way in which a person may contact a chemical substance. For example, drinking (ingestion) and bathing (skin contact) are two different routes of exposure to contaminants that may be found in water. See "Exposure".
IDLH
Immediately dangerous to life and health. Used to determine selection of a respirator. The maximum concentration from which one could escape within 30 minutes without any escape-impairing symptoms or irreversible health effects. Also, IDLH conditions and conditions that would lead to an IDLH exposure.
Remedial Investigation (RI)
An in-depth study (including sampling of air, soil, water and waste) of a contaminated site needing remediation to determine the nature and extent of contamination. The remedial investigation (RI) is usually combined with a feasibility study (FS).
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