Definitions (Section 4)

Note: Air quality program-specific acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations are compiled for reference in Air Quality: Acronym List [pdf].

Abatement device. Any equipment or process, the sole purpose of which is to reduce the amount of one or more pollutants from the source

Air contaminant or air pollutant. Any material that, when emitted, causes or tends to cause the degradation of air quality. Such material includes smoke, dust, soot, grime, carbon, fumes, gases, odors, particulate matter, acids or any combination of these.

Airborne toxic control measure (ATCM). A set of procedures and requirements established by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that reduces, avoids, or eliminates the emissions of a specific toxic air contaminant or equipment. Asbestos-containing materials and internal combustion engines are examples of emissions sources affected by ATCMs.

Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act of 1987. This act directs the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and its member air quality management districts to collect information from industry on emissions of potentially toxic air contaminants and to inform the public about such emissions and their impact on public health

Asbestos. Chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite, or actinolite in any form, whether native, chemically treated, or otherwise altered

Asbestos-containing material, regulated (RACM). Asbestos-containing material that has or will become friable, or that has been subjected to sanding, drilling, grinding, cutting, or abrading, or that may become or has become crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by the forces expected to act on the material in the course of demolition or renovation

Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD).The public agency entrusted with regulating stationary sources of air pollution in the nine counties that surround San Francisco Bay. It is one of 35 localized air districts in California. BAAQMD primarily addresses ambient and off-site air quality, in contrast to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which regulates air quality in the workplace

Biodiesel. A cleaner-burning diesel fuel containing renewable non-petroleum compounds such as new and used vegetable oils and animal fats. Biodiesel 20 (with 20 percent biologically based constituents) is the formulation used exclusively in all SLAC diesel-powered equipment.

California Accidental Release Program (CalARP). An amalgam of similar federal and state programs that derives from the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, requiring facilities that store and/or use certain toxic or flammable substances above regulatory thresholds to develop a risk management program and prepare a summary, known as a risk management plan.

California Air Resources Board (CARB). The department of the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) that gathers and validates air quality data, designs and runs air modeling programs, compiles the state's emissions inventory, and sets ambient air quality standards for the state. In addition, the CARB administers various high-level programs to improve air quality in California.

Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC). An inert, nontoxic, and easily liquefied chemical used in refrigeration, air conditioning, packaging, and insulation or as solvents and aerosol propellants. When these compounds are released and drift into the upper atmosphere, their chlorine components destroy the ozone layer, hence their designation as ozone-depleting substances (ODSs).

Criteria air pollutants. As required by the Federal Clean Air Act, the EPA identifies and sets standards to protect human health and welfare for six pollutants: ozone, carbon monoxide, particulate matter (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide, lead, and nitrogen oxide. The term criteria identifies this as a risk-based program, since the EPA must describe the characteristics and potential health and welfare effects of these pollutants.

Demolition. Wrecking, intentional burning, moving or dismantling of any load-bearing structural member, or portion thereof, of a building or facility. This includes any related cutting, disjointing, stripping, or removal of structural elements (see renovation). Asbestos-containing material constitutes the primary concern in both demolition and renovation.

Emissions source. Any equipment or activity that releases or is capable of releasing one or more air pollutants in any form (gas, mist, aerosol or particulate) to the atmosphere. Emissions sources include such equipment as diesel-powered generators and such activities as the removal of asbestos containing material.

Emissions source custodian (ESC). The primary operator and/or point of contact for a permitted or exempted emissions source.

Fugitive emissions. All emissions from unintended openings in process equipment, emissions occurring from miscellaneous activities relating to the operation of a facility, and those emissions that could not reasonably pass through a stack, chimney, vent or other functionally equivalent opening.

Gasoline dispensing facility (GDF). Any stationary facility that dispenses gasoline directly into the fuel tanks of vehicles (and as such, it is an emissions source). There is one GDF on the SLAC site.

Greenhouse effect. The warming of the Earth's atmosphere caused by a buildup of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases.

Greenhouse gas. Any gas that, when released into the atmosphere, acts to prevent natural dissipation of heat energy from the Earth, thereby increasing the ambient temperature of the biosphere.

Hazardous air pollutant (HAP). Any pollutant that is listed pursuant to Section 112(b) of the Federal Clean Air Act. The list currently contains 188 chemicals.

Hazardous material. For the purposes of this chapter, a hazardous material is any substance that requires a material safety data sheet (MSDS). Also referred to as HazMat.

Material safety data sheet (MSDS). A document produced by chemical manufacturers and importers to provide chemical, physical, and hazard information about specific substances.

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Health-based pollutant concentration limits established by the EPA that apply to outside air. By comparison, indoor air quality standards, such as in the workplace, are regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). (Compare criteria air pollutants).

National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs). Emissions standards set by EPA for air pollutants not covered by NAAQS that are used in specified industrial activities and may cause an increase in deaths or in serious, irreversible, or incapacitating illness; including toxic emissions such as benzene. Nearly all of the NESHAPs applied to SLAC are associated with the Plating Shop complex.

Non-precursor organic compound (NPOC). Any compound designated as having a negligible contribution to photochemical reactivity by the US EPA as published in the Federal Register. (See precursor organic compound) .

Organic compound. Any compound of carbon, excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, metallic carbides or carbonates, ammonium carbonate and methane. Many organic compounds evaporate readily (see volatile organic compound), and so are primary chemicals of concern in regard to air quality.

Ozone (O3). A pungent, colorless, toxic gas. Close to the Earth's surface, ozone is produced photochemically from hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and sunlight and is a major component of smog. At very high altitudes, it protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.

Ozone-depleting substance (ODS). Any substance that acts to dissociate ozone molecules in the upper atmosphere, thereby reducing the Earth's ozone layer, which shields the Earth from ultraviolet radiation.. (Also see chlorofluorocarbon).

Particulate matter (PM). Small particles inherent to certain air pollutants, such as combusted diesel fuel. PM10 pertains to particulate matter with a diameter of 10 microns or less. Smaller particulates, for instance PM2.5, are of particular concern for health, since particles this size and smaller tend to lodge in lung tissue and may enter the bloodstream.

Permit to operate (PTO). The regulatory mechanism used by BAAQMD to assess operating fees, based on prorated emissions from permitted sources associated with hazardous materials. (See SMOP).

Portable equipment. Any emission source that, by itself or in or on a piece of equipment, is designed to be or capable of being transported from one location to another (see statewide portable equipment registration program).

Precursor organic compound (POC). Any organic compound as defined above (excepting the NPOCs). POCs react in the atmosphere to form photochemical smog.

Renovation. An operation other than demolition in which RACM is removed or stripped from any element of a building, structure, plant, ship, installation or portion thereof. Renovation does not involve the removal or processing of a load-bearing structural member. (Compare to demolition. See asbestos-containing material).

Risk management plan (RMP). A document required by subject facilities under the California Accidental Release Program (CalARP) that summarizes the management of risks associated with use and/or storage of any subject chemical above its corresponding regulatory threshold. The RMP is based on one or more worst-case scenarios involving a release of the chemical. At SLAC, the RMP focuses on potassium cyanide, which is used solely in plating shop operations and stored temporarily in the Hazardous Waste Storage Area (HWSA).

Statewide portable equipment registration program. A uniform system administered by CARB for statewide registration and regulation of portable internal combustion and associated equipment.

Synthetic minor operating permit (SMOP). A permit issued under Title V of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to facilities that emit less than 25 tons of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in any 12-month period, even though the potential exists to exceed this limit. In this chapter, the SMOP is also referred to as the umbrella permit. (See PTO).

Toxic air contaminant (TAC). Any air pollutant that may cause or contribute to an increase in mortality or in serious illness or that may pose a present or potential hazard to human health. TACs are referred to collectively as air toxics.

Umbrella permit. See synthetic minor operating permit (SMOP).

Volatile organic compound (VOC). Any organic compound (see definition) which would be emitted during use of a solvent or other material. Most other categories of air pollutants are subsets of VOCs.

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