Terms & Abbreviations
Acute
Occurring over a short time, usually a few minutes or hours. An acute exposure can result in short-term or long-term health effects. An acute effect happens a short time (up to one year) after exposure.
Ambient
Surrounding. For example, ambient air is usually outdoor air (as opposed to indoor air).
ATSDR
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Background Level
A typical or average level of a chemical in the environment. Background often refers to naturally occurring or uncontaminated levels.
Body Burden
The total amount of a chemical in the body. Some chemicals build up in the body because they are stored in fat or bone or are eliminated very slowly.
Carcinogen
Any substance that may cause cancer.
Case Study
The medical or epidemiologic evaluation of a single person or a small number of individuals to determine descriptive information about their health status or potential for exposure through interview or biomedical testing.
CERCLA
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, also known as Superfund. This legislation created the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
Chronic
Occurring over a long period of time (more than one year).
Cluster Investigation
A review of an unusual number, real or perceived, of health events (for example, reports of cancer) grouped together in time and location. Cluster investigations are designed to confirm case reports, determine whether they represent an unusual disease occurrence, and if possible, explore possible causes and environmental factors.
Contaminant
Any substance or material that enters a system (the environment, human body, food, etc.) where it is not normally found.
Environmental Contamination
The presence of hazardous substances in the environment. From the public health perspective, environmental contamination is addressed when it potentially affects the health and quality of life of people living and working near contamination.
Epidemiologic Surveillance
The ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data essential to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice, closely integrated with the timely dissemination of these data to those who need to know. The final link in the surveillance chain is the application of these data to prevention and control. A surveillance system includes a functional capacity for data collection, analysis and dissemination linked to public health programs.
Epidemiology
The study of the occurrence and causes of health effects in human populations. An epidemiological study often compares two groups of people who are alike except for one factor, such as exposure to a chemical or the presence of a health effect. The investigators try to determine if any factor is associated with the health effect.
Exposure
Contact with a chemical by swallowing, breathing or by direct contact such as through the skin or eyes. Exposure may be short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic).
Geographic Information System (GIS)
A computer hardware and software system designed to collect, manipulate, analyze, and display spatially referenced data for solving complex resource, environmental and social problems.
Hazard
A source of risk that does not necessarily imply potential for occurrence. A hazard produces risk only if an exposure pathway exists, and if exposures create the possibility of adverse consequences.
Health Investigation
Any investigation of a defined population, using epidemiologic methods, which would assist in determining exposures or possible public health impact by defining health problems requiring further investigation through epidemiologic studies, environmental monitoring or sampling, and surveillance.
National Priorities List (NPL)
The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s listing of sites that have undergone preliminary assessment and site inspection to determine which locations pose immediate threat to persons living or working near the release. These sites are most in need of cleanup.
National Toxicology Program (NTP)
Conducts toxicological testing on those substances most frequently found at sites on the National Priorities List of the US EPA, and which also have the greatest potential for human exposure.
NJ DEP
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
NJ DHSS
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
PCB
Polychlorinated biphenyl, a known carcinogen
Plume
An area of chemicals in a particular medium, such as air or groundwater, moving away from its source in a long band or column. A plume can be a column of smoke from a chimney or chemicals moving with groundwater.
Petitioned Public Health Assessment
A public health assessment conducted at the request of a member of the public. When a petition is received, a team of environmental and health scientists is assigned to gather information to ascertain, using standard public health criteria, whether there is a reasonable basis for conducting a public health assessment. Once ATSDR confirms that a public health assessment is needed, the petitioned health assessment process is essentially the same as the public health assessment process.
Superfund
Another name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), which created ATSDR.
US EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
USACE
United States Army Corps of Engineers
VOC
Volatile Organic Compound
Some information for this page taken from the ATSDR and the US EPA sites.
