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| Acronyms and Abbreviations |
| Technical Terms |
| Radiological Units |
| Units of Measure |
| A | Ampere |
| Å | Angstrom |
| AEDE | Annual Effective Dose Equivalent |
| ALARA | As Low As Reasonably Achievable |
| ALS | Advanced Light Source |
| ANSI | American National Standards Institute |
| ASPCP | Accidental Spill Prevention and Containment Plan |
| AST | Aboveground Storage Tank |
| BAAQMD | Bay Area Air Quality Management District |
| Bq | Becquerel |
| BTEX | Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene |
| C | degrees Celsius |
| CAA | Clean Air Act |
| Cal/EPA | California Environmental Protection Agency |
| CCR | California Code of Regulations |
| CEDE | Collective Effective Dose Equivalent |
| CEQA | California Environmental Quality Act |
| CERCLA | Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act |
| CFR | Code of Federal Regulations |
| Ci | Curie |
| cm | centimeter |
| COB | City of Berkeley |
| CUPA | Certified Unified Program Agency |
| CWA | Clean Water Act |
| CY | Calendar Year |
| DHS | Department of Health Services |
| DOE | U.S. Department of Energy |
| DOE EH-24 | U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Audit |
| DOE EM | U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management |
| DOE ER U.S. Plan | Department of Energy, Office of Energy Research |
| DOE/BSO | U.S. Department of Energy/Berkeley Site Office |
| DOE/OAK | U.S. Department of Energy/Oakland Operations Office |
| DOT U.S. | Department of Transportation |
| DTSC | Department of Toxic Substances Control |
| EBMUD | East Bay Municipal Utility District |
| EDE Effective | Dose Equivalent |
| EH&S | Environment, Health, and Safety |
| EM | Environmental Management |
| EMP | Environmental Monitoring |
| EMS | Environmental Monitoring Station |
| EPCRA | Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act |
| EPG | Environmental Protection Group |
| ERP | Environmental Restoration Program |
| ERWM | Environmental Restoration and Waste Management |
| ES&H | Environment, Safety, and Health |
| ESA | Endangered Species Act |
| F | degrees Fahrenheit |
| FIFRA | Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act |
| ft | foot or feet |
| FR | Federal Register |
| FTU | Fixed Treatment Unit |
| FY | Fiscal Year |
| gpm | gallons per minute |
| gsf | gross square feet |
| gsm | gross square meters |
| HEPA | High Efficiency Particulate Air |
| HGL | Human Genome Laboratory |
| HT | Tritium Gas |
| HTO | Tritium Oxide (Tritiated Water) |
| HWHF | Hazardous Waste Handling Facility |
| IH | Industrial Hygiene |
| in | inch |
| kg | kilogram |
| km | kilometer |
| l | Liter |
| LANL Los | Alamos National Laboratory |
| LBNL | Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory |
| LLNL | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory |
| m | meter |
| M&O | Maintenance and Operations |
| MCL | Maximum Contamination Limit |
| MDA | Minimum Detectable Activity |
| MeV | Million Electron Volts |
| mg | milligram |
| Mgsf | Million gross square feet |
| MEI | Maximally Exposed Individual |
| ml | milliliter |
| mrem | millirem |
| MSDS | Material Safety Data Sheet |
| mSv | millisievert |
| MW | Mixed Waste |
| ND | non-detectable |
| NEPA | National Environmental Policy Act |
| NERSC | National Energy Research Scientific Computer Center |
| NESHAPs | National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants |
| NHPA | National Historic Preservation Act |
| NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology |
| NOV | Notice of Violation |
| NRC | Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
| NPDES | National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System |
| NTLF | National Tritium Labeling Facility |
| OAA | Office of Assessment and Assurance |
| OAP | Operating and Assurance Program |
| ODS | Ozone-Depleting Substance |
| OMB | Office of Management and Budget |
| pCi | picocurie (one billionth of a curie)PCB Polychlorinated Biphenyl |
| PCE | Perchloroethylene |
| PM | Performance Measure |
| POTW | Publicly Owned Treatment Works |
| ppbv | parts per billion by volume |
| ppm | parts per million |
| PRP | Potentially Responsible Party |
| PWA | Process Waste Assessment |
| QA | Quality Assurance |
| QAPP | Quality Assurance Project Plan |
| QC | Quality Control |
| RAML | Radiation and Analytical Measurements Laboratory |
| RCRA | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act |
| RFI RCRA | Facility Investigation |
| RMPP | Risk Management and Prevention Plan |
| RSU | Regulatory Structure Update |
| RWQCB | Regional Water Quality Control Board |
| SAA | Satellite Accumulation Area |
| SAP | Sampling and Analysis Plan |
| SARA | Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act |
| SDWA | Safe Drinking Water Act |
| SI | Systéme Internationale or International System of Units (the metric system) |
| SOP | Standard Operating Procedure |
| STP | Site Treatment Plan |
| Sv | Sievert |
| SWMP | Storm Water Monitoring Program |
| SWPPP | Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan |
| SWRCB | State Water Resources Control Board |
| TBq | Terabecquerel (one trillionth of a Becquerel) |
| TCE | Trichloroethylene |
| TDS | Total Dissolved Solids |
| TICH | Total Identifiable Chlorinated Hydrocarbons |
| TLD r | Thermoluminescent Dosimete |
| TOC | Total Organic Carbon |
| TOMP | Toxic Organic Management Plan |
| TPH | Total Petroleum Hydrocarbonss |
| TPH-D | Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons, Diesel |
| TPH-G | Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons, Gasoline |
| TRI | Toxic Release Inventory |
| TSCA | Toxic Substance Control Act |
| TTO | Total Toxic Organics |
| UC | University of California |
| UCB | University of California at BerkeleyUCOP University of California Office of the President |
| mCi microcurie | mg microgram |
| UHVCF | Ultra-High Vacuum Cleaning Facility |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator |
| US/EPA | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
| UST | Underground Storage Tank |
| UV | Ultraviolet |
| VOC | Volatile Organic Compound |
| WAA | Waste Accumulation Area |
| WMG | Waste Management Group |
| WMin/PP | Waste Minimization and Pollution Prevention |
| accuracy | The closeness of the result of a measurement to the true value of the quantity measured. |
| air particulates | Airborne particles that include dust, dirt, and other pollutants that occur as particles, and any pollutants that may be associated with or carried on the dust or dirt. |
| aliquot | An exact fractional portion of a sample taken for analysis. |
| Angstrom | A unit of length equal to one ten-billionth (0.0000000001 or 1x1010) of a meter. |
| alpha particle | A charged particle, identical to the helium nucleus, comprising two protons and two neutrons that are emitted during decay of certain radioactive atoms. Alpha particles are stopped by several centimeters of air or a sheet of paper. |
| ambient air | The surrounding atmosphere, usually the outside air, as it exists around people, plants, and structures. It does not include the air next to emission sources. |
| aquifer | A saturated layer of rock or soil below the ground surface that can supply usable quantities of ground water to wells and springs. Aquifers can be a source of water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial uses. |
| background radiation | Ionizing radiation from sources other than LBNL. Background may include cosmic radiation; external radiation from naturally occurring radioactivity in the earth (terrestrial radiation), air, and water; internal radiation from naturally occurring radioactive elements in the human body; and radiation from medical diagnostic procedures. |
| becquerel (Bq) | Unit of radioactive decay equal to one disintegration per second (SI unit). |
| beta particle | A charged particle, identical to the electron, that is emitted during decay of certain radioactive atoms. Most beta particles are stopped by less than 0.6 centimeters of aluminum. |
| categorical process | An industrial process governed by federal regulation(s) of wastewater discharges. |
| collective effective dose equivalent | The sum of the effective dose equivalents of all individuals in an exposed population within a certain radius, usually 80 kilometers for NESHAPs compliance. This value is expressed in units of person-sievert (SI) or person-rem (conventional). |
| contaminant | Any hazardous or radioactive material present in an environmental medium, such as air, water, or vegetation. |
| controlled area | Any Laboratory area with controlled access to protect individuals from exposure to radiation and radioactive materials. |
| cosmic radiation | High-energy particulate and electromagnetic radiation that originates outside the earth's atmosphere. Cosmic radiation is part of the natural background radiation. |
| discharge | A release of a liquid into an area not controlled by LBNL. |
| dose | The quantity of radiation energy absorbed during a given period of time. |
| dose, absorbed | The energy imparted to matter by ionizing radiation per unit mass of irradiated material. The unit of absorbed dose is the gray (SI) or rad (conventional). |
| dose, effective | The hypothetical whole-body dose that would give the same risk of cancer mortality and/or serious genetic disorder as a given exposure and that may be limited to just a few organs. The effective dose equivalent is equal to the sum of individual organ doses, each weighted by degree of risk that the organ dose carries. For example, a 1-millisievert dose to the lung, which has a weighting factor of 0.12, gives an effective dose that is equivalent to 0.12 millisievert (1 x 0.12). |
| dose, equivalent | A term used in radiation protection that expresses all types of radiation (alpha, beta, and so on) on a common scale for calculating the effective absorbed dose. It is the product of the absorbed dose and certain modifying factors. The unit of dose equivalent is the sievert (SI) or rem (conventional). |
| dose, maximum boundary | The greatest dose commitment, considering all potential routes of exposure, from a facility's operation to a hypothetical individual who is in an uncontrolled area where the highest dose rate occurs. It assumes that the hypothetical individual is present 100% of the time (full occupancy), and it does not take into account shielding by obstacles such as buildings or hillsides. |
| dose, maximum individual | The greatest dose commitment, considering all potential routes of exposure, from a facility's operation to an individual at or outside the LBNL boundary where the highest dose rate occurs. It takes into account shielding and occupancy factors that would apply to a real individual. |
| dose, population | The sum of the radiation doses to individuals of a population. It is expressed in units of person-sievert (SI) or person-rem (conventional). For example, if 1000 people each received a radiation dose of 1 sievert, their population dose would be 1000 person-sievert. |
| dosimeter | A portable detection device for measuring the total accumulated exposure to ionizing radiation. See also thermoluminescent dosimeter. |
| downgradient | Commonly used to describe the flow of groundwater from higher to lower concentration. The term is analogous to downstream. |
| effective dose equivalent | Abbreviated EDE, it is the sum of the products of the dose equivalent received by specified tissues of the body and a tissue-specific weighting factor. This sum is a risk-equivalent value and can be used to estimate the health risk of the exposed individual. The tissue-specific weighting factor represents the fraction of the total health risk resulting from uniform whole-body irradiation that would be contributed by that particular tissue. The EDE includes the committed EDE from internal deposition of radionuclides and the EDE due to penetrating radiation from sources external to the body. EDE is expressed in units of sievert (SI) or rem (conventional). |
| effluent | A liquid waste discharged to the environment. |
| emission | A release of air to the environment containing gaseous or particulate matter having one or more contaminants. |
| environmental remediation | The process of restoring a contaminated area to a noncontaminated or safe condition. |
| exposure | A measure of the ionization produced in air by X-ray or gamma radiation. The unit of exposure is the coulomb per kilogram (SI) or roentgen (conventional). |
| external radiation | Radiation originating from a source outside the body. |
| extractable | pollutants Pollutants that can be removed from a contaminated sample by passing water through the sample. |
| gamma radiation | Short-wavelength electromagnetic radiation of nuclear origin that has no mass or charge. Because of its short wavelength (high energy), gamma radiation can cause ionization. Other electromagnetic radiation, such as microwaves, visible light, and radio waves, have longer wavelengths (lower energy) and cannot cause ionization. |
| groundwater | A subsurface body of water in a zone of saturated soil sediments. |
| half-life, radioactive | The time required for the activity of a radioactive substance to decrease to half its value by inherent radioactive decay. After two half-lives, one-fourth of the original activity remains (1/2 x 1/2); after three half-lives, one-eighth (1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2); and so on. |
| hazardous waste | Waste exhibiting any of the following characteristics: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or EP-toxicity (yielding toxic constituents in a leaching test). Because of its concentration, quantity, physical, or chemical characteristics, it may: 1) cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality rates or cases of serious irreversible illness; or 2) pose a substantial present or potential threat to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or handled. |
| internal radiation | Radiation from a source within the body as a result of deposition of radionuclides in body tissues by processes such as ingestion, inhalation, or implantation. Potassium (40K), a naturally occurring radionuclide, is a major source of internal radiation in living organisms. |
| nonattainment area | An area that does not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. |
| nuclide | A species of atom characterized by what constitutes the nucleus, which is specified by the number of protons, number of neutrons, and energy content; or, alternatively, by the atomic number, mass number, and atomic mass. To be regarded as a distinct nuclide, the atom must be able to exist for a measurable length of time. |
| organic compound | A chemical whose primary constituents are carbon and hydrogen. |
| Part B permit | The second, narrative section submitted by generators in the RCRA permitting process. It details the procedures followed at a facility to protect human health and the environment. |
| pH | A measure of hydrogen ion concentration in an aqueous solution. Acidic solutions have a pH less than 7, basic solutions have a pH greater than 7, and neutral solutions have a pH of 7. |
| piezometer | Generally, a small-diameter, nonpumping well used to measure the elevation of the water table or potentiometric surface. The water table is an imaginary surface that represents the static head of groundwater and is defined by the level to which water will rise. |
| pollutant | Any hazardous or radioactive material present in an environmental medium, such as air, water, or vegetation. |
| pretreatment | Any process used to reduce a pollutant load before wastewater enters the sewer syste |
| pretreatment regulations | National wastewater pretreatment regulations (40 CFR 403) adopted by US/EPA in compliance with the 1977 amendments to the Clean Water Act, which required that US/EPA establish pretreatment standards for existing and new industrial sources. |
| priority pollutants | A set of organic and inorganic chemicals identified by US/EPA as indicators of environmental contamination |
| purgeable pollutants | Pollutants that can be removed from a sample by passing nitrogen gas through the sample. |
| radiation protection standard | Limits on radiation exposure regarded as necessary for protection of public health. These standards are derived based on acceptable levels of risk to individuals. |
| radiation | Energy emitted from the nucleus of an atom in the form of waves or particles. |
| radioactivity | The property or characteristic of a nucleus of an atom to spontaneously disintegrate accompanied by the emission of energy in the form of radiation. |
| radiological | Arising from radiation or radioactive materials. |
| radionuclide | An unstable nuclide. See nuclide and radioactivity. |
| recharge zone | An area of the ground in which surface water migrates to the groundwater. |
| remediation | See environmental remediation. |
| scintillation cocktail | A solution of organic compounds that emits light upon interacting with radiation. For the purposes of this report, it is used primarily for the analysis of tritium. |
| source | Any operation or equipment that produces, discharges, and/or emits pollutants (e.g., pipe, ditch, well, or stack). |
| terrestrial | Pertaining to or deriving from the earth. |
| terrestrial radiation | Radiation emitted by naturally occurring radionuclides, such as 40K; the natural decay chains 235U, 233U, or 232Th; or cosmic-ray induced radionuclides in the soil. |
| thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) | A type of dosimeter. After being exposed to radiation, the material in the dosimeter (lithium fluoride) luminesces upon being heated. The amount of light the material emits is proportional to the amount of radiation (dose) to which it was exposed. See also dosimeter. |
| tritium | A radionuclide of hydrogen with a half-life of 12.3 years. The very low energy of its radioactivity decay makes it one of the least hazardous radionuclides. |
| uncontrolled area | An area beyond the boundaries of a controlled area. See controlled area. |
| upgradient | Opposite of the direction of groundwater flow from a designated area of interest. Analogous to upstream. |
| uranium | A metallic element that is highly toxic and radioactive. |
| uranium, depleted | Uranium consisting primarily of 238U and having less than 0.72 wt% 235U. Except in rare cases occurring in nature, depleted uranium is man-made. |
| uranium, total | The amount of uranium in a sample, assuming that the uranium has the isotopic content of uranium in nature (99.27 wt% 238U, 0.72 wt% 235U, and 0.0057 wt% 234U) |
| vadose zone | The partially saturated or unsaturated region of the ground above the water table that does not yield water to wells. |
| wind rose | A diagram that shows the frequency and intensity of wind from different directions at a particular place. |
| becquerel (Bq) | Unit of radioactive decay equal to one disintegration per second. (SI unit) |
| curie (Ci) | Unit of radioactive decay equal to 2.22 x 1012 disintegrations per minute. (conventional units) |
| mrem | millirem (103 rem). See rem. |
| person-rem | The unit of population dose, which expresses the sum of radiation exposures received by a population. For example, two persons, each with a 0.5-rem exposure, receive 1 person-rem, and 500 people, each with an exposure of 0.002 rem, also receive 1 person-rem. |
| rad | A unit of absorbed dose from ionizing radiation (0.877 rad/R). |
| rem | Stands for roentgen equivalent man; a unit of ionizing radiation, equal to the amount of radiation needed to produce the same biological effect to humans as 1 rad of high-voltage x-rays. It is the product of the absorbed dose (rad), quality factor (Q), distribution factor, and other necessary modifying factors. It describes the effectiveness of various types of radiation in producing biological effects. |
| roentgen (R) | A unit of radiation exposure that expresses exposure in terms of the amount of ionization produced by x or gamma rays in a volume of air. One roentgen (R) is 2.58 x 104 coulombs per kilogram of air. |
| sievert (Sv) | A unit of radiation dose equivalent. The sievert is the SI unit equivalent to the rem. It is the product of the absorbed dose (gray), quality factor (Q), distribution factor, and other necessary modifying factors. It describes the effectiveness of various types of radiation to produce biological effects; 1 Sv = Gy x Q x N = 100 rem. |
Throughout this report, an attempt has been made to reference the International System of Units (SI) or metric system of measurements, where ever possible. Radiological quantities (activity-curies (Ci), exposure-roentgen (R), and dose-rad and rem) have also been reported in U.S. conventional units because current standards are written in terms of these units. The equivalent SI units are the becquerel (Bq), coulomb per kilogram (C/kg), gray (Gy), and sievert (Sv), respectively.
Table GLS-1 presents prefixes used with SI units of measurement. Table GLS-2 presents conversion factors for converting from SI units to U.S. conventional units.
Table GLS-1. Prefixes Used with Sl (Metric) Units
Prefix |
Factor |
Symbol |
| exa | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 = 1018 | E |
| peta | 1,000,000,000,000,000 = 1015 | P |
| tera | 1,000,000,000,000 = 1012 | T |
| giga | 1,000,000,000 = 109 | G |
| mega | 1,000,000 = 106 | M |
| kilo | 1,000 = 103 | k |
| hecto | 100 = 102 | hA |
| deka | 10 = 101 | daA |
| deci | 0.1 = 101 | dA |
| centi | 0.01 = 102 | cA |
| milli | 0.001 = 103 | m |
| micro | 0.000001 = 106 | µ |
| nano | 0.000000001 = 109 | n |
| pico | 0.000000000001 = 1012 | p |
| femto | 0.000000000000001 = 1015 | f |
| atto | 0.000000000000000001 = 1018 | a |
AAvoid where practical
| To Convert Sl Unit | to U.S. Conventional Unit | Multiply By |
| Area | ||
| square centimeters | square inches | 0.155 |
| square meters | square fee | 10.764 |
| square kilometer | square miles | 0.3861 |
| hectares | acres | 2.471 |
| Concentration | ||
| micrograms per gram | parts per million | l |
| milligrams per liter | parts per million | l |
| Length | ||
| centimeters | inches | 0.3937 |
| meters | feet | 3.281 |
| kilometers | miles | 0.6214 |
| Mass | ||
| grams | ounces | 0.03527 |
| kilograms | pounds | 2.2046 |
| kilograms | ton | 0.00110 |
| Pressure | ||
| pounds per square foot | pascal | 0.000145 |
| Radiation | ||
| becquerel | curie | 2.7 x 1011 |
| gray | rad | 100 |
| sievert | rem | 100 |
| coulomb per kilogram | roentgen | 3876 |
| Temperature | ||
| degrees Celsius | degrees Fahrenheit | 1.8, then add 32 |
| Velocity | ||
| meters per second | miles per hour | 2.237 |
| Volume | ||
| cubic meters | cubic feet | 35.315 |
| liters | gallons | 0.2642 |
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