adsorbable organically bound halogens, AOX
fraction of the halogenated organic compound which can be
adsorbed to activated carbon and thus is easily quantified
bioaccumulation
accumulation of fat-soluble and stable pollutants in fat
tissues in animals, typically fat, liver and brain in man, egg yolk in birds,
and mothers milk
biochemical oxygen demand, BOD7 or BOD5
the amount of oxygen used for biological decomposition during
a given period of time, 7 or 5 days, used as a measure of discharged organic
substance
biocides
natural or synthetic chemical compounds toxic to living
organisms used to control various plants (weeds) or animals (pests); used in
agriculture, forestry and horticulture
biomagnification
the increased concentration of fat-soluble and stable
pollutants in the upper parts of a food chain
chromatography
method to separate individual constituents in a sample
between a solid and a mobile phase during their flow in a chromatographic system
congeners
variants of a class of organic compounds that differ in e.g.
the number of chlorine atoms in the basic structure
consumption emissions
emissions caused by the use and, later on, disposal of a product
dioxins
are a structurally closely related group of hydrophobic
chemicals, which are persistent and bioaccumulating, and some of them extremely
toxic; Dioxins are polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs). The closely
related dibenzofurans (PCDFs) have dioxin-like properties
ecological rucksack
material which is moved but not used, e.g. the overburden from mining
extractable organically bound chlorine, EOCl
fraction of chlorinated organic compound which can be the
extracted in an organic solvent, such as benzene, normally used to express the
biologically relevant chlorinated organic compound in organisms (e.g. in the
fatty tissues of fish) and in sediments
flame retardant
substance incorporated in e.g. plastics and electronic
equipment to make them resistant to fire
fluorescence spectrophotometry
method to determine certain pollutants such as benzopyrenes,
naphtalenes or anthracene measuring emitted light from a sample excited by
incoming light
gas chromatography, GC, or gas liquid chromatography, GLC
chromatographic method in which the mobile phase is an inert
carrier gas, such as argon or helium, which transports the injected sample
through a long column packed with solid beads coated with absorbent liquid
gas chromatography mass spectrometry, GC-MS
a powerful means of analysis in which gas chromatography and
mass spectrometry is combined to identify substances both according to their
retention time in the chromatography and the line patterns in the mass
spectrometry
halogenation
incorporation of a halogen, i.e. bromine, chlorine, fluorine
or iodine, in a compound
halogenated organic compounds, hydrocarbons
organic compounds in which at least a part of hydrogen atoms
is replaced by fluorine, bromine or chlorine, as a means to make the compounds
more stable
herbicides
toxic chemical compounds used in agriculture, forestry, and
horticulture to fight weeds
high performance liquid chromatography, HPLC
chromatographic method in which the mobile phase, a solvent,
is pumped through a rather short column at very high pressures
hydrocarbons
organic chemicals containing only hydrogen and carbon atoms
infrared spectrometry
method to measure by absorption of infrared light, carbon
monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, or organic or inorganic compounds as
dust, in soil, or on leaf surfaces collected in filters or in adsorbents
insecticides
toxic chemical compounds used in agriculture, forestry and horticulture to fight insects
isomers
variants of an organic compound that have identical
composition but different structures, e.g. the position of chlorine atoms in the molecule
life-cycle assessment
a "cradle to grave" description of the
environmental effects of a product including acquisition of raw materials,
manufacturing, usage, maintenance, and management of the finished product (waste)
lipophilic
fat-soluble, often fatty or oily substances
liquid chromatography, LC
a low pressure column chromatographic method relying on
fairly simple equipment, allowing a crude separation of samples
mass spectrometry, MS
sensitive method to identify volatile organic substances
after ionisation and fragmentation, and separation in a very strong magnetic
field according to mass and charge
materials intensity per service unit, MIPS
a measure of the materials used for a specified service
metabolites
substances that are produced by metabolism of pollutants in
the environment, most often leading to harmless products, but the metabolites
may be more persistent and also more toxic than the original compound
organophosphate
toxic chemical compounds used as insecticides which do not
accumulate in the environment, but are quite toxic also to humans, and animals
and thus more dangerous to use
persistent organic pollutants, POPs
a large and important group of polluting organic chemical
substances, which are persistent
persistent
substances that stay in the environment a long time and are
not easily degraded
pesticides
toxic chemical compounds used in agriculture, forestry, and
horticulture to fight pests
polychlorinated biphenyl, PCB
a group of organochlorine compounds which are among the most
toxic environmental pollutants, produced by chlorination of biphenyl, a molecule
consisting of two benzene rings joined by a carbon-carbon bond
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAH
group of organic pollutants, characterized by two or several
benzene rings, well known from its toxic, carcinogenic or mutagenic features
sustainable chemistry
chemistry using resources, production processes, and products
that are acceptable from the standpoint of sustainability and environmental impact
TCDD equivalent
measure to express relative toxicity of a dioxin or
dibenzofuran with reference to the amount of the most toxic congenor,
2,3,7,8-TCDD, that would have the same effect
total organically bound chlorine, TOCl
a parameter used instead of AOX, but since the TOCl analysis
is more time-consuming the method is becoming less and less common
thin layer chromatography, TLC
separation of a sample on a thin layer of an inert support,
e.g. silica, on a glass or plastic plate
volatile organic compounds, VOC
hydrocarbons emitted to the air because of incomplete combustion of fossil
fuel; sometimes methane is excluded and NMVOC, non-methane volatile organic
carbon, is treated as a separate category