Glossary

Glossary

SALINE WATER:

Water that contains significant amounts of dissolved solids.

USGS parameters for saline water:

SANBORN MAPS:

Records kept for fire insurance purposes, showing where underground storage tanks were located on a property, where chemicals were used for certain industrial processes, and the like. Sanborn maps are included as part of the record search in a Phase I environmental audit.

SATURATED ZONE:

An underground zone in which all openings in and between natural geologic materials are filled with water. 

SECONDARY CONTAINMENT:

A structure designed to capture spills or leaks, as from a container or tank. For containers and aboveground tanks, it is usually a bermed area of coated concrete. For underground tanks, it may be a second outer wall or a vault. 

SEEPAGE:

The slow movement of water through small cracks, pores, Interstices, etc., of a material into or out of a body of surface or subsurface water. (2) The loss of water by infiltration into the soil from a canal, ditches, laterals, watercourse, reservoir, storage facilities, or other body of water, or from a field. 

SEMIVOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS:

 Compounds that evaporate slowly at normal temperatures.

SHORING:

Devices used to keep sides of an excavation from caving in.

SITE INVESTIGATION/ASSESSMENT:

 Procedure conducted at a site to investigate and confirm suspected releases; determine the extent of contamination; and to assess the effects on human health and the environment. This information is used to decide whether cleanup is needed, and, if necessary, the implementation of corrective action.

SKIMMERS/SEPARATORS:

Devices used to remove free product from water surface.

SLUG/BAIL TEST:

Field test performed to measure aquifer parameters.

SLURRY WALL:

SLURRY:

Weak concrete mixture used as backfill. (See GROUT.)

SMALL BUSINESS LIABILITY RELIEF AND BROWNFIELDS RE

An act signed into law in 2002 which makes several significant amendments to CERCLA, including a new defense for purchasers of contaminated property, known as the bona fide prospective purchaser defense (BFPP). A BFPP is exempt from liability for preexisting contamination, provided that they had no part in the original contamination, conduct All Appropriate Inquiry, take reasonable steps to mitigate existing hazards, comply with land use restrictions, and fully cooperate with parties conducting cleanup.

SOIL BORING:

A process by which a soil sample is extracted from the ground for chemical, biological, and analytical testing to determine the level of contamination present.

SOIL EXCAVATION:

Removing soil from its original resting place.

SOIL GAS:

Consists of gaseous elements and compounds that occur in the small spaces between particles of the earth and soil. Such gases can move through or leave the soil or rock, depending on changes in pressure.

SOIL REMEDIATION:

Any of a variety of techniques used to render soil non-contaminated.

SOIL VAPOR EXTRACTION (SVE):

Draws fresh air into the ground and brings toxic contaminants up to the surface where they can be treated and safely discharged.

SOIL VAPOR TEST/SURVEY:

Method used to collect and analyze volatile petroleum hydrocarbons from subsurface soils, vapor samples are collected from a borehole using a hand or vacuum pump and analyzed in the field.

SOLUBILITY:

A measure of the amount of solute that will dissolve in a solution. It is the ability or tendency of one substance to dissolve into another at a given temperature and pressure and is generally expressed in terms of the amount of solute that will dissolve in a given amount of solvent to produce a saturated solution.

SOLUBLE THRESHOLD LIMIT CONCENTRATION (STLC):

The limit concentration for toxic materials in a sample that has been subjected to the California Waste Extraction Test (WET), a state test for the toxicity characteristic that is designed to subject a waste sample to simulated conditions of a municipal waste landfill. If the concentration of a toxic substance in the special extract of the waste exceeds this value, the waste is classified as hazardous in California. This is distinct from the Total Threshold Limit Concentration (TTLC).The California Waste  Extraction Test procedure is more stringent than the federal Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP).

SOLUTE:

A substance that is dissolved in another substance, thus forming a solution.

SOLUTION:

A mixture of a solvent and a solute. In some solutions, such as sugar water, the substances mix so thoroughly that the solute cannot be seen. But in other solutions, such as water mixed with dye, the solution is visibly changed.

SOLVENT:

A substance that dissolves other substances, thus forming a solution. Water dissolves more substances than any other, and is known as the "universal solvent".

SORB:

To take up and hold either by absorption or adsorption.

SPECIFIC CONDUCTANCE:

A measure of the ability of water to conduct an electrical current as measured using a 1-cm cell and expressed in units of electrical conductance, i.e., Siemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius. Specific conductance can be used for approximating the total dissolved solids content of water by testing its capacity to carry an electrical current. In water quality, specific conductance is used in ground water monitoring as an indication of the presence of ions of chemical substances that may have been released by a leaking landfill or other waste storage or disposal facility. A higher specific conductance in water drawn from downgradient wells when compared to upgradient wells indicates possible contamination from the facility.

STATE ACTION LEVEL (SAL):

The maximum concentration of a contaminant in drinking water that The California Department of Health Services considers to be safe to drink. Drinking Water Action Levels (ALs) are health-based advisory levels established by the Department of Health Services (DHS) for chemicals for which primary maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) have not been adopted. 

STATE WATER PROJECT:

A system of large dams, reservoirs and a major aqueduct, which begins at the Oroville Dam on the Feather River and ends at Lake Perris in Southern California. Water is used for agriculture, domestic and industrial uses, flood control, hydropower and recreation. A coordinated operation agreement between the State and federal governments provides for release from the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project to maintain water quality and control salinity in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. 

STEP OUT BORINGS:

Borings installed further out from sources of contamination to determine extent of contamination.

STOCKPILE CHARACTERIZATION:

Analytical sampling of stockpiles to verify need for remediating on if clean.

STODDARD SOLVENTS:

A widely used dry-cleaning solvent for spot and stain removal.

STORAGE TANKS:

Any of a number of devices used to store material such as water, contaminated products, gasoline, diesel, etc.

STORM SEWER:

A sewer that carries only surface runoff, street wash, and snow melt from the land. In a separate sewer system, storm sewers are completely separate from those that carry domestic and commercial wastewater (sanitary sewers).

STRICT LIABILITY:

A concept under CERCLA that empowers the federal government to hold PRPs liable without proving that the PRPs were at fault and without regard to a PRP's motive. PRPs can be found liable even if the problems caused by the release of a hazardous substance were unforeseeable, the PRPs acted in good faith, and state-of-the-art hazardous waste management practices were used at the time the materials were disposed of. 

SUBCONTRACTOR:

If you choose a firm (i.e. consulting firm) to perform the corrective action, it is likely that they will subcontract various aspects of the work such as drilling, sample analysis, excavation activities, etc. to a subcontractor.

SUBSTRATE:

 A layer of material beneath the surface soil.

SUGGESTED NO ADVERSE RESPONSE LEVEL (SNARL):

Drinking water standards established by the U.S. EPA, but not enforceable by law. SNARLs

SUPERFUND:

The trust fund that provides for the cleanup of hazardous substances released into the environment, regardless of fault. The Superfund was established under CERCLA and subsequent amendments to CERCLA. The term Superfund also is used to refer to cleanup programs designed and conducted under CERCLA and its subsequent amendments. 

SURFACE WATER:

Water that is on the Earth's surface, such as in a stream, river, lake, or reservoir. 

SURVEY EQUIPMENT:

Equipment used to determine location and elevation of physical objects.

SUSTAINABILITY:

The concept of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.