BA
Burlap, cloth, paper or plastic bags
BACT
Best Available Control Technology (CAA 40 CFR Part 60) is required on major new or modified sources in attainment areas subject to PSD regulations.
BACM
Best Available Control Measures
BANANA
Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anybody
BART
Best Available Retrofit Technology
BAT
Best Available Technology Economically Achievable (40 CFR, Part 60, CWA Sec. 304(b)(2)).
BCT
Best Conventional Pollutant Control Technology (CWA Sec. 304(b)(4)).
BADCT
Best Available Demonstrated Control Technology, applies only to new sources of pollution.
Bar
Measurement of pressure; 1 Bar = 100kPa (14.5 psi)
Base
A hydroxide containing compound (also known as an alkali) that reacts with water to produce hydroxide anions ( OH- ) with a pH of greater than 7.0.
BAT
Best Available Technology (CWA), most stringent type of control for existing discharges and applies to priority pollutants.
BBD
Blood Born Diseases
BBP
Blood Born Pathogens
BCT
Best Conventional Technology, CWA, apply to conventional pollutants, more stringent than BPT.
BEI
Biological Exposure indices, guidelines of potential health hazards established by ACHIH.
BEJ
Best Engineering Judgment
Ben thic Community
Life in or on the sediments of a waterbody.
Beta
Particle (b)
Fast moving particles emitted by an atomic nucleus during radioactive decay (usually negative-charged electrons), Beta Particles can be stopped by aluminum. They pose a serious direct or external radiation threat and can be lethal depending on the amount received.
BDAT
Best Demonstrated Available or Achievable Technology
BDL
Below Detectable Level or Limits
BDT
Best Demonstrated Technology
BEI
Biological Exposure Index
BHp
Brake Horsepower
BID
Background Information Document
BIF
Boiler & Industrial Furnace Laws; RCRA rules concerning burning of wastes in boilers, cement kilns, etc.
Bioaccumulation
The process by which organisms absorb and retain chemicals or elements from their environment, especially from food.
Bioassay
Method of determining relative toxicity of a wastewater effluent under the CWA by using living aquatic test organisms.
Biodegradation
The result of biologically mediated processes that change one compound to another, eventually reducing contaminant mass.
Biosolids
Sludge from municipal wastewater plants (40 CFR Part 503)
BLEVE
Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion
BNA
Base-Neutrals/Acids Extractables
BOD-5
Biochemical Oxygen Demand-5 days; A measure of biochemical decomposition of organic matter in a water sample. It is the amount of oxygen used by microorganisms to consume (use as food) biodegradable organics in water under aerobic (with oxygen) conditions. Determined by measuring the Dissolved Oxygen (DO) initially and then after a five day "incubation" period at 70° F. The difference between the initial and final dissolved oxygen is an indirect measure of the organic matter content in the water.
BOE
Bureau of Explosives
Boiling Point
The temperature at which a liquid substance turns into a gas, or at which a gaseous substance condenses to a liquid. Assumed to be at standard pressure unless otherwise indicated. Sometimes present as a temperature range if an exact value is unavailable. Sometimes accompanied by a note such as dec (decomposes) or expl (explodes).
bp or BP
see Boiling Point
BPJ
Best Professional Judgment
BPT
Best Practicable Control Technology Currently Available (CWA SEC. 304(b)(1)). This is the minimum acceptable level of effluent treatment for existing plants discharging directly into surface waters.
Bq
Becquerel; Unit for measuring radioactivity, same as one Disintegration Per Second (DPS).
BMPs
Best Management Practices (NPDES-CWA).
BMWI
Biomedical Waste Incinerator
Brownfields
Abandoned, idled or underutilized commercial properties where redevelopment of the properties is in part inhibited by environmental contamination.
BRS
Biennial Reporting System
BTEX
Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl Benzene & Xylene (main constituents in gasoline). Parameters used in testing for gasoline spills in soil and ground water.
BTU/LB
British Thermal Unit Per Pound; The quantity of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.