CHAPTER 9: GLOSSARY Absorbed dose: The energy imparted to matter by ionizing radiation per unit mass of irradiated material at the place of interest in that material. Expressed in units of radiation absorbed dose or grays, where 1 radiation absorbed dose equals 0.01 gray. Also, see "radiation absorbed dose." Accident sequence: An initiating event followed by system failures or operator errors, which can result in significant core damage, confinement system failure, and/or radionuclide releases. Accountable weapon: The number of weapons associated with each missile or aircraft type limited by this treaty. This does not include non-strategic nuclear forces, Department of Defense spares or spares needed to replace weapons disassembled by Department of Energy surveillance testing. Activation products: Nuclei, usually radioactive, formed by the bombardment of material with neutrons, protons, or other nuclear particles. Acute exposure: The exposure incurred during and shortly after a radiological release. Generally, the period of acute exposure ends when long-term interdiction is established, as necessary. For convenience, the period of acute exposure is normally assumed to end 1 week after the inception of a radiological accident. Air quality standards: The level of pollutants in the air prescribed by regulations that may not be exceeded during a specified time in a defined area. Alpha activity: The emission of alpha particles by fissionable materials (uranium or plutonium). Alpha particle: A positively charged particle, consisting of two protons and two neutrons, that is emitted during radioactive decay from the nucleus of certain nuclides. It is the least penetrating of the three common types of radiation (alpha, beta, and gamma). Alpha wastes: Wastes containing radioactive isotopes which decay by producing alpha particles. Ambient air: The surrounding atmosphere as it exists around people, plants, and structures. American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978: This Act establishes national policy to protect and preserve for Native Americans their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise their traditional religions, including the rights of access to religious sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through traditional ceremonies and rites. Anadromous: Fish that migrate from salt to fresh water to spawn. Aquatic biota: The sum total of living organisms within any designated aquatic area. Aquifer: A saturated geologic unit through which significant quantities of water can migrate under natural hydraulic gradients. Aquitard: A less-permeable geologic unit in a stratigraphic sequence. The unit is not permeable enough to transmit significant quantities of water. Aquitards separate aquifers. Archaeological sites (resources): Any location where humans have altered the terrain or discarded artifacts during either prehistoric or historic times. Artifact: An object produced or shaped by human workmanship of archaeological or historical interest. As low as reasonably achievable: A concept applied to the quantity of radioactivity released in routine operation of a nuclear system or facility, including "anticipated operational occurrences." It takes into account the state of technology, economics of improvements in relation to benefits to public health and safety, and other societal and economic considerations in relation to the use of nuclear energy in the public interest. Atmospheric dispersion: The process of air pollutants being dispersed in the atmosphere. This occurs by the wind that carries the pollutants away from their source and by turbulent air motion that results from solar heating of the Earth's surface and air movement over rough terrain and surfaces. Atomic Energy Act of 1954: This Act was originally enacted in 1946 and amended in 1954. For the purpose of this Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement "...a program for Government control of the possession, use, and production of atomic energy and special nuclear material whether owned by the Government or others, so directed as to make the maximum contribution to the common defense and security and the national welfare, and to provide continued assurance of the Government's ability to enter into and enforce agreements with nations or groups of nations for the control of special nuclear materials and atomic weapons..." (Section 3(c)). Atomic Energy Commission: A five-member commission, established by the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, to supervise nuclear weapons design, development, manufacturing, maintenance, modification, and dismantlement. In 1974, the Atomic Energy Commission was abolished and all functions were transferred to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Administrator of the Energy Research and Development Administration. The Energy Research and Development Administration was later terminated and its functions vested by law in the Adminis- trator were transferred to the Secretary of Energy. Background radiation: Ionizing radiation present in the environment from cosmic rays and natural sources in the Earth; background radiation varies considerably with location. Also, see "natural radiation". Badged worker: A worker equipped with an individual dosimeter who has the potential to be exposed to radiation. Baseline: A quantitative expression of conditions, costs, schedule, or technical progress to serve as a base or standard for measurement during the performance of an effort; the established plan against which the status of resources and the progress of a project can be measured. For this Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, the environmental baseline is the site environmental conditions as they are projected to occur in 2010. BEIR V: Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation; referring to the fifth in a series of committee reports from the National Research Council. Beryllium: An extremely lightweight, strong metal used in weapons systems. Benthic: Plants and animals dwelling at the bottom of oceans, lakes, rivers, and other surface waters. Biota (biotic): The plant and animal life of a region (pertaining to biota). Blanket assemblies: In a heavy water reactor, lithium-aluminum alloy clad tubes positioned in a ring surrounding the radial reflector zone. They prevent neutron damage to the reactor vessel's metal wall by absorbing neutrons from the reflector zone, and they produce tritium. Boiling water reactor: A type of nuclear reactor that uses fission heat to generate steam in the reactor to drive turbines and generate electricity. Burial ground: A place for burying unwanted (i.e., radioactive) materials in which the earth acts as a receptacle to prevent the dispersion of wastes in the environment and the escape of radiation. Burnable poison rod: A nuclear reactor rod used to moderate (reduce the energy of) neutrons created in the core by the fission reactions during the early core life. Calcination: The process of converting high-level waste to unconsolidated granules or powder. Calcined solid wastes are primarily salts and oxides of metals (heavy metals) and components of high level waste (also called calcining). Caldera: A large crater formed by the collapse of the central part of a volcano. Cancer: The name given to a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled cellular growth with cells having invasive characteristics such that the disease can transfer from one organ to another. Capable fault: A fault that has exhibited one or more of the following characteristics (10 CFR 100, Appendix A): 1. Movement at or near the ground surface at least once within the past 35,000 years or movement of a recurring nature within the past 500,000 years. 2. Macro-seismicity instrumentally deter- mined with records of sufficient precision to demonstrate a direct relationship with the fault. 3. A structural relationship to a capable fault according to characteristics (1) or (2) of this paragraph such that movement on one could be reasonably expected to be accompanied by movement on the other. Capacity factor: The ratio of the annual average power load of a power plant to its rated capacity. Carbon adsorption: A unit physiochemical process in which organic and certain inorganic compounds in a liquid stream are absorbed on a bed of activated carbon; used in water or waste purification and chemical processing. Carbon dioxide: A colorless, odorless, nonpoisonous gas that is a normal component of the ambient air; it is an expiration product of normal plant and animal life. Carbon monoxide: A colorless, odorless gas that is toxic if breathed in high concentration over a period of time. Carolina bay: Ovate, intermittently flooded depression of a type occurring on the Coastal Plain from New Jersey to Florida. Cask (radioactive materials): A container that meets all applicable regulatory requirements for shipping spent nuclear fuel or high-level waste. Cesium: A silver-white alkali metal. A radioactive isotope of cesium, cesium-137, is a common fission product. Chronic exposure: Low-level radiation exposure incurred over a long time period due to residual contamination. Cladding: The outer jacket of fuel elements and targets, usually made of aluminum, stainless steel, or zirconium-aluminum alloy, used to prevent fuel corrosion and retain fusion products during reactor operations, or to prevent releases into the environment during storage. Clean Air Act: This Act mandates and enforces air pollutant emissions standards for stationary sources and motor vehicles. Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990: Expands the Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement powers and adds restrictions on air toxics, ozone depleting chemicals, stationary and mobile emissions sources, and emissions implicated in rain and global warming. Clean Water Act of 1972, 1987: This Act regulates the discharge of pollutants from a point source into navigable waters of the United States in compliance with a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit as well as regulates discharges to or dredging of wetlands. Climatology: The science that deals with climates and investigates their phenomena and causes. Code of Federal Regulations: All Federal regulations in force are published in codified form in the Code of Federal Regulations. Cold standby: Maintenance of a protected reactor condition in which the fuel is removed, the moderator is stored in tanks, and equipment and system layup is performed to prevent deterioration, such that future refueling and restart are possible. Collective committed effective dose equivalent: The committed effective dose equivalent of radiation for a population. Committed dose equivalent: The predicted total dose equivalent to a tissue or organ over a 50-year period after an intake of radionuclide into the body. It does not include external dose contributions. Committed dose equivalent is expressed in units of rem or Sievert. The committed effective dose equivalent is the sum of the committed dose equivalents to various tissues of the body, each multiplied by the appropriate weighting factor. Community (biotic): All plants and animals occupying a specific area under relatively similar conditions. Complex: The Nuclear Weapons Complex, which is a set of Federal sites and government-owned/ contractor-operated facilities administered by the Department of Energy. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (or Super- fund): This Act provides regulatory framework for remediation of past contamination from hazardous waste. If a site meets the Act's requirements for designation, it is ranked along with other "Superfund" sites and is listed on the National Priorities List. This ranking is the Environmental Protection Agency's way of determining which sites have the highest priority for cleanup. Conceptual design: Efforts to develop a project scope that will satisfy program needs; ensure project feasibility and attainable performance levels of the project for congressional consideration; develop project criteria and design parameters for all engi- neering disciplines; and identify applicable codes and standards, quality assurance requirements, environmental studies, construction materials, space allowances, energy conservation features, health, safety, safeguards, and security requirements and any other features or requirements necessary to describe the project. Consumptive water use: The difference in the volume of water withdrawn from a body of water and the amount released back into the body of water. Container: The metal envelope in the waste package that provides the primary containment function of the waste package and is designed to meet the containment requirements of 10 CFR 60. Containment design basis: For a nuclear reactor, those bounding conditions for the design of the containment, including temperature, pressure, and leakage rate. Because the containment is provided as an additional barrier to mitigate the consequences of accidents involving the release of radioactive materials, the containment design basis may include an additional specified margin above those conditions expected to result from the plant design-basis accidents to ensure that the containment design can mitigate unlikely or unforeseen events. Control rods: The elements of a nuclear reactor that absorb slow neutrons and are used to increase, decrease, or maintain the neutron density in the reactor. Coolant: A substance, either gas or liquid, circulated through a nuclear reactor or processing plant to remove heat. Credible accident: An accident that has a probability of occurrence greater than or equal to one in a million years. Cretaceous Period: Geologic time making up the end of the Mesozoic Era, dating from approximately 144 million to 66 million years ago. Criteria pollutants: Six air pollutants for which national ambient air quality standards are established by the Environmental Protection Agency: sulfur dioxide, nitric oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter (smaller than 10 microns in diameter), and lead. Critical habitat: Defined in the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as "specific areas within the geographical area occupied by [an endangered or threatened] species..., essential to the conservation of the species and which may require special management considerations or protection; and specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by the species... that are essential for the conservation of the species." Criticality: A reactor state in which a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is achieved. Cultural resources: Archaeological sites, architectural features, traditional use areas, and Native American sacred sites. Curie: A unit of radioactivity equal to 37 billion disintegrations per second; also a quantity of any nuclide or mixture of nuclides having 1 curie of radioactivity. Decay heat (radioactivity): The heat produced by the decay of certain radionuclides. Decay (radioactive): The decrease in the amount of any radioactive material with the passage of time, due to the spontaneous transformation of an unstable nuclide into a different nuclide or into a different energy state of the same nuclide; the emission of nuclear radiation (alpha, beta, or gamma radiation) is part of the process. Decontamination: The removal of radioactive or chemical contamination from facilities, equipment, or soils by washing, heating, chemical or electrochemical action, mechanical cleaning, or other techniques. Demilitarization: An irreversible modification or destruction of a weapons component or part of a component to the extent required to prevent use in its original weapon purpose. Depleted uranium: Uranium whose content of the isotope uranium-235 is less than 0.7 percent, which is the uranium-235 content of naturally occurring uranium. Deposition: In geology, the laying down of potential rock-forming materials; sedimentation. In atmospheric transport, the settling out on ground and building surfaces of atmospheric aerosols and particles ("dry deposition") or their removal from the air to the ground by precipitation ("wet deposition" or "rainout"). Design basis: For nuclear facilities, information that identifies the specific functions to be performed by a structure, system, or component and the specific values (or ranges of values) chosen for controlling parameters for reference bounds for design. These values may be: (1) restraints derived from generally accepted state-of-the-art practices for achieving functional goals; (2) requirements derived from analysis (based on calculation and/or experiments) of the effects of a postulated accident for which a structure, system, or component must meet its functional goals; or (3) requirements derived from Federal safety objectives, principles, goals, or requirements. Design-basis accident: For nuclear facilities, a postulated abnormal event that is used to establish the performance requirements of structures, systems, and components that are necessary to (1) maintain them in a safe shutdown condition indefinitely or (2) prevent or mitigate the consequences of the design-basis accident so that the general public and operating staff are not exposed to radiation in excess of appropriate guideline values. Design-basis events: Postulated disturbances in process variables that can potentially lead to design-basis accidents. Design laboratory: Department of Energy facilities involved in the design of nuclear weapons. Deuterium: A nonradioactive isotope of the element hydrogen with one neutron and one proton in the atomic nucleus. Deuterium oxide: See "heavy water." Dewatering: Pumping water from the soil to ensure proper soil characteristics for construction of facilities. May be required during operation if the water table impinges on foundations. Direct economic effects: The initial increases in output from different sectors of the economy resulting from some new activity within a predefined geographic region. Disposition: The ultimate "fate" or end use of a surplus Department of Energy facility following the transfer of the facility to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Waste Management. Dolomite: Calcium magnesium carbonate, a limestone-like mineral. Dose: The energy imparted to matter by ionizing radiation. The unit of absorbed dose is the rad. Dose commitment: The dose an organ or tissue would receive during a specified period of time (e.g., 50 to 100 years) as a result of intake (as by ingestion or inhalation) of one or more radionuclides from a defined release, frequently over a year's time. Dose equivalent: The product of absorbed dose in rad (or gray) and the effect of this type of radiation in tissue and a quality factor. Dose equivalent is expressed in units of rem or Sievert, where 1 rem equals 0.01 Sievert. The dose equivalent to an organ, tissue, or the whole body will be that received from the direct exposure plus the 50-year committed dose equivalent received from the radionuclides taken into the body during the year. Drainage basin: An aboveground area that supplies the water to a particular stream. Drawdown: The height difference between the natural water level in a formation and the reduced water level in the formation caused by the withdrawal of groundwater. Drift: Effluent mist or spray carried into the atmosphere from cooling towers. Drinking-water standards: The prescribed level of constituents or characteristics in a drinking water supply that cannot be exceeded legally. Dry site: For the purpose of this Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement any site where adequate water is not abundantly available for cooling of the tritium supply technologies. Effective dose equivalent: The summation 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 effects 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 effective dose equivalent includes the committed effective dose equivalent from internal deposition of radionuclides, and the effective dose equivalent due to penetrating radiation from sources external to the body. Effective dose equivalent is expressed in units of rem (or Sievert). Effluent: A gas or fluid discharged into the environment. Emergency condition: For a nuclear facility, occurrences or accidents that might occur infrequently during start-up testing or operation of the facility. Equipment, components, and structures might be deformed by these conditions to the extent that repair is required prior to reuse. Emission standards: Legally enforceable limits on the quantities and/or kinds of air contaminants that can be emitted into the atmosphere. Endangered species: Animals, birds, fish, plants, or other living organisms threatened with extinction by man-made or natural changes in their environment. Requirements for declaring species endangered are contained in the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Endangered Species Act of 1973: This Act requires Federal agencies, with the consultation and assistance of the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce, to ensure that their actions will not likely jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species or adversely affect the habitat of such species. Engineered safety features: For a nuclear facility, features that prevent, limit, or mitigate the release of radioactive material from its primary containment. Entrainment: The involuntary capture and inclusion of organisms in streams of flowing water, a term often applied to the cooling water systems of power plants/reactors. The organisms involved may include phyto- and zooplankton, fish eggs and larvae (ichthyoplankton), shellfish larvae, and other forms of aquatic life. Environment, safety, and health program: In the context of the Department of Energy, encompasses those Department of Energy requirements, activities, and functions in the conduct of all Department of Energy and Department of Energy-controlled operations that are concerned with: impacts to the biosphere; compliance with environmental laws, regulations, and standards controlling air, water, and soil pollution; limiting the risks to the well-being of both operating personnel and the general public to acceptably low levels; and protecting property adequately against accidental loss and damage. Typical activities and functions related to this program include, but are not limited to, environmental protection, occupational safety, fire protection, industrial hygiene, health physics, occupational medicine, and process and facilities safety, nuclear safety, emergency preparedness, quality assurance, and radioactive and hazardous waste management. Environmental assessment: A written environmental analysis that is prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act to determine whether a Federal action would significantly affect the environment and thus require preparation of a more detailed environmental impact statement. If the action does not significantly affect the environment, then a finding of no significant impact is prepared. Environmental impact statement: A document required of Federal agencies by National Environmental Policy Act for major proposals or legislation significantly affecting the environment. A tool for decision-making, it describes the positive and negative effects of the undertaking and alternative actions. Eocene: A geologic epoch early in the Cenozoic Era, dating from approximately 54 to 38 million years ago. Epicenter: The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake. Epidemiology: The science concerned with the study of events that determine and influence the frequency and distribution of disease, injury, and other health-related events and their causes in a defined human population. Equivalent sound (pressure) level (Leq): The equivalent steady sound level that, if continuous during a specified time period, would contain the same total energy as the actual time-varying sound. For example, Leq (1-h) and Leq (24-h) are the 1-hour and 24-hour equivalent sound level, respectively. Exposure limit: The level of exposure to a hazardous chemical (set by law or a standard) at which or below which adverse human health effects are not expected to occur: Reference dose is the chronic exposure dose (mg or kg per day) for a given hazardous chemical at which or below which adverse human non-cancer health effects are not expected to occur. Reference concentration is the chronic exposure concentration (mg/m3) for a given hazardous chemical at which or below which adverse human non-cancer health effects are not expected to occur. Fault: A fracture or a zone of fractures within a rock formation along which vertical, horizontal, or transverse slippage has occurred. A normal fault occurs when the hanging wall has been depressed in relation to the footwall. A reverse fault occurs when the hanging wall has been raised in relation to the footwall. Finding of No Significant Impact: A document by a Federal agency briefly presenting the reasons why an action, not otherwise excluded, will not have a significant effect on the human environment and will not require an environmental impact statement. Fissile material: Plutonium-239, uranium-233, uranium-235, or any material containing any of the foregoing. Fission: The splitting of a heavy atomic nucleus into two nuclei of lighter elements, accompanied by the release of energy and generally one or more neutrons. Fission can occur spontaneously or be induced by neutron bombardment. Fission products: Nuclei formed by the fission of heavy elements (primary fission products); also, the nuclei formed by the decay of the primary fission products, many of which are radioactive. Floodplain: The lowlands adjoining inland and coastal waters and relatively flat areas including at a minimum that area inundated by a 1-percent or greater chance flood in any given year. The base floodplain is defined as the 100-year (1.0 percent) floodplain. The critical action floodplain is defined as the 500-year (0.2 percent) floodplain. Flux: Rate of flow through a unit area; in reactor operation, the apparent flow of neutrons in a defined energy range (see neutron flux). Formation: In geology, the primary unit of formal stratigraphic mapping or description. Most formations possess certain distinctive features. Fossil: Impression or trace of an animal or plant of past geological ages that has been preserved in the earth's crust. Fossiliferous: Containing a relatively large number of fossils. Fugitive emissions: Emissions to the atmosphere from pumps, valves, flanges, seals, and other process points not vented through a stack. Also includes emissions from area sources such as ponds, lagoons, landfills, and piles of stored material. Gamma rays: High-energy, short-wavelength, electromagnetic radiation accompanying fission and emitted from the nucleus of an atom. Gamma rays are very penetrating and can be stopped only by dense materials (such as lead) or a thick layer of shielding materials. Gaussian plume: The distribution of material (a plume) in the atmosphere resulting from the release of pollutants from a stack or other source. The distribution of concentrations about the centerline of the plume, which is assumed to decrease as a function of its distance from the source and centerline (Gaussian distribution), depends on the mean wind speed and atmospheric stability. Genetic effects: The outcome resulting from exposure to mutagenic chemicals or radiation which results in genetic changes in germ line or somatic cells. Effects on genetic material in germ line (sex cells) cause trait modifications that can be passed from parents to offspring. Effects on genetic material in somatic cells result in tissue or organ modifications (e.g. liver tumors) that do not pass from parents to offspring. Geologic repository (mined geologic repository): A facility for the disposal of nuclear waste; the waste is isolated by placement in a continuous, stable geologic formation at depths greater than 300 meters. Geology: The science that deals with the Earth: the materials, processes, environments, and history of the planet, including the rocks and their formation and structure. Glove box: An airtight box used to work with hazardous material, vented to a closed filtering system, having gloves attached inside of the box to protect the worker. Ground shine: An area on the ground where radioactivity has been deposited by a radioactive plume or cloud. Groundwater: The supply of water found beneath the Earth's surface, usually in aquifers, which may supply wells and springs. Half-life (radiological): The time in which half the atoms of a radioactive substance disintegrate to another nuclear form; this varies for specific radioisotopes from millionths of a second to billions of years. Hazard Index: A summation of the Hazard Quotients for all chemicals now being used at a site and those proposed to be added to yield cumulative levels for a site. A Hazard Index value of 1.0 or less means that no adverse human health effects (noncancer) are expected to occur. Hazard Quotient: The value used as an assessment of non-cancer associated toxic effects of chemicals, e.g., kidney or liver dysfunction. It is independent of a cancer risk, which is calculated only for those chemicals identified as carcinogens. Hazardous material: A material, including a hazardous substance, as defined by 49 CFR 171.8 which poses a risk to health, safety, and property when transported or handled. Hazardous/toxic waste: Any solid waste (can also be semisolid or liquid, or contain gaseous material) having the characteristics of ignitability, corrosivity, toxicity, or reactivity, defined by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and identified or listed in 40 CFR 261 or by the Toxic Substances Control Act. Heat exchanger: A device that transfers heat from one fluid (liquid or gas) to another. Heavy metals: Metallic or semimetallic elements of high molecular weight, such as mercury, chromium, cadmium, lead, and arsenic, that are toxic to plants and animals at known concentrations. Heavy water: A form of water (a molecule with two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom) in which the hydrogen atoms consist largely or completely of the deuterium isotope. Heavy water has almost identical chemical properties, but quite different nuclear properties, as light water (common water). Heavy Water Reactor: A nuclear reactor in which circulating heavy water is used to cool the reactor core and to moderate (reduce the energy of) the neutrons created in the core by the fission reactions. High efficiency particulate air filter: A filter used to remove particulates from dry gaseous effluent streams. High-level waste: The highly radioactive waste material that results from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, including liquid waste produced directly in reprocessing and any solid waste derived from the liquid. High-level waste contains a combination of transuranic waste and fission products in concentrations requiring permanent isolation. Highly enriched uranium: Uranium in which the abundance of the isotope uranium-235 is increased well above normal (naturally occurring) levels. Historic resources: Archaeological sites, architectural structures, and objects produced after the advent of written history dating to the time of the first Euro-American contact in an area. Holocene: The current epoch of geologic time, which began approximately 10,000 years ago. Hydraulic gradient: The difference in hydraulic head at two points divided by the distance between two points. Hydrology: The science dealing with the properties, distribution, and circulation of natural water systems. Impingement: The process by which aquatic organisms too large to pass through the screens of a water intake structure become caught on the screens and are unable to escape. Incident-free risk: The radiological or chemical impacts resulting from packages aboard vehicles in normal transport. This includes the radiation or hazardous chemical exposure of specific population groups such as crew, passengers, and bystanders. Indirect economic effects: Indirect effects result from the need to supply industries experiencing direct economic effects with additional outputs to allow them to increase their production. The additional output from each directly affected industry requires inputs from other industries within a region (i.e., purchases of goods and services). This results in a multiplier effect to show the change in total economic activity resulting from a new activity in a region. Induced economic effects: The spending of households resulting from direct and indirect economic effects. Increases in output from a new economic activity lead to an increase in household spending throughout the economy as firms increase their labor inputs. Injection wells: A well that takes water from the surface into the ground, either through gravity or by mechanical means. Interbedded: Occurring between beds or lying in a bed parallel to other beds of a different material. Interim (permit) status: Period during which treatment, storage, and disposal facilities coming under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1980 are temporarily permitted to operate while awaiting denial or issuance of a permanent permit. Ion exchange: A unit physiochemical process that removes anions and cations, including radionuclides, from liquid streams (usually water) for the purpose of purification or decontamination. Ionizing radiation: Radiation that can displace electrons from atoms or molecules, thereby producing ions. Isotope: An atom of a chemical element with a specific atomic number and atomic mass. Isotopes of the same element have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons and different atomic masses. Joule: A metric unit of energy, work, or heat, equivalent to 1 watt-second, 0.737 foot-pound, or 0.239 calories. Klystron: An electron tube used for the generation of ultrahigh-frequency current. Lacustrine: Found or formed in lakes; also, a type of wetland situated on or near a lake. Landscape character: The arrangement of a particular landscape as formed by the variety and intensity of the landscape features (land, water, vegetation, and structures) and the four basic elements (form, line, color, and texture). These factors give an area a dis- tinctive quality that distinguishes it from its immediate surroundings. Large release: A release of radioactive material that would result in doses greater than 25 rem to the whole body or 300 rem to the thyroid at 1.6 kilometer from the control perimeter (security fence) of a reactor facility. Latent fatalities: Fatalities associated with acute and chronic environmental exposures to chemical or radiation that occur within 30 years of exposure. Light water: The common form of water (a molecule with two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom) in which the hydrogen atom consists largely or completely of the normal hydrogen isotope (one proton). Light Water Reactor: A nuclear reactor in which circulating light water is used to cool the reactor core and to moderate (reduce the energy of) the neutrons created in the core by the fission reactions. Lithic: Pertaining to stone or a stone tool. Long-lived radionuclides: Radioactive isotopes with half-lives greater than about 30 years. Loss-of-coolant accidents: A postulated accident that results from the loss of reactor coolant (at a rate that exceeds the capability of the reactor coolant makeup system) from breaks in the reactor coolant pressure boundary, up to and including a break equivalent in size to the double-ended rupture of the largest pipe of the reactor coolant system. Loss-of-pumping accidents: An event that involves a pipe break through which coolant (either primary or secondary) is released. Low-level waste: Waste that contains radioactivity but is not classified as high-level waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel, or "11e(2) by-product material" as defined by DOE Order 5820.2A, Radioactive Waste Management. Test specimens of fissionable material irradiated for research and development only, and not for the production of power or plutonium, may be classified as low-level waste, provided the concentration of transuranic waste is less than 100 nanocuries per gram. Some low-level waste is considered classified because of the nature of the generating process and/or constituents, because the waste would tell too much about the process. Mastodon: Any of numerous extinct mammals that differ from the related mammoths and existing elephants chiefly in the form of molar teeth. Maximum contaminant level: The maximum permissible level of a contaminant in water delivered to any user of a public water system. Maximum contaminant levels are enforceable standards. Maximally exposed individual: A hypothetical person who could potentially receive the maximum dose of radiation or hazardous chemicals. Megawatt: A unit of power equal to 1 million watts. Megawatt thermal is commonly used to define heat produced, while megawatt electric defines electricity produced. Meteorology: The science dealing with the atmosphere and its phenomena, especially as relating to weather. Migration: The natural movement of a material through the air, soil, or groundwater; also, seasonal movement of animals from one area to another. Miocene Epoch: Geologic time in the Cenozoic Era dating from 26 to 7 million years ago. Mixed waste: Waste that contains both "hazardous waste" and "radioactive waste" as defined in this glossary. Moderator: A material used to decelerate neutrons in a reactor from high energies to low energies. Modified Mercalli intensity: A level on the modified Mercalli scale. A measure of the perceived intensity of earthquake ground shaking with 12 divisions, from I (not felt by people) to XII (damage nearly total). Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor: A relatively small nuclear reactor of standardized design in which graphite (a compound of electrical carbon) is used to moderate (reduce the energy of) the neutrons created in the core by fission reactions, and a gas (helium) is used to cool the reactor core Mollusks: Unsegmented, invertebrate animals including gastropods, pelecypods, and cephalopods. National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Air quality standards established by the Clean Air Act, as amended. The primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards are intended to protect the public health with an adequate margin of safety, and the secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards are intended to protect the public welfare from any known or anticipated adverse effects of a pollutant. National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: A set of national emission standards for listed hazardous pollutants emitted from specific classes or categories of new and existing sources. These were implemented in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977. National Environmental Policy Act of 1969: This Act is the basic national charter for the protection of the environment. It requires the preparation of an environmental impact statement for every major Federal action that may significantly affect the quality of the human or natural environment. Its main purpose is to provide environmental information to decision makers so that their actions are based on an understanding of the potential environmental consequences of a proposed action and its reasonable alternatives. National Environmental Research Park: An outdoor laboratory set aside for ecological research to study the environmental impacts of energy developments. National environmental research parks were established by the Department of Energy to provide protected land areas for research and education in the environmental sciences and to dem- onstrate the environmental compatibility of energy technology development and use. National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended: This Act provides that property resources with significant national historic value be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It does not require any permits but, pursuant to Federal code, if a proposed action might impact an historic property resource, it mandates consultation with the proper agencies. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System: Federal permitting system required for hazardous effluents regulated through the Clean Water Act, as amended. National Register of Historic Places: A list maintained by the Secretary of the Interior of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects of prehistoric or historic local, state, or national significance. The list is expanded as authorized by Section 2(b) of the Historic Sites Act of 1935 (16 U.S.C. 462) and Section 101(a)(1)(A) of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. Neutron: An uncharged elementary particle with a mass slightly greater than that of the proton, found in the nucleus of every atom heavier than hydrogen-1; a free neutron is unstable and decays with a half-life of about 13 minutes into an electron and a proton. Neutron poison: A chemical solution (e.g., boron or rare earth solution) injected into a nuclear reactor to absorb neutrons and end criticality. Nonattainment area: An air quality control region (or portion thereof) in which the Environmental Protection Agency has determined that ambient air concentrations exceed national ambient air quality standards for one or more criteria pollutants. Nitrogen oxides: Refers to the oxides of nitrogen, primarily NO (nitrogen oxide) and NO2 (nitrogen dioxide). These are produced in the combustion of fossil fuels and can constitute an air pollution problem. When nitrogen dioxide combines with volatile organic compounds, such as ammonia or carbon monoxide, ozone is produced. Nuclear criticality: (See "criticality.) Nuclear facility: A facility whose operations involve radioactive materials in such form and quantity that a nuclear hazard potentially exists to the employees or the general public. Included are facilities that: produce, process, or store radioactive liquid or solid waste, fissionable materials, or tritium; conduct separations operations; conduct irradiated materials inspection, fuel fabrication, decontamination, or recovery operations; or conduct fuel enrichment operations. Incidental use of radioactive materials in a facility operation (e.g., check sources, radioactive sources, and x-ray machines) does not necessarily require a facility to be included in this definition. Nuclear grade: Material of a quality adequate for use in a nuclear application. Nuclear material: Composite term applied to: (1) special nuclear material; (2) source material such as uranium or thorium or ores containing uranium or thorium; and (3) by-product material, which is any radioactive material that is made radioactive by exposure to the radiation incident to the process of producing or using special nuclear material. Nuclear power plant: A facility that converts nuclear energy into electrical power. Heat produced in a nuclear reactor is used to make steam which drives a turbine connected to an electric generator. Nuclear production: Production operations for components of nuclear weapons that are fabricated from nuclear materials, including plutonium and uranium. Nuclear reaction: A reaction in which an atomic nucleus is transformed into another isotope of that respective nuclide, or into another element altogether; it is always accompanied by the liberation of either particles or energy. Nuclear reactor: A device in which a fission chain reaction is maintained, and which is used for irradiation of materials or to produce heat for the generation of electricity. Nuclide: A species of atom characterized by the constitution of its nucleus and hence by the number of protons, the number of neutrons, and the energy content. Obsidian: A black volcanic glass. Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Oversees and regulates workplace health and safety, created by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Onsite population: Department of Energy and contractor employees who are on duty, and badged onsite visitors. Operable: For a nuclear facility, a situation wherein a reactor and fuel/target cycle facilities are being operated or have the potential for being operated. A reactor and fuel/target cycle facility that cannot be operated on a day-to-day basis because of refueling, extensive modifications, or technical problems is still considered operable. Operable unit: A discrete action that comprises an incremental step toward comprehensively addressing site problems. This discrete portion of a remedial response manages migration or eliminates or mitigates a release, threat of release, or pathway of exposure. The cleanup of a site can be divided into a number of operable units. Outfall: The discharge point of a drain, sewer, or pipe as it empties into a body of water. Ozone: The triatomic form of oxygen; in the stratosphere, ozone protects the Earth from the sun's ultraviolet rays, but in lower levels of the atmosphere ozone is considered an air pollutant. Packaging: The assembly of components necessary to ensure compliance with Federal regulations. It may consist of one or more receptacles, absorbent materials, spacing structures, thermal insulation, radiation shielding, and devices for cooling or absorbing mechanical shocks. The vehicle tie-down system and auxiliary equipment may be designated as part of the packaging. Paleontology: The study of fossils. Paleozoic Era: Geologic time dating from 570 million to 245 million years ago when seed-bearing plants, amphibians, and reptiles first appeared. Palustrine: Found or formed in marshes; also, a type of wetland situated in or near a marsh. Perched groundwater: A body of groundwater of small lateral dimensions lying above a more extensive aquifer. Permeability: geology, the ability of rock or soil to transmit a fluid. Person-rem: The unit of collective radiation dose commitment to a given population; the sum of the individual doses received by a population segment. Physical setting: The land and water form, vegetation, and structures that compose the landscape. Pit: An assembly at the center of a nuclear device containing a sub-critical mass of fissionable material. Playa: A dry lake bed in a desert basin or a closed depression that contains water on a seasonal basis. Pleistocene Epoch: Geologic time that began approximately 3 to 5 million years ago. Pliocene Epoch: Geologic time between the Miocene and the Pleistocene epochs approximately 2 to 13 million years ago. Plume: The elongated pattern of contaminated air or water originating at a point source, such as a smokestack or a hazardous waste disposal site. Plume immersion: Occurs when an individual is enveloped by a cloud of radioactive gaseous effluent and receives an external radiation dose. Plutonium: A heavy, radioactive, metallic element with the atomic number 94. It is produced artificially in a reactor by bombardment of uranium with neutrons and is used in the production of nuclear weapons. Potentiometric surface: An imaginary surface defined by the level that water will rise to in a tightly-cased well. Pounds per square inch: A measure of pressure; atmospheric pressure is about 14.7 pounds per square inch. Prehistoric: Predating written history. In North America, also predating contact with Europeans. Pressurized water reactor: A nuclear power reactor that uses water under pressure as a coolant. The water boiled to generate steam is in a separate system. Prevention of Significant Deterioration: Regulations established by the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments to limit increases in criteria air pollutant concentrations above baseline. Primary system: The system that circulates a coolant (e.g., water) through the reactor core to remove the heat of reaction. Prime farmland: Land that has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food, feed, fiber, forage, oil-seed, and other agricultural crops with minimum inputs of fuel, fertilizer, pesticides, and labor without intolerable soil erosion, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture (Farmland Protection Policy Act of 1981, 7CFR 7, paragraph 658). Probabilistic risk assessment: A comprehensive, logical, and structured methodology to identify and quantitatively evaluate significant accident sequences and their consequences. (See "Level-1 probabilistic risk assessment, Level-2 probabilistic risk assessment, and Level-3 probabilistic risk assessment.") Probable maximum flood: Flood levels predicted for a scenario having hydrological conditions that maximize the flow of surface waters. Protected area: An area encompassed by physical barriers, subject to access controls, surrounding material access areas, and meeting the standards of DOE Order 5632.1C, Protection and Control of Safeguards and Security Interests. Quality factor: The principal modifying factor that is employed to derive dose equivalent from absorbed dose. Rad: See "radiation absorbed dose." Radiation: The emitted particles or photons from the nuclei of radioactive atoms. Some elements are naturally radioactive; others are induced to become radioactive by bombardment in a reactor. Naturally occurring radiation is indistinguishable from induced radiation. Radiation absorbed dose: The basic unit of absorbed dose equal to the absorption of 0.01 joule per kilogram of absorbing material. Radioactive waste: Materials from nuclear operations that are radioactive or are contaminated with radioactive materials, and for which use, reuse, or recovery are impractical. Radioactivity: The spontaneous decay or disintegration of unstable atomic nuclei, accompanied by the emission of radiation. Radioisotopes: Radioactive nuclides of the same element (same number of protons in their nuclei) that differ in the number of neutrons. Radionuclide: A radioactive element characterized according to its atomic mass and atomic number which can be man-made or naturally occurring. Radionuclides can have a long life as soil or water pollutants, and are believed to have potentially mutagenic or carcinogenic effects on the human body. Radon: Gaseous, radioactive element with the atomic number 86 resulting from the radioactive decay of radium. Radon occurs naturally in the environment, and can collect in unventilated enclosed areas, such as basements. Large concentrations of radon can cause lung cancer in humans. RADTRAN: A computer code combining user-determined meteorological, demographic, transpor- tation, packaging, and material factors with health physics data to calculate the expected radiological consequences and accident risk of transporting radioactive material. Reactor accident: See "design-basis accident; severe accident." Reactor charge: The fuel and target assemblies loaded into specific positions in the reactor to produce the desired product; the reactor positions occupied by the assemblies depend on the product and the types of assemblies used. Reactor core: In a heavy water reactor: the fuel assemblies, including the fuel and target tubes, control assemblies, blanket assemblies, safety rods, and coolant/moderator. In a light-water reactor: the fuel assemblies, including the fuel and target rods, control rods, and coolant/ moderator. In a modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor: the graphite elements, including the fuel and target elements, control rods, any other reactor shutdown mechanisms, and the graphite reflectors. Reactor facility: Unless it is modified by words such as containment, vessel, or core, the term reactor facility includes the housing, equipment, and associated areas devoted to the operation and maintenance of one or more reactor cores. Any apparatus that is designed or used to sustain nuclear chain reactions in a controlled manner, including critical and pulsed assemblies and research, test, and power reactors, is defined as a reactor. All assemblies designed to perform subcritical experiments that could potentially reach criticality are also to be considered reactors. Reactor year: A unit of time by which accident frequency and core damage frequency are measured; it assumes that more than one reactor can operate during the year (a calendar year during which three reactors operated would be the experience equivalent of 3 reactor years) and it assumes that a reactor might not operate continuously for the entire year (a reactor operating only 60 percent of the calendar year would be the equivalent of 0.6 reactor year). Receiving waters: Rivers, lakes, oceans, or other bodies of water into which wastewaters are discharged. Recharge: Replenishment of water to an aquifer. Recycling: The recovery, purification, and reuse of tritium contained in tritium reservoirs within the nuclear weapons stockpile. Rem: See "roentgen equivalent man." Remediation: The process, or a phase in the process, of rendering radioactive, hazardous, or mixed waste environmentally safe, whether through processing, entombment, or other methods. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended: The Act that provides "cradle to grave" regulatory program for hazardous waste which established, among other things, a system for managing hazardous waste from its generation until its ultimate disposal. Rhyolite: A volcanic rock rich in silica; the volcanic equivalent of granite. Riparian wetlands: Wetlands on or around rivers and streams. Riprap: A loose assemblage of stones used in water or soft ground to prevent erosion. Risk: A quantitative or qualitative expression of possible loss that considers both the probability that a hazard will cause harm and the consequences of that event. Risk assessment (chemical or radiological): The qualitative and quantitative evaluation performed in an effort to define the risk posed to human health and/or the environment by the presence or potential presence and/or use of specific chemical or radiological pollutants. Runoff: The portion of rainfall, melted snow, or irrigation water that flows across the ground surface and eventually enters streams. Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended: This Act protects the quality of public water supplies, water supply and distribution systems, and all sources of drinking water. Safe secure trailer: A specially designed semi-trailer, pulled by an armored tractor, which is used for the safe, secure transportation of cargo containing nuclear weapons or special nuclear material. Safety Analysis Report: A safety document providing a concise but complete description and safety evaluation of a site, design, normal and emergency operation, potential accidents, predicted consequences of such accidents, and the means proposed to prevent such accidents or mitigate their consequences. A safety analysis report is designated as final when it is based on final design information. Otherwise, it is designated as preliminary. Saltstone: Low radioactivity fraction of high-level waste from the in-tank precipitation process mixed with cement, flyash, and slag to form a concrete block. Sandstone: A sedimentary rock predominantly containing individual mineral grains visible to the unaided eye. Sanitary wastes: Wastes generated by normal housekeeping activities, liquid or solid (includes sludge), which are not hazardous or radioactive. Sanitization: An irreversible modification or destruction of a component or part of a component to the extent required to prevent revealing classified or otherwise controlled information. Scintillation: Minute flash of light caused when alpha, beta, or gamma rays strike certain phosphors. Scope: In a document prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the range of actions, alternatives, and impacts to be considered. Secondary system: The system that circulates a coolant (water) through a heat exchanger to remove heat from the primary system. Sedimentation: The settling out of soil and mineral solids from suspension in water. Seismic: Pertaining to any earth vibration, especially an earthquake. Seismic zone: An area defined by the Uniform Building Code (1991), designating the amount of damage to be expected as the result of earthquakes. The United States is divided into six zones: (1) Zone 0 - no damage; (2) Zone 1 - minor damage; corresponds to intensities V and VI of the modified Mercalli intensity scale; (3) Zone 2A - moderate damage; corresponds to intensity VII of the modified Mercalli intensity scale (eastern U.S.); (4) Zone 2B - slightly more damage than 2A (western U.S.); (5) Zone 3 - major damage; corresponds to intensity VII and higher of the modified Mercalli intensity scale; (6) Zone 4 - areas within Zone 3 determined by proximity to certain major fault systems. Seismicity: The tendency for the occurrence of earthquakes. Severe accident: An accident with a frequency rate of less than 10-6 per year that would have more severe consequences than a design-basis accident, in terms of damage to the facility, offsite consequences, or both. Sewage: The total of organic waste and wastewater generated by an industrial establishment or a community. Short-lived activation products: An element formed from neutron interaction that has a relatively short half-life and which is not produced from the fission reaction (e.g., a cobalt isotope formed from impurities in the metal of the reactor piping). Short-lived nuclides: Radioactive isotopes with half-lives no greater than about 30 years (e.g., cesium-137 and strontium-90). Shrink-swell potential: Refers to the potential for soils to contract while drying and expand after wetting. Shutdown: For a Department of Energy reactor, that condition in which the reactor has ceased operation and the Department has declared officially that it does not intend to operate it further (see DOE Order 5480.6, Safety of Department of Energy-Owned Nuclear Reactors). Silt: A sedimentary material consisting of fine mineral particles intermediate in size between sand and clay. Siltstone: A sedimentary rock composed of fine textured minerals. Source term: The estimated quantities of radionuclides or chemical pollutants released to the environment. Spallation: Any nuclear reaction when several particles result from a collision, e.g., chain-reaction in a nuclear reactor. Special nuclear materials: As defined in Section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, special nuclear material means (1) plutonium, uranium enriched in the isotope 233 or in the isotope 235, and any other material which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission determines to be special nuclear material or (2) any material artificially enriched by any of the foregoing. Standardization (Epidemiology): Techniques used to control the effects of differences (e.g., age) between populations when comparing disease experience. The two main methods are: Direct method, in which specific disease rates in the study population are averaged, using as weights the distribution of the comparison population. Indirect method, in which the specific disease rates in the comparison population are averaged, using as weights the distribution of the study population. Standby: That condition in which a reactor facility is neither operable nor declared excess and in which documentary authorization exists to maintain the reactor for possible future operation (DOE Order 5480.6). Steppe: An area of grass-covered and generally treeless plains. Steppe climate (semiarid climate): The type of climate in which precipitation is very slight but sufficient for the growth of short, sparse grass. Stratigraphy: Division of geology dealing with the definition and description of rocks and soils, especially sedimentary rocks. Strike: The direction or trend that a structural surface (e.g., a bedding or fault plane) takes as it intersects the horizontal. Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986: In addition to certain free-standing provisions of law, it includes amendments to Compensation Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 and the Safe Drinking Water Act. Surface water: Water on the Earth's surface, as distinguished from water in the ground (groundwater). Tertiary Period: The first geologic period of the Cenozoic Era, dating from 66 million to about 3 million years ago. During this time, mammals became the dominant life form. Third Thirds waste: The Environmental Protection Agency proposed the Third Thirds Rule, as required by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984, to establish treatment standards and effective dates for all wastes (including characteristic wastes) for which treatment standards had not yet been promulgated (40 CFR 268.12), including derived-from wastes (i.e., multi-source leachage), and for mixed radioactive/hazardous wastes. Threatened species: Any species that is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Threshold limit values: The recommended concentrations of contaminants workers may be exposed to according to the American Council of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976: This Act authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency to secure information on all new and existing chemical substances and to control any of these substances determined to cause an unreasonable risk to public health or the environment. This law requires that the health and environmental effects of all new chemicals be reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency before they are manufactured for commercial purposes. Transients: Events that could cause the temporary production of more (or less) heat in the reactor than the cooling system; also called reactivity change or power transients. Transuranic waste: Waste contaminated with alpha-emitting radionuclides with half-lives greater than 20 years and concentrations greater than 100 nanocuries/gram at time of assay. It is not a mixed waste. Tritium: A radioactive isotope of the element hydrogen with two neutrons and one proton. Common symbols for the isotope are H-3 and T. Unconfined aquifer: A permeable geological unit having the following properties: a water-filled pore space (saturated), the capability to transmit significant quantities of water under ordinary differences in pressure, and an upper water boundary that is at atmospheric pressure. Unsaturated zone (vadose): A region in a porous medium in which the pore space is not filled with water. Uranium: A heavy, silvery-white metallic element (atomic number 92) with many radioactive isotopes. Uranium-235 is most commonly used as a fuel for nuclear fission. Another isotope, uranium-238, is transformed into fissionable plutonium-239 following its capture of a neutron in a nuclear reactor. Viewshed: The extent of the area that may be viewed from a particular location. Viewsheds are generally bounded by topographic features such as hills or mountains. Visual Resource Management Class: A class defines the different degrees of modification allowed to the basic elements of landscape. They are Class 1-applied to wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers, and other similar situations; Class 2-contrasts are seen but do not attract attention; Class 3-contrasts caused by a cultural activity are evident, but remain subordinate to the existing landscape; Class 4-contrasts that attract attention and are dominant features of the landscape in terms of scale, but repeat the contrast of the characteristic landscape; Class 5-applied to areas where unacceptable cultural mod- ification has lowered scenic quality (where the natural character of the landscape has been disturbed to a point where rehabilitation is needed to bring it up to one of the four other classifications). Visual sensitivity level: The relative degree of viewer numbers, visibility of the subject landscape and the degree of potential viewer interest, concern, and attitude for existing or proposed changes in the landscape character. Vitrification: A waste treatment process that uses glass (e.g., borosilicate glass) to encapsulate or immobilize radioactive wastes to prevent them from reacting in disposal sites. Volatile organic compounds: A broad range of organic compounds, often halogenated, that vaporize at ambient or relatively low temperatures, such as benzene, chloroform, and methyl alcohol. Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: A facility in southeastern New Mexico being developed as the disposal site for transuranic and transuranic mixed waste, not yet in operation. Water table: Water under the surface of the ground occurs in two zones, an upper unsaturated zone and the deeper saturated zone. The boundary between the two zones is the water table. Weapons-grade: Fissionable material in which the abundance of fissionable isotopes is high enough that the material is suitable for use in thermonuclear weapons. Weighting factor: Represents the fraction of the total health risk resulting from uniform whole-body irradiation that could be contributed to that particular tissue. Wetland: Land or areas exhibiting hydric soil conditions, saturated or inundated soil during some portion of the year, and plant species tolerant of such conditions. Wet site: For the purposes of this Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, any site where adequate water is available for evaporative cooling of tritium supply technologies. Whole-body dose: Dose resulting from the uniform exposure of all organs and tissues in a human body. (Also, see "effective dose equivalent.") Wind rose: A depiction of wind speed and direction frequency for a given period of time. X/Q (Chi/Q): The relative calculated air concentration due to a specific air release; units are (sec/m3). For example, (Ci/m3)/(Ci/sec)=(sec/m3) or (g/m3)/(g/sec)=(sec/m3). Zircaloy-4: An alloy of zirconium metal frequently used in nuclear reactors because of its desirable chemical and nuclear properties.
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