Laboratory Terms F

A glossary of science, chemistry, environmental and laboratory terms.

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Fabric Filter: A cloth device that catches dust particles from industrial emissions.
Facilities Plans: Plans and studies related to the construction of treatment works necessary to...
Facility Emergency Coordinator: Representative of a facility covered by environmental law (e.g, a chemical pl...
Facultative Bacteria: Bacteria that can live under aerobic or anaerobic conditions.
Feasibility Study: 1. Analysis of the practicability of a proposal; e.g., a description and anal...
Fecal Coliform Bacteria: Bacteria found in the intestinal tracts of mammals. Their presence in water o...
Federal Implementation Plan: Under current law, a federally implemented plan to achieve attainment of air ...
Federal Motor Vehicle Control Program: All federal actions aimed at controlling pollution from motor vehicles by suc...
Feedlot: A confined area for the controlled feeding of animals. Tends to concentrate l...
Fen: A type of wetland that accumulates peat deposits. Fens are less acidic than b...
Ferrous Metals: Magnetic metals derived from iron or steel; products made from ferrous metals...
FIFRA Pesticide Ingredient: An ingredient of a pesticide that must be registered with EPA under the Feder...
Fill: Man-made deposits of natural soils or rock products and waste materials.
Filling: Depositing dirt, mud or other materials into aquatic areas to create more dry...
Filter Strip: Strip or area of vegetation used for removing sediment, organic matter, and o...
Filtration: A treatment process, under the control of qualified operators, for removing s...
Financial Assurance for Closure: Documentation or proof that an owner or operator of a facility such as a land...
Finding of No Significant Impact: A document prepared by a federal agency showing why a proposed action would n...
Finished Water: Water is "finished" when it has passed through all the processes in a water t...
First Draw: The water that comes out when a tap is first opened, likely to have the highe...
Fix a Sample: A sample is "fixed" in the field by adding chemicals that prevent water quali...
Fixed-Location Monitoring: Sampling of an environmental or ambient medium for pollutant concentration at...
Flammable: Any material that ignites easily and will burn rapidly.
Flare: A control device that burns hazardous materials to prevent their release into...
Flash Point: The lowest temperature at which evaporation of a substance produces sufficien...
Floc: A clump of solids formed in sewage by biological or chemical action.
Flocculation: Process by which clumps of solids in water or sewage aggregate through biolog...
Floodplain: The flat or nearly flat land along a river or stream or in a tidal area that ...
Floor Sweep: Capture of heavier-than-air gases that collect at floor level.
Flow Rate: The rate, expressed in gallons -or liters-per-hour, at which a fluid escapes ...
Flowable: Pesticide and other formulations in which the active ingredients are finely g...
Flowmeter: A gauge indicating the velocity of wastewater moving through a treatment plan...
Flue Gas: The air coming out of a chimney after combustion in the burner it is venting....
Flue Gas Desulfurization: A technology that employs a sorbent, usually lime or limestone, to remove sul...
Fluidized: A mass of solid particles that is made to flow like a liquid by injection of ...
Fluidized Bed Incinerator: An incinerator that uses a bed of hot sand or other granular material to tran...
Flume: A natural or man-made channel that diverts water.
Fluoridation: The addition of a chemical to increase the concentration of fluoride ions in ...
Fluorides: Gaseous, solid, or dissolved compounds containing fluorine that result from i...
Fluorocarbons: Any of a number of organic compounds analogous to hydrocarbons in which one o...
Flush: 1. To open a cold-water tap to clear out all the water which may have been si...
Flux: 1. A flowing or flow. 2. A substance used to help metals fuse together.
Fly Ash: Non-combustible residual particles expelled by flue gas.
Fogging: Applying a pesticide by rapidly heating the liquid chemical so that it forms ...
Food Chain: A sequence of organisms, each of which uses the next, lower member of the seq...
Food Processing Waste: Food residues produced during agricultural and industrial operations.
Food Waste: Uneaten food and food preparation wastes from residences and commercial estab...
Food Web: The feeding relationships by which energy and nutrients are transferred from ...
Formaldehyde: A colorless, pungent, and irritating gas, CH20, used chiefly as a disinfectan...
Formulation: The substances comprising all active and inert ingredients in a pesticide.
Fossil Fuel: Fuel derived from ancient organic remains; e.g. peat, coal, crude oil, and na...
Fracking: Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a process of injecting liquid at high p...
Fracture: A break in a rock formation due to structural stresses; e.g. faults, shears, ...
Free Product: A petroleum hydrocarbon in the liquid free or non aqueous phase.
Freeboard: 1. Vertical distance from the normal water surface to the top of a confining ...
Fresh Water: Water that generally contains less than 1,000 milligrams-per-liter of dissolv...
Friable: Capable of being crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure.
Friable Asbestos: Any material containing more than one-percent asbestos, and that can be crumb...
Fuel Economy Standard: The Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standard (CAFE) effective in 1978. It enha...
Fuel Efficiency: The proportion of energy released by fuel combustion that is converted into u...
Fuel Switching: 1. A precombustion process whereby a low-sulfur coal is used in place of a hi...
Fugitive Emissions: Emissions not caught by a capture system.
Fume: Tiny particles trapped in vapor in a gas stream.
Fumigant: A pesticide vaporized to kill pests. Used in buildings and greenhouses.
Functional Equivalent: Term used to describe EPA's decision-making process and its relationship to t...
Fungicide: Pesticides which are used to control, deter, or destroy fungi.
Fungistat: A chemical that keeps fungi from growing.
Fungus Fungi: Molds, mildews, yeasts, mushrooms, and puffballs, a group of organisms lackin...
Furrow Irrigation: Irrigation method in which water travels through the field by means of small ...
Future Liability: Refers to potentially responsible parties' obligations to pay for additional ...

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