Laboratory Terms

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

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Laboratory Animal Studies: Investigations using animals as surrogates for humans.
Lagoon: 1. A shallow pond where sunlight, bacterial action, and oxygen work to purify...
Land Application: Discharge of wastewater onto the ground for treatment or reuse.
Land Ban: Phasing out of land disposal of most untreated hazardous wastes, as mandated ...
Land Disposal Restrictions: Rules that require hazardous wastes to be treated before disposal on land to ...
Land Farming of Waste: A disposal process in which hazardous waste deposited on or in the soil is de...
Landfills: 1. Sanitary landfills are disposal sites for non-hazardous solid wastes sprea...
Landscape: The traits, patterns, and structure of a specific geographic area, including ...
Landscape Characterization: Documentation of the traits and patterns of the essential elements of the lan...
Landscape Ecology: The study of the distribution patterns of communities and ecosystems, the eco...
Landscape Indicator: A measurement of the landscape, calculated from mapped or remotely sensed dat...
Langelier Index LI: An index reflecting the equilibrium pH of a water with respect to calcium and...
Large Quantity Generator: Person or facility generating more than 2200 pounds of hazardous waste per mo...
Large Water System: A water system that services more than 50,000 customers.
Laser Induced Fluorescence: A method for measuring the relative amount of soil and/or groundwater with an...
Latency: Time from the first exposure of a chemical until the appearance of a toxic ef...
Lateral Sewers: Pipes that run under city streets and receive the sewage from homes and busin...
Laundering Weir: Sedimention basin overflow weir.
LC 50 Lethal Concentration: Median level concentration, a standard measure of toxicity. It tells how much...
LD 50 Lethal Dose: The dose of a toxicant or microbe that will kill 50 percent of the test organ...
Ldlo: Lethal dose low; the lowest dose in an animal study at which lethality occurs.
Leachate: Water that collects contaminants as it trickles through wastes, pesticides or...
Leachate Collection System: A system that gathers leachate and pumps it to the surface for treatment.
Leaching: The process by which soluble constituents are dissolved and filtered through ...
Lead Pb: A heavy metal that is hazardous to health if breathed or swallowed. Its use i...
Lead Service Line: A service line made of lead which connects the water to the building inlet an...
Legionella: A genus of bacteria, some species of which have caused a type of pneumonia ca...
Lethal Concentration 50: Also referred to as LC50, a concentration of a pollutant or effluent at which...
Lethal Dose 50: Also referred to as LD50, the dose of a toxicant that will kill 50 percent of...
Level of Concern LOC: The concentration in air of an extremely hazardous substance above which ther...
Life Cycle of a Product: All stages of a product's development, from extraction of fuel for power to p...
Lifetime Average Daily Dose: Figure for estimating excess lifetime cancer risk.
Lifetime Exposure: Total amount of exposure to a substance that a human would receive in a lifet...
Lift: In a sanitary landfill, a compacted layer of solid waste and the top layer of...
Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid LNAPL: A non-aqueous phase liquid with a specific gravity less than 1.0. Because the...
Light-Emitting Diode: A long-lasting illumination technology used for exit signs which requires ver...
Limestone Scrubbing: Use of a limestone and water solution to remove gaseous stack-pipe sulfur bef...
Limit of Detection LOD: The minimum concentration of a substance being analyzed test that has a 99 pe...
Limited Degradation: An environmental policy permitting some degradation of natural systems but te...
Limiting Factor: A condition whose absence or excessive concentration, is incompatible with th...
Limnology: The study of the physical, chemical, hydrological, and biological aspects of ...
Lindane: A pesticide that causes adverse health effects in domestic water supplies and...
Liner: 1. A relatively impermeable barrier designed to keep leachate inside a landfi...
Lipid Solubility: The maximum concentration of a chemical that will dissolve in fatty substance...
Liquefaction: Changing a solid into a liquid.
Liquid Injection Incinerator: Commonly used system that relies on high pressure to prepare liquid wastes fo...
List: Shorthand term for EPA list of violating facilities or firms debarred from ob...
Listed Waste: Wastes listed as hazardous under RCRA but which have not been subjected to th...
Lithology: Mineralogy, grain size, texture, and other physical properties of granular so...
Litter: 1. The highly visible portion of solid waste carelessly discarded outside the...
Littoral Zone: 1. That portion of a body of fresh water extending from the shoreline lakewar...
Local Education Agency LEA: In the asbestos program, an educational agency at the local level that exists...
Local Emergency Planning Committee LEPC: A committee appointed by the state emergency response commission, as required...
Low Density Polyethylene LOPE: Plastic material used for both rigid containers and plastic film applications.
Low Emissivity low-E Windows: New window technology that lowers the amount of energy loss through windows b...
Low NOx Burners: One of several combustion technologies used to reduce emissions of Nitrogen O...
Low-Level Radioactive Waste LLRW: Wastes less hazardous than most of those associated with a nuclear reactor; g...
Lower Detection Limit: The smallest signal above background noise an instrument can reliably detect.
Lower Explosive Limit LEL: The concentration of a compound in air below which the mixture will not catch...
Lowest Acceptable Daily Dose: The largest quantity of a chemical that will not cause a toxic effect, as det...
Lowest Achievable Emission Rate: Under the Clean Air Act, the rate of emissions that reflects (1) the most str...
Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level LOAEL: The lowest level of a stressor that causes statistically and biologically sig...

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