Glossary
A
Absorbed Dose
The energy imparted by ionizing radiation per unit mass of irradiated material. The units of absorbed dose are the international unit, gray (Gy) or the rad.
Action Level
An 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels A-weighted (85 dbA 8-hr TWA) established by CAL/OSHA.
Action level
A concentration designated for a specific substance, calculated as an eight-hour time weighted average, which initiates certain required activities such as exposure monitoring and medical surveillance. The action level is always lower than the corresponding Cal/OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) and is designed to protect personnel from overexposure.
Activating Procedures
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: FOLLOW THESE STEPS EXPLICITLY
In all cases, when any person becomes aware of an emergency, regardless of its location:
* If Health Threatening call 9-911 and/or pull the nearest fire alarm.
* If Non-Health Threatening call EH&S at 3-0448 during working hours or 5-9999 at all other times.
* If involving radiation or radioactive materials call Health Physics at 3-3201.
* If the reporting party is unclear of the Health Threatening nature of the emergency call 9-911 and/or pull the nearest fire alarm.
* If the release is in a laboratory, in addition notify the Principal Investigator responsible for that area. If the Principal Investigator is unknown or unavailable then notify the Department or Building Administrator, Safety Committee Chairperson, or Department Chairperson. When possible, leave appropriate messages in each case. (The work and home phone numbers of these people shall be posted throughout every building.) When 9-911 (Central Communications) receives a report of an emergency involving hazardous materials during working hours they will notify EH&S immediately. During non-working hours 9-911 will notify EH&S at 3-0448 and at all other times they will contact the ERT directly. 9-911 will notify the Health Physics Office at 3-3201 in the event of an emergency involving radiation or radioactive materials.
Activation
The process of making a material radioactive by bombardment with neutrons, protons, or other nuclear radiation
Activity
The rate of disintegration per (second = dps, minute = dpm) or decay of radioactive material. The original unit for measuring the amount of radioactivity was the Curie (Ci). In the International System of Units (SI) the curie has been replaced by the becquerel (Bq).
Acute toxicity
Acutely toxic substances cause adverse effects by any of the following exposure methods:
- Oral or dermal administration of a single dose of a substance.
- Multiple oral or dermal doses within a 24-hour period
- An inhalation exposure of 4 hours.
By the criteria listed below, substances are placed in one of four toxicity categories according to their experimentally derived LD50 or LC50 values.
| Exposure Route | category 1 | category 2 | category 3 | category 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral (mg/kg bodyweight) | ≤ 5 | > 5 and ≤ 50 | > 50 and ≤ 300 | > 300 and ≤ 2000 |
| Dermal (mg/kg bodyweight) | ≤ 50 | > 50 and ≤ 200 | > 200 and ≤ 1000 | > 1000 and ≤ 2000 |
| Inhalation – gases (ppm by volume) | ≤ 100 | > 100 and ≤ 500 | > 500 and ≤ 2500 | > 2500 and ≤ 20000 |
| Inhalation – vapors (mg/L) | ≤ 0.5 | > 0.5 and ≤ 2.0 | > 2.0 and ≤ 10.0 | > 10.0 and ≤ 20.0 |
| Inhalation - dusts and mists (mg/L) | ≤ 0.05 | > 0.05 and ≤ 0.5 | > 0.5 and ≤ 1.0 | > 1.0 and ≤ 5.0 |
Note: Substances in Categories 1 and 2 are considered to have a “high degree of acute toxicity.” These substances are also referred to as “Highly Acutely Toxic Substances.”
Administrative Controls
Controls include limiting the length of time an employee is exposed to hazardous atmospheres.
Administrative Controls
Methods that limit an employee’s exposure time to noise. This includes assigning the employee to less noisy areas in the workplace for a certain length of time so the employee shall not exceed the action level.
Administrative Panel on Radiological Safety (APRS)
The Administrative Panel on Radiological Safety (APRS) oversees the entire institutional radiation safety program for both Stanford, LPCH and VAPAHCS. It also reviews applications that are outside the jurisdiction of the local control committees (NHRSC, CRSCO, RDRC see below).
Aerosol transmissible disease (ATD) or aerosol transmissible pathogen (ATP)
A disease or pathogen for which droplet or airborne precautions are required, as found in the list of Aerosol Transmissible Diseases/Pathogens in the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases manual.
Aerosol transmissible pathogen -laboratory (ATP-L)
A pathogen that meets one of the following criteria: (1) the pathogen appears on the Aerosol Transmissible Pathogens – Laboratory list in the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases manual, (2) the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) recommends biosafety level 3 or above for the pathogen, (3) the biological safety officer recommends biosafety level 3 or above for the pathogen, or (4) the pathogen is a novel or unknown pathogen.
Affected Employee
An employee whose job requires them to operate or use a machine or equipment on which cleaning, repairing, servicing, setting-up or adjusting operations are being performed under lockout or tagout, or whose job requires the employee to work in an area in which such activities are being performed under lockout or tagout An affected employee does not perform servicing or maintenance on machines or equipment – this is conducted by an “authorized employee”.
Air-purifying respirator
a respirator with an air-purifying filter, cartridge, or canister that removes specific air contaminants by passing ambient air through the air-purifying element.
Airborne infection isolation (AII)
Infection control procedures as described in Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosisin Health-Care Settings. These procedures are designed to reduce the risk of transmission of airborne infectious pathogens, and apply to patients known or suspected to be infected with epidemiologically important pathogens that can be transmitted by the airborne route.
Airborne infectious disease (AirID).
Either: (1) an aerosol transmissible disease transmitted through dissemination of airborne droplet nuclei, small particle aerosols, or dust particles containing the disease agent for which AII is recommended by the CDC or CDPH, as found in the list of Aerosol Transmissible Diseases/Pathogens in the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases manual, or (2) the disease process caused by a novel or unknown pathogen for which there is no evidence to rule out with reasonable certainty the possibility that the pathogen is transmissible through dissemination of airborne droplet nuclei, small particle aerosols, or dust particles containing the novel or unknown pathogen.
Airborne infectious pathogen (AirIP).
Either: (1) an aerosol transmissible pathogen transmitted through dissemination of airborne droplet nuclei, small particle aerosols, or dust particles containing the infectious agent, and for which the CDC or CDPH recommends AII, as found in the list of Aerosol Transmissible Diseases/Pathogens in the Aerosol Transmissible Diseases manual, or (2) a novel or unknown pathogen for which there is no evidence to rule out with reasonable certainty the possibility that it is transmissible through dissemination of airborne droplet nuclei, small particle aerosols, or dust particles containing the novel or unknown pathogen.
ALARA
(acronym for As Low As Reasonably Achievable) Make every reasonable effort to maintain exposures to radiation as far below the dose limits as practical and consistent with the purpose for which the licensed activity is undertaken. ALARA also adheres to the principle of keeping radiation doses of patients As Low As Reasonably Achievable.
Animal Biosafety Level 3 (ABSL-3).
Compliance with the criteria for work practices, safety equipment, and facility design and construction recommended by the CDC in Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories for work with laboratory animals infected with indigenous or exotic agents, agents that present a potential for aerosol transmission and agents causing serious orpotentially lethal disease.
Animal waste.
Animal carcasses, excrement, contaminated litter, or debris from the bodies of animals, such asfeathers or dander.
Animals infected with zoonotic ATPs.
Animals that (1) have been diagnosed with a zoonotic ATP through recognized testing methods or (2) meet the clinical definition of a suspect case of infection with a zoonotic ATP or (3) have been identified by the CDFA, CDFG, USDA, or USDOI as requiring isolation, quarantine, or destruction due to suspected or confirmed infection.
Approved Truck or Industrial Truck
A truck that is listed or approved for fire safety purposes for the intended use by a nationally recognized testing laboratory using nationally recognized test results.
Article
A manufactured item (1) Which is formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture; (2) which has end use functions(s) dependent in whole or in part upon its shape or design during end use; and (3) which does not release, or otherwise result in exposure to a hazardous substance under normal conditions of use or in a reasonably foreseeable emergency resulting from workplace operations.
Asbestos
Includes chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite.
Asbestos-Containing Construction Material (ACCM)
Any material that contains greater than 0.1% asbestos.
Asbestos-Containing Material (ACM)
Any material that contains greater than 1% asbestos.
Asphyxiant
See simple asphyxiant
Aspiration hazard
A liquid or solid chemical that causes severe acute effects if it infiltrates into the trachea and lower respiratory tract. Possible effects include chemical pneumonia, pulmonary injury, or death.
Assigned protection factor (APF)
the minimum anticipated protection provided by a properly functioning respirator or class of respirators to a given percentage of properly fitted and trained users. The APF for a respirator is assigned by NOISH and with the MUC helps to determined the appropriate respirator.
Atmosphere-supplying respirator
a respirator that supplies the respirator user with breathing air from a source independent of the ambient atmosphere, and includes supplied-air respirators (SARs) and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) units.
Attachments
Devices (other than conventional forks or load backrest extensions) for a specific use, mounted permanently or temporarily on the elevating mechanism of the truck. Common types include fork extensions, clamps, booms, rams, baskets and personnel platforms.
Audiogram Testing
Exams that measure the sensitivity of a person's hearing threshold in decibels as a function of frequency.
Audiologist
A professional specializing in the study and rehabilitation of hearing, who is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association or licensed by a state board of examiners.
Audiometer
An instrument for measuring the threshold or sensitivity of hearing.
Authorized Employee
A qualified person who locks out or tags out specific machines or equipment in order to perform cleaning, repairing, servicing, setting-up, and adjusting operations on that machine or equipment. Lockout or tagout is used by these employees for their self-protection. An “affected” employee becomes an “authorized” employee whenever he/she performs servicing or maintenance functions on machines or equipment that must be locked or tagged.
Authorized User
Authorized user has two definitions: 1) Authorized user is a person who has fulfilled the training requirements and has been added to a Controlled Radiation Authorization 2) Authorized User means a physician who meets the requirements in 10 CFR 35.57. Authorized Users must be approved by the Clinical Radiation Safety Committee prior to radiopharmaceuticals administrations or medical use of byproduct material.
