Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-333 - Persistent bioaccumulative toxins › Part II - DEFINITIONS › Section 173-333-200 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
				  shall apply:
"Administrative Procedure Act"
or
"APA"
means the Washington Administrative Procedure Act,
				  chapter
				  34.05 RCW.
"Bioaccumulation"
means the process by which
				  substances increase in concentration in living organisms as they take in
				  contaminated air, water, soil, sediment or food because the substances are very
				  slowly metabolized or excreted.
"Bioaccumulation factor"
or
"BAF"
means the ratio of the concentration of a chemical in an organism to the
				  concentration of the chemical in the surrounding environment. The BAF is a
				  measure of the extent to which the organism accumulates the chemical as a
				  result of uptake through ingestion as well as contact from contaminated media,
				  such as water.
"Bioconcentration factor"
or
"BCF"
means the ratio of the concentration of a chemical in an aquatic organism to
				  the concentration of the chemical in water. The BCF is a measure of the extent
				  of chemical partitioning between an aquatic organism and water.
"Carcinogen"
means a chemical or chemical group
				  that has been identified as "carcinogenic to humans" or "likely to be
				  carcinogenic to humans" by the Environmental Protection Agency, as a Group 1,
				  2A or 2B carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer or as a
				  "known to be a human carcinogen" or "reasonably anticipated to be a human
				  carcinogen" by the National Toxicology Program.
"Chemical"
means a naturally occurring element,
				  mixture, or group of organic and inorganic compounds that is produced by or
				  used in a chemical process.
"Chemical action plan"
or
"CAP"
means a plan that identifies, characterizes and evaluates uses and releases of
				  a specific PBT, a group of PBTs or metals of concern and recommends actions to
				  protect human health or the environment.
"Chemical group"
means a grouping of chemicals
				  which share a common chemical structure and common toxicological
				  properties.
"Credible scientific information"
means
				  information that is based on a theory or technique that is generally accepted
				  in the relevant scientific community or has been collected or derived using
				  standard or generally accepted methods and protocols and appropriate quality
				  assurance and control procedures.
"Cross-media transfer of chemicals"
means the
				  movement of a chemical from one medium, such as air, water, soil, or sediment,
				  to another.
"Degradation"
means the processes by which
				  organic chemicals are transformed into derivative chemicals and ultimately
				  broken down.
"Developmental or reproductive toxicant"
means a
				  chemical or chemical group identified as posing developmental or reproductive
				  hazards by the National Toxicology Program or chemicals or chemical groups with
				  sufficient evidence of a developmental or reproductive hazard in humans or
				  experimental animals consistent with the United States Environmental Protection
				  Agency's Guidelines for Reproductive Toxicity Risk Assessment and Guidelines
				  for Developmental Toxicity Risk Assessment as set forth in 61 FR 56274 et seq.
				  and 56 FR 63798 et seq., respectively.
"Ecology"
means the department of
				  ecology.
"Environment"
means any plant, animal, natural
				  resource, surface water (including underlying sediments), groundwater, drinking
				  water supply, land surface (including tidelands and shorelands) or subsurface
				  strata, or ambient air.
"Environmental half-life"
means the time
				  required for the concentration of a chemical to diminish to half its original
				  value. The environmental half-life of a chemical is a measure of a chemical's
				  persistence in the environment.
"Feasible"
means reasonably capable of being
				  accomplished or brought about or capable of being utilized or dealt with
				  successfully.
"High-exposure populations"
means groups of
				  people that have a higher potential for exposure than the general
				  population.
"Log-octanol water partition coefficient"
or
"Log Kow"
means the ratio of a chemical's
				  concentration in the octanol phase to its concentration in the aqueous phase of
				  a two-phase octanol/water system as expressed in a logarithmic format.
"Media"
or
"medium"
means a
				  component of the environment (air, water, soil or sediment) in which a
				  contaminant is measured and an organism lives its life, and from which an
				  organism can accumulate contaminants.
"Neurotoxicant"
means a chemical or chemical
				  group with sufficient evidence of a neurotoxic hazard in humans or experimental
				  animals consistent with the United States Environmental Protection Agency's
				  Guidelines for Neurotoxicity Risk Assessment as set forth in 63 FR 26926 et
				  seq.
"No observed effect concentration"
or
"NOEC"
means the highest concentration of a chemical evaluated in
				  an aquatic toxicity test that does not cause a statistically and biologically
				  significant difference in effects compared with controls.
"Persistent bioaccumulative toxin"
or
"PBT"
means a chemical or chemical group that meets or exceeds the
				  criteria for persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity criteria established in
				  WAC 173-33-320.
"Persistence"
means the tendency of a chemical
				  to remain in the environment without transformation or breakdown into another
				  chemical form. It refers to the length of time a chemical is expected to reside
				  in the environment and be available for exposure.
"Reference dose"
means a numerical estimate of a
				  daily exposure to the human population, including sensitive subgroups such as
				  children, that is likely to be without harmful effects during a
				  lifetime.
"Sensitive population group"
means groups of
				  people that exhibit a different or enhanced response to a chemical than most
				  people exposed to a similar level of the chemical because of genetic makeup,
				  age, nutritional status or exposure to other toxic substances.
"Toxicity"
means the degree to which a substance
				  or mixture of substances can harm humans, plants or wildlife.
Statutory Authority: 2004 c 276 and
					 chapter
					 70.105 RCW. 06-03-094
					 (Order 04-07), § 173-333-200, filed 1/13/06, effective
					 2/13/06.