Green Glossary

C California Environmental Resources Evaluation System (CERES): An information system developed by the California Resources Agency to facilitate access to a variety of electronic data describing California?s diverse environments. www.cere.ca.gov CERCLA: see Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act CERES: see California Environmental Resources Evaluation System CFC: see chlorofluorocarbon chemical oxygen demand (COD): When a body of wastewater contains too much biological material, the bacteria and other microorganisms in it cannot successfully decompose all the organic matter for food, growth and energy. This breaking down of the biological material requires oxygen; therefore, by measuring the amount of oxygen that is depleted from the sample as a result of such bacterial action, the balance within the aquatic environment can be measured. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is a test that adds a strong chemical oxidizing agent to the wastewater sample in order to estimate the result of bacterial action. Although it is completely artifi cial it is considered to yield a result that may be used as the basis on which to calculate a reasonably accurate and reproducible estimate of the oxygen-demanding properties of a wastewater. The COD?s advantages (compared to the BOD test) are that it takes under three hours for completion and is not subject to the interference from toxic materials that can affect the results of the BOD. Both of these are standard tests for estimating the health of an aquatic environment. Defi nition Source: "Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook"; Frank Woodard; Ed. Butterworth Heinemann, p. 179-181. chlorofluorocarbon (CFC): A compound consisting of chlorine, fluorine and carbon. CFCs are very stable in the troposphere. CFCs are commonly used as refrigerants, solvents and foam-blowing agents; uses of CFCs in aerosols are prohibited because they deplete stratospheric ozone. www.epa.gov Clean Air Act:: The federal statute that regulates air emissions from area, stationary and mobile sources. This law authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and the environment. www.epa.gov Clean Water Act:: The Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, as amended in 1977, became commonly known as the Clean Water Act. The Act established the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States. www.epa.gov Climatex® Lifecycle: Registered trademark owned by Rohner Textil AG. www.climatex.com Climatex® LifeguardFR: Registered trademark owned by Rohner Textil AG. www.climatex.com closed-loop: A type of manufacturing process that utilizes a cyclical material fl ow in order to minimize waste. COD: see chemical oxygen demand compostable: possessing the ability to break down into, or otherwise become part of, usable compost (e.g.soil-conditioning material, mulch) in a safe and timely manner. www.ftc.gov/os/1998/9804/63fr24240.pdf Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA): The federal statute of 1980) that created the Superfund program and established a trust fund for the cleanup of abandoned and uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. www.epa.gov Content?: Registered trademark owned by Maharam. www.maharam.com cradle-to-cradle: A term used in life-cycle analysis to describe a material or product that is recycled into a new product at the end of its defi ned life. criteria air pollutants: Six substances (ozone, lead, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide) used as indicators of air quality; the EPA has established a maximum concentration for each above which human health may be adversely affected.