KB Compost Services, Inc. * 2677 Riverview Road * Akron, Ohio * 44313 * Voice: 330-864-2621 * Fax: 330-864-7023
Glossary
abandoned well: any well (drinking water, oil and gas, etc.) which is not used for a long period of time, is not maintained properly, and/or is not properly sealed when its useful life is over.
acidity: the strength (concentration of hydrogen [H+] ions) of an acidic substance; measured as pH.
acid rain (or acid precipitation): rain with a pH of less than 5.6; results from atmospheric moisture mixing with sulphur and nitrogen oxides emitted from burning fossil fuels or from volcanic activity; may cause damage to buildings, monuments, car finishes, crops, forests, wildlife habitats, and aquatic life.
The Act to Prevent Pollution From Ships: legislation regulating the discharge of oil, noxious liquid substances, or garbage generated during normal operations of vessels.
adhesion: force of attraction between two unlike materials.
aeration: the process of exposing to circulating air.
aerial photography: high altitude pictures taken from an aircraft or satellite.
aerobic: living or occurring in the presence of oxygen.
agricultural sewage: waste produced through the agricultural processes of cultivating the soil, producing crops, or raising livestock.
agriculture: the science, art, and business of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock; farming.
airborne pollutants: contaminants borne by air that causes harm to human health or the environment.
algae: any of a large group of simple plants that contain chlorophyll; are not divisible into roots, stems and leaves; do not produce seeds; and include the seaweeds and related freshwater and land plants.
algal bloom: a heavy growth of algae in and on a body of water; usually results from high nitrate and phosphate concentrations entering water bodies from farm fertilizers and detergents; phosphates also occur naturally under certain conditions.
alternative: a chance to choose between two or more possibilities; one of the two or more possible choices.
alum: as used in drinking water treatment, aluminum sulfate; added to water in drinking water treatment facilities to cause dirt and other particles to clump together and fall to the bottom of settling basins.
ambient: outside air temperature.
anaerobic: in the absence of oxygen microbes breakdown organic material (i.e., animal manure).
anaerobic bacteria: microbes whose metabolisms require the absence of oxygen to survive
anaerobic digestion: the breakdown of animal manure and other organic material in the absence of oxygen, (methane producing bacteria are most active in two temperature ranges, 95 to 105F and 130 to 135F. This is a living system and must be treated as such. The organic material is decomposed by acid formers into fatty acids and then into biogas by methane formers or methanogens
aqueduct: a conduit designed to transport water from a remote source, usually by gravity.
aquifer: an underground layer of unconsolidated rock or soil that is saturated with usable amounts of water (a zone of saturation).
atmospheric transport: the movement of air pollutants from one region to another by wind; may be hundreds of miles.
autotroph: an organism that can make its own food (usually using sunlight).
acidity: the strength (concentration of hydrogen [H+] ions) of an acidic substance; measured as pH.
acid rain (or acid precipitation): rain with a pH of less than 5.6; results from atmospheric moisture mixing with sulphur and nitrogen oxides emitted from burning fossil fuels or from volcanic activity; may cause damage to buildings, monuments, car finishes, crops, forests, wildlife habitats, and aquatic life.
The Act to Prevent Pollution From Ships: legislation regulating the discharge of oil, noxious liquid substances, or garbage generated during normal operations of vessels.
adhesion: force of attraction between two unlike materials.
aeration: the process of exposing to circulating air.
aerial photography: high altitude pictures taken from an aircraft or satellite.
aerobic: living or occurring in the presence of oxygen.
agricultural sewage: waste produced through the agricultural processes of cultivating the soil, producing crops, or raising livestock.
agriculture: the science, art, and business of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock; farming.
airborne pollutants: contaminants borne by air that causes harm to human health or the environment.
algae: any of a large group of simple plants that contain chlorophyll; are not divisible into roots, stems and leaves; do not produce seeds; and include the seaweeds and related freshwater and land plants.
algal bloom: a heavy growth of algae in and on a body of water; usually results from high nitrate and phosphate concentrations entering water bodies from farm fertilizers and detergents; phosphates also occur naturally under certain conditions.
alternative: a chance to choose between two or more possibilities; one of the two or more possible choices.
alum: as used in drinking water treatment, aluminum sulfate; added to water in drinking water treatment facilities to cause dirt and other particles to clump together and fall to the bottom of settling basins.
ambient: outside air temperature.
anaerobic: in the absence of oxygen microbes breakdown organic material (i.e., animal manure).
anaerobic bacteria: microbes whose metabolisms require the absence of oxygen to survive
anaerobic digestion: the breakdown of animal manure and other organic material in the absence of oxygen, (methane producing bacteria are most active in two temperature ranges, 95 to 105F and 130 to 135F. This is a living system and must be treated as such. The organic material is decomposed by acid formers into fatty acids and then into biogas by methane formers or methanogens
aqueduct: a conduit designed to transport water from a remote source, usually by gravity.
aquifer: an underground layer of unconsolidated rock or soil that is saturated with usable amounts of water (a zone of saturation).
atmospheric transport: the movement of air pollutants from one region to another by wind; may be hundreds of miles.
autotroph: an organism that can make its own food (usually using sunlight).
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