A

ABS pipe: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene pipe; a plastic pipe used for water distribution, drain, waste, vent and sewage.

adjourn: to postpone a hearing

AECB: Atomic Energy Control Board, a federal agency under the Ministry of Natural Resources

AECL: Atomic Energy of Canada Limited

affidavit: a written statement made before a notary public or other person authorized to administer oaths

AG: attorney general

allege: to suggest that something happened or that a person committed a crime

amend: to change a document such as an information, usu- ally to remove a defect

AOX: adsorbable organic halides

B

BDL: below detection limit

BOD: biological oxygen demand; a measure of the amount of oxygen consumed by aerobic bacteria as it decomposes organic matter in a sample; high BOD levels indicate that aerobic bacteria are consuming much of the available dissolved oxygen, robbing other aquatic organisms of the oxygen they need in order to live

Bq: becquerel; a unit of measurement of radioactivity; one atomic event per second

BTEX: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene

C

carcinogen: a substance that can cause cancer

CEPA: Canadian Environmental Protection Act

charge: a formal accusation that a person or organization has committed a crime

Ci: Curie; a unit of measurement of radioactivity; one Curie equals 3.7 x 1010 nuclear transformations per second, which is the activity of 1 gram of radium

COD: chemical oxygen demand

D

defence: evidence offered by the accused to defeat a criminal charge; a reason in fact or law as to why a party initiating the proceeding (in criminal cases, the AG or the informant) should not be granted the remedy it is seeking; a legally recognized basis for avoiding liability; may include a flat denial of the other party's allegations

defendant: the person or entity sued or accused

dioxin: a highly toxic contaminant; sometimes used in chemical warfare, specifically Agent Orange

disclosure: obligation by the prosecution to reveal and give to the defence any information in its possession or control that is relevant, regardless of whether it dam- ages or aids its case

DO: dissolved oxygen; low levels can indicate pollution

DOC: dissolved organic carbon

due diligence: a defence that maintains the defendant has taken all reasonable steps to prevent committing an offence

E

EBR: Environmental Bill of Rights

E. coli: Escherichia coli; a bacterium used as an indicator of the presence of human sewage or animal manure in fresh water

Enterococcus: a bacterium used as an indicator of the presence of sewage or animal manure in salt water

eutrophication: the alteration of a lake through the biological enrichment of the water; sewage and agricultural and industrial wastes can act as plant nutrients, over- stimulating algae growth, causing unsightly scum and unpleasant odours, and robbing the water of dissolved oxygen vital to other aquatic life

examination-in-chief: questioning of a witness by the lawyer who asked that witness to appear

F

G

Geiger counter: an instrument for the detection and measurement of ionizing radiation

GPS: Geographic Positioning System; a satellite-based sys- tem for determining one's exact location

I

informant: the person who lays the information (the charge)

information: a standard court document outlining charges laid against the accused

J

JP: justice of the peace

L

LC₅₀: median lethal concentration

leachate: a solution resulting from leaching; e.g., soluble pol- lutants from a landfill by downward percolating groundwater

LOD: limit of detection

LTD: less than detection limit

M

microgram: a unit measure of weight represented by the symbol µg that is equivalent to one millionth of a gram

MOE: Ministry of the Environment

mrem: millirem; one thousandth of a rem; 0.001 rem

Mrem: megarem; one thousand rems; 1000 rems

MW: molecular weight

N

nitrates: nitrogen compounds, often the limiting nutrients in aquatic systems, that can be toxic to aquatic and human life under certain conditions; the addition of nitrates can lead to increased aquatic plant growth; high levels can indicate sewage, animal manure, fertilizer, and other types of contamination

P

PAHs: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

pathogen: any disease-producing agent, especially a virus, bac- terium, or other microorganism

PCBs: polychlorinated byphenyls

PCDD: polychlorinated dibenzodioxin

PCDF: polychlorinated dibenzofuran

PERC: tetrachloroethylene

_pH: an indicator of acidity on a logarithmic scale of 0 to 14; the pH of natural, unpolluted water is generally between 6 and 9; lower or higher pH can indicate pollution and can be harmful to aquatic life

phenols: benzene-derived products

phosphates: phosphorus compounds readily available as plant nutrients; the addition of phosphates can lead to in- creased aquatic plant growth; high levels can indicate sewage, animal manure, fertilizer, and other types of contamination

plaintiff: a person who brings a suit into a court of law; complainant

PPB: parts per billion

PPM: parts per million

primary sewage treatment: a system of treating wastewater using screens, gravity, and skimming to remove insoluble particles; this treatment does not reduce dangerous water-soluble organic and inorganic substances

pro bono: done or donated without charge; free

prosecutor: the attorney general, or where the AG does not intervene, the person who institutes the proceedings (the informant)in a court case; includes counsel or an agent acting on behalf of either of these parties (see Criminal Code, Sections 2 and 785)

Q

quash: to annul, make void; e.g., if an information is quashed, it has no force or effect, and the proceeding against that defendant ceases

R

rad: radiation absorbed dose; a measurement unit of the energy absorbed in material when exposed to radiation; one rad corresponds to the absorption of 0.01 joule per kilogram (or 100 ergs per gram) of absorbing material

RAP: Remedial Action Plan

rem: roetgen equivalent man; a measurement unit of the energy absorbed in tissue when exposed to radiation; one rem equals one rad multiplied by a quality factor (Q) to convert rads into a common scale of biological damage; Q for external radiation is usually equal to 1, so rad and rem can be used interchangeably, but varies for internal radiation

RoC: Registrar of Companies

S

stay (judicial): a suspension of a case or a proceeding within a case; an injunction in which the court freezes a case at a particular point; a stay can stop a prosecution completely or just one phase of the prosecution, such as an execution of a judgement; a stay does not reverse, annul, undo, or suspend what has already been done, or what is not specifically stayed

summons: a written order notifying an individual that he has been charged with an offence; a summons directs the person to appear in court to answer the charge

suspended solids: particles of substances such as clay, silt, plankton, industrial wastes or sewage within a water body; may indicate soil erosion, urban runoff, or pollution

T

tailing: waste or refuse left in the process of mining

TCDD: tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin

TCDF: tetrachlorodibenzofuran

TCE: trichloroethylene

TEQ: total toxic equivalent

TSS: total suspended solids

U

universal transverse mercator grid: a map projection and plane coordinate system based on 60 north-south trending zones, each 16 degrees of longitude wide, that circle the globe

V

VOC: volatile organic compounds