Public Comment Draft PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT White Oak Creek Radionuclide Releases

Oak Ridge Reservation: White Oak Creek Radionuclide Releases Public Health Assessment - Public Comment Release - Do not cite, quote, or release 1 Appendix A. ATSDR Glossary of Environmental Health Terms 2 The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a federal public health 3 agency with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, and 10 regional offices in the United States. 4 ATSDR’s mission is to serve the public by using the best science, taking responsive public 5 health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and 6 diseases related to toxic substances. ATSDR is not a regulatory agency, unlike the U.S. 7 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is the federal agency that develops and enforces 8 environmental laws to protect the environment and human health. 9 This glossary defines words used by ATSDR in communications with the public. It is not a 10 complete dictionary of environmental health terms. If you have questions or comments, call 11 ATSDR’s toll-free telephone number, 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737). 12 Absorption 13 The process of taking in. For a person or animal, absorption is the process through which a 14 substance gets into the body through the eyes, skin, stomach, intestines, or lungs. 15 Activity 16 The number of radioactive nuclear transformations occurring in a material per unit time. The 17 term for activity per unit mass is specific activity. 18 Acute 19 ...