Glossary B

The Environmental Glossary. Letter B +++ Popular Articles: 'Biodiversity', 'Battery', 'Body'

beneficial uses are desirable uses that water quality should support. Examples are drinking water supply, primary contact recreation (such as swimming), and Aquatic life support.

Benefit-Cost Analysis are an economic method for assessing the benefits and costs of achieving alternative health-based standards at given levels of health protection.

A Benthic is Bottom-dwelling. The plant and animal life whose habitat is the bottom of a sea, lake, or river.

Benthic marcroinvertebrates are see benthos.

Benthic /Benthos are an Organism that feeds on the sediment at the bottom of a water body such as an ocean, lake, or river.

A Bentonite is a colloidal clay, expansible when moist, commonly used to provide a tight seal around a Well casing.

Deutsch: Benzol / Español: Benceno / Português: Benzeno / Français: Benzène / Italiano: Benzene

Benzene is a highly toxic chemical compound (C₆H₆) that is widely used in industrial processes but is a significant environmental pollutant due to its harmful effects on air, water, and soil quality. It is a volatile organic compound (VOC) that is commonly released into the environment through industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust, and the combustion of fossil fuels. Benzene is considered a major concern for human health and ecosystems, as it is both carcinogenic and persistent in the environment.

A Berlin Mandate is a ruling negotiated at the first Conference of the Parties (COP 1), which took place in March, 1995, concluding that the present commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are not adequate.

A Beryllium is an metal hazardous to human health when inhaled as an airborne pollutant. It is discharged by machine shops, ceramic and propellant plants, and foundries.

A Best available Control Measures (BACM) is a term used to refer to the most effective measures (according to EPA guidance) for controlling small or dispersed particulates and other emissions