The following is a list of laboratory acronyms commonly used in environmental testing:
| Acronym | Definition |
|---|---|
| AA | Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (aka AAS) instrument used to measure concentration of metals in samples |
| ACS | American Chemical Society |
| APG | Analytical Products Groups (manufacturer of PE Samples) |
| ASTM | American Society for Testing and Materials |
| A2LA | American Association for Laboratory Accreditation |
| BFB | 4-Bromofluorobenzene |
| BNA | Base Neutral Acid organic compounds (aka SOC or SVOCs) |
| BOD | Biochemical Oxygen Demand |
| BTEX/BETX | Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes |
| CARB | California Air Resources Board |
| CAS Number | Chemical Abstract Service Registry Number |
| CCB | Continuing Calibration Blank sample |
| CCC | Continuing Calibration Check sample |
| CCV | Continuing Calibration Verification sample |
| CFC | Chlorofluorocarbon |
| CFU | Colony-Forming Unit |
| CLP | Contract Laboratory Program (through USEPA) |
| COC | Chain-of-Custody |
| COD | Chemical Oxygen Demand |
| DCM | Dichloromethane (aka Methylene Chloride) |
| DEC | Department of Environmental Conservation |
| DEQ | Department of Environmental Quality |
| DHS | Department of Health Services |
| DOE | Department of Ecology (state or federal) |
| DOH | Department of Health |
| EPA | U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (aka USEPA) |
| EPCRA | Emergency Planning & Community Right-to-Know Act |
| ERA | Environmental Resource Associates |
| ELAP | Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program |
| FAA | Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry |
| FDA | Food & Drug Administration |
| FIA | Flow Injection Analysis |
| FID | Flame Ionization Detector |
| FIFRA | Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act |
| FR | Federal Register |
| GAO | General Accounting Office |
| GC | Gas Chromatography |
| GC/MS | Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry |
| GFAA | Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry |
| HECD/ELCE | Hall Electrolytic Conductivity Detector |
| HP | Hewlett-Packard (mfg. GC instruments) |
| HPLC | High Pressure Liquid Chromatography |
| IC | Ion Chromatography |
| ICB | Initial Calibration Blank sample |
| ICP-AES | Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (aka ICPAES) |
| ICP-MS | Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry |
| ICV | Initial Calibration Verification sample |
| IFB | Invitation for Bid |
| IR | Infrared Spectrophotometer |
| LCS | Laboratory Control Sample |
| LIMS | Laboratory Information Management System |
| LUFT | Leaking Underground Fuel Tank |
| MB | Method Blank |
| M | Modified |
| MCL | Maximum Contaminant Level is the highest permissible concentration of a substance allowed in drinking water as established by the USEPA. |
| MDL | Method Detection Limit |
| MPN | Most Probable Number |
| MRL | Method Reporting Limit |
| MS | Matrix Spike |
| MUR | Methods Update Rule |
| NA | Not Applicable |
| NAN | Not Analyzed |
| NAS | National Academy of Sciences |
| NC | Not Calculated |
| NCASI | National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (for the paper industry) |
| NCI | National Cancer Institute |
| ND | Not Detected (at or above MRL) |
| NIH | National Institute of Health |
| NIOSH | National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health |
| NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology |
| NPD | Nitrogen Phosphorus Detector |
| NPDES | National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System |
| NSF | National Science Foundation |
| NTIS | National Technical Information System |
| NTP | National Toxicology Program |
| ORB | Original Record Book (aka raw data books) |
| OSHA | Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
| PCBs | Polychlorinated Biphenyls |
| PE | Performance Evaluation sample |
| PID | Photoionization Dectector |
| PQL | Practical Quantitation Limit |
| PSE | Pressurized Solvent Extraction |
| QA | Quality Assurance |
| QC | Quality Control |
| RAS | Routine Analytical Services (contracts through USEPA) |
| RCRA | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act |
| RFP | Request for Proposal |
| RPD | Relative Percent Difference |
| SAS | Special Analytical Services (contracts through USEPA) |
| SIE | Selective Ion Electrode |
| SIM | Selected Ion Monitoring |
| SMO | Sample Management Office (aka Sample Receiving) |
| SOC | Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds |
| SOQ | Statement of Qualifications |
| SOW | Statement of Work |
| SVOAs | Semi-Volatile Organic Analytes |
| SVOCs | Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds |
| SW-846 | Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods |
| TIC | Tentatively Identified Compound |
| TOC | Total Organic Carbon (test to determine organic content) |
| TOX | Total Organic Halides (test to determine organic halide content) |
| TPH | Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons |
| tr | Trace level in the concentration of an analyte that is less than the PQL but greater than or equal to the MDL |
| TSCA | Toxic Substances Control Act |
| TSS | Total Suspended Solids |
| UST | Underground Storage Tank |
| UV | Ultraviolet Spectrophotometer |
| VOA | Volatile Organic Analyte |
| VOC | Volatile Organic Compounds |
| WP | Water Pollution |
| WS | Water Supply |
| Units | |
| mg/kg | Milligrams per Kilogram (same as ppm) |
| mg/L | Milligrams per Liter (same as ppm) |
| ug/L | Micrograms per liter (same as ppb) |
| ppb | Parts Per Billion |
| ppm | Parts Per Million |