Safety Acronyms

Written by Steve Hudgik

Common acronyms found in the safety industry.

There are so many that it can be easy to forget what they all stand for. Use this list as a guide for future reference.

AAOHN - American Association of Occupational Health Nurses

ACGIH - American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists

ACL - Alternative Concentration Limit

ACM - Asbestos Containing Material

ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act

AGA - American Gas Association

AGC - Associated General Contractors

AIHA - American Industrial Hygiene Association

AL - Action Level

ANSI - American National Standards Institute

APHA - American Public Health Association

API - American Petroleum Institute

APR - Air Purifying Respirator

AQCR - Air Purifying Respirator

ASAE - American Society of Agricultural Engineers

ASHRAE - American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers

ASTM - American Society for Testing Materials

ATC - Automatic Temperature Compensation

AVD - Alleged Violation Description

B

BBP - Blood Borne Pathogen

BACM - Best Available Control Measure

BACT - Best Available Control Technology

BAT - Best Available Technology

BOD - Biological Oxygen Demand

BSI - British Standards Institute

C

CAA - Clean Air Act

CAAA - Clean Air Act Amendments

CAEPH - Center for Applied Environmental Public Health

CAL-OSHA - California Occupational Safety and Health Administration

CAS - Chemical Abstracts Service (number)

CBC - Complete Blood Count

CCOHS - Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety

CCPS - Center for Chemical Process Safety

CERCLA - Comprehensive Environment Response, Compensation and Liability Act

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations

CGA - Compressed Gas Association

CGI - Combustible Gas Indicator

CHEMTREC - Chemical Transportation Emergency Center

CIH - Certified Industrial Hygienist

CO - Compliance Officer

CPSC - Consumer Product Safety Commission

CROET - Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology

CSA - Canadian Standards Association

CSHM - Certified Safety and Health Manager

CWA - Clean Water Act

D

DART - Days Away, Restricted and Transferred

DB - Decibels

DB(A) - Decibels A-Scale

DFG - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Standards)

DIN - Deutsches Institut fur Normung (German Standards Institute)

DIS - Draft International Standards

DOD - Department of Defense

DOE - Department of Energy

DOJ - Department Of Justice

DOL - Department of Labor (includes OSHA)

DOT - Department of Transportation

DVO - Diffuse Viewing Only

E

EN - European Norms

EPA - Environmental Protection Agency

EqSC -Earthquake Safety Committee

ESCBA - Escape Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus

ESD - Electrostatic Dissipative

ESH - Environmental, Health and Safety

ESLI - End of Service Life Indicator

F

FDA - Food and Drug Administration

FEF - Forced Expiratory Flow

FID - Flame Ionization Detector

FIFRA - Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act

FM - Factory Mutual (insurance company)

FMCSR - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations

FR - Federal Register

FR -Flame Resistant

FRC -Functional Residual Capacity

G

GC - Gas Chromatography

GFCI - Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter

GLPS - Good Laboratory Practice Standards

GSA - General Service Administration

H

HCA - Hazardous Communication Act

HCS - Hazardous Communication Standard (OSHA)

HEPA - High-Efficiency Particulate Air (filtration)

HID - High Intensity Discharge

HMIG - Hazardous Materials Identification Guide

HMIS - Hazardous Materials Information System

HMTA - Hazardous Materials Transportation Act

HPLC - High Performance Liquid Chromatography

HSC - Health and Safety Committee

HVAC - Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning

I

IARC - carcinogenic classification as indicated by International Agency for Research on Cancer

IDLH - Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health

IEC - International Electrotechnical Commission

IMO - International Maritime Organization

IR - Infrared

ISEA - Industrial Safety Equipment Association

ISO - International Organization for Standardization

J

JHA - Job Hazard Analysis

L

LEL - Lower Explosive Limit

LFL - Lower Flammable Limit

LOTO - Lock Out, Tag Out

LUST - Leaking Underground Storage Tank

M

MEFR - Maximum Expiratory Flow Rate

MEWP - Mobile Elevating Work Platforms

MSA - Mine Safety Appliances

MSDS - Material Safety Data Sheet

MSHA - Mine Safety and Health Administration

MUTCD - Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices

MVV - Maximal Voluntary Ventilation

N

NEC - National Electrical Code

NEMA - National Electrical Manufacturer's Association

NEPA - National Environmental Policy Act

NESHAP - National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants

NFC - National Fire Code

NFPA - National Fire Protection Association

NFR - National Fire Rating

NIH - National Institute For Health

NIOSH - National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology

NPDES - National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

NPT - National Pipe Thread

NPTF - National Pipe Thread Fine

NRC - Nuclear Regulatory Commission

NRR - Noise Reduction Rating

NSF - National Sanitation Federation

NSPS - New Source Performance Standards (emissions)

NTP - National Toxicology Program

NTP - Normal Temperature and Pressure

O

OPM - Operation and Maintenance

OR OSHA - Oregon OSHA

ORP - Oxidation Reduction Potential

OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OVA- Organic Vapor Analyzer

P

P2 - Pollution Prevention

PAPR - Powered Air-Purifying Respirator

PDS - Personnel Decontamination Station

PEL - Permissible Exposure Limit

PID - Photo Ionization Detector

POP - Performance-Oriented Packaging

PPE - Personal Protective Equipment

PRP - Potentially Responsible Parties

PTO - Permit To Operate

PTW - Permit To Work

Q

QA - Quality Assurance

QC -Quality Control

R

RBC - Red Blood Count

RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

REL - Recommended Exposure Limit

RFI - Radio Frequency Interference

RGD - Radiation Generating Devices

RMP - Risk Management Plan

RSO - Radiation Safety Officer

RTK - Right-to-Know

RV - Residual Volume

S

SETRAF - Safety of Enclosures for Toxics using Recirculating Air Filtration

SAE - Society of Automotive Engineers

SAR - Supplied Air Respirator

SARA - Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act

SCBA - Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus

SDS - Safety Data Sheet

SEI - Safety Equipment Institute

SFA - Senior First Aid

SIC - Standard Industrial Classification

SMLC - Secondary Maximum Contamination Level

SOP - Standard Operating Practices

SPCC - Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasures

SSLA - Small Sealed Liquid Acid battery

STEL - Short-Term Exposure Limit

T

TAP – Toxic Air Pollutant

TEFC - Totally Enclosed Fan-Cooled

TLC - Total Lung Capacity

TLV - Threshold Limit Value

TLV-C - Threshold Limit Value Ceiling

TLV-STEL - Threshold Limit Value Short Term Exposure Limit

TQ - Threshold Quantity

TSCA - Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976

TWA - Time Weighted Average

U

UBC - Uniform Building Code

UEL - Upper Explosive Limit

UFC - Uniform Fire Code

UFL - Upper Flammable Limit

UL - Underwriter's Laboratory

ULPA - Ultra-Low Penetration Air (filtration)

UMC - Uniform Mechanical Code

UPC - Uniform Plumbing Code

USCG - United States Coast Guard

USDA - United States Department of Agriculture

USFDA - United States Food and Drug Administration

USP - United States Pharmacopoeia

UST - Underground Storage Tank

UV - Ultraviolet

V

VDT - Video Display Terminal

VGA -Video Graphics Array

VPP - Voluntary Protection Program

VPPPA - Voluntary Protection Program Participant's Association

VOC V - Volatile Organic Compound

W

WAH - Work At Heights

WAP - Waste Analysis Plan

WEEL - Workplace Environmental Exposure Limit

WHMIS - Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (Canada)

Measurement Acronyms

ATM Atmosphere, 760 mmHg at 0°C

BP - Boiling Point

CFM - Cubic feet per minute

FP - Flash Point

GPM - Gallons per minute

HP - Horse power

ID - Inside Diameter

LC50 -Lethal Concentration 50, Median Lethal Concentration

LD50 - Lethal Dose 50, Median Lethal Dose

LPM - Liters per minute

M3 - Cubic meter

MG/M3 - Milligrams per cubic meter

MOLFM - Molecular Formula

MW - Molecular Weight

OD - Outside Diameter

PCI/L - Pico Curies/Liter

PPM - Parts per million

PPB - Parts per billion

PSI - Pounds per square inch

PSIG -Pounds per square inch gauge

RMS - Root Mean Squared

SPGR - Specific Gravity

TDS - Total Dissolved Solids

TSS - Total Suspended Solids

WBGT - Wet Bulb Globe Temperature