GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ACRONYMS A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z T Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) A Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) provides money for activities that help a community participate in the decision-making process of site-specific cleanup strategies at eligible Superfund sites. Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities (TAB) The Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities (TAB) program is a part of EPA's Brownfields Initiative that helps communities clean and redevelop properties that have been damaged or undervalued by environmental contamination. The purpose of these efforts is to create better jobs, increase the local tax base, improve neighborhood environments, and enhance the overall quality of life. Technical Outreach for Communities (TOSC) The Technical Outreach for Communities (TOSC) program uses university educational and technical resources to help community groups understand the technical issues involving the hazardous waste sites in their area. EPA believes that an understanding of these underlying technical issues is a basic requirement for meaningful citizen participation in the hazardous waste decision-making process. Technical Review Workgroup for Lead (TRW) The Technical Review Workgroup for Lead (TRW) and the Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic Model for Lead in Children (IEUBK) is an interoffice workgroup that supports and promotes consistent application of the best science in the field of lead (Pb) risk assessment at contaminated sites nationwide. Technology Innovation Office (TIO) The Technology Innovation Office (TIO) acts as an advocate for new technologies, working to increase the application of innovative treatment technologies to contaminated waste sites, soils and groundwater. As a part of this effort, TIO has worked with many partners inside EPA, in other federal agencies, and in the private sector to improve the nation's understanding of cleanup technologies and reduce the impediments to their widespread use. Time-critical actions A type of short-term cleanup in which, based on an evaluation of the site, EPA determines that less than six months is available before site activities must be initiated. During time-critical actions, EPA conducts an investigation of the contamination and produces an action memorandum authorizing and outlining the cleanup before beginning the actual cleanup. ToxFAQs ToxFAQs is a series of fact sheets about hazardous substances developed by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR) Division of Toxicology. The fact sheets are a guide to the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) about exposure to hazardous substances found around hazardous waste sites and the effects of exposure on human health. Toxic Poisonous. Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) EPA requires annual reports of toxic chemical releases to the environment. These reports are submitted on EPA Form R, the TRI Reporting Form. The reports are required to provide the public with information on the releases of listed toxic chemicals in their communities and to provide EPA with release information to assist the Agency in determining the need for future regulations. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) A federal law, passed in 1976, that requires tests of chemicals that may harm human health or the environment; reviews of new chemical substances; limits on the availability of some existing chemicals; and import certification standards to ensure that imported chemicals comply with domestic rules. TSCA bars the introduction of chemicals that may pose unreasonable risks to people or the environment, when the risks outweigh possible economic and social benefits. Toxicology Study of the effects of poisons in living organisms. Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) database contains information concerning waste management activities and the release of toxic chemicals by facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use such materials. Citizens, businesses, and governments can then use this information to work together to protect the quality of their land, air and water. Treatment technologies Processes applied to hazardous waste or contaminated materials, to permanently alter their condition through chemical, biological, or physical means, and reduce or eliminate their danger to people and the environment.