Definition
Since the 1890s, CAS has been assigning identification numbers to chemicals that companies register with them. Every year, CAS updates and writes new chemical abstracts on well over a million different chemicals, including their composition, structure, characteristics, and all the different names of that chemical. CAS On-Line is a computer network available to individual and business account holders to receive information about specific chemicals of concern. Each abstract is accompanied by the CAS number.
See also:
CERCLIS
The federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System. This database includes all sites which have been nominated for investigation by the Superfund program and the actions that have been taken at these sites. If the site investigation reveals contamination, the site is ranked and may be included on the National Priorities List for Superfund cleanup. Inclusion in the CERCLIS database does not necessarily mean that a property is a hazardous waste site. An emergency action may have been conducted there or a simple investigation which concluded that no further action was required.
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
A periodic publication of the regulations established by U.S. law.
Consent Decree
A legal document submitted by the Department of Justice on behalf of the EPA for approval by a federal judge to settle a case. A consent decree can be used to formalize an agreement reached between EPA and potentially responsible parties (PRPs) for cleanup at a Superfund site. Consent decrees also are signed by regulated facilities to cease or correct certains actions or processes that are polluting the environment and include payment of penalties. The Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and others all use consent decrees.