CPCB Scientist B key terms

Legally notified concentration limits for 12 pollutants in ambient air, set under the Air Act for industrial, residential, rural and other areas, with separate limits for ecologically sensitive zones.

A single 0-500 number summarising ambient air quality across six pollutants, reported in categories from Good to Severe, based on the worst sub-index among the pollutants monitored.

An urban area that persistently exceeds NAAQS for particulate matter, requiring a city-specific clean air action plan with quantified emission-reduction targets and source-wise mitigation measures.

A receptor- or dispersion-model based study that quantifies the percentage contribution of each emission source such as vehicles, dust, industry and biomass burning to measured pollutant levels.

A quantified catalogue of pollutant releases from all sources in a defined area over a stated period, used to design control strategies and check compliance against permitted loads.

A fixed or mobile station with automated analysers reporting real-time pollutant concentrations, including PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NOx, CO and ozone, at regular intervals to a central network.

A pre-construction clearance issued by a State Pollution Control Board under the Water Act and Air Act, specifying pollution control equipment and conditions the project must build before commissioning.

The authorisation a State Pollution Control Board grants for running an industrial unit, listing effluent and emission limits, monitoring obligations and validity period, renewable on application.

Prior approval from a regulatory authority under the EIA Notification, granted after environmental impact assessment and public consultation, before certain projects may be constructed or expanded.

A structured process of predicting likely environmental effects of a proposed project, comparing alternatives, and proposing mitigation, documented in a report reviewed by an expert appraisal committee.

A monetary charge levied under the Environment Protection Act on polluters for damage caused or for non-compliance, assessed using prescribed formulae reflecting duration, severity and scale of violation.

The principle that the party responsible for pollution bears the cost of preventing, controlling and remediating it, including compensation to affected persons and restoration of damaged environment.

A decision rule requiring preventive action when there is credible threat of serious environmental harm even without full scientific certainty, shifting the burden of proof onto the project proponent.

An annual report every person holding consent must submit to the State Pollution Control Board, documenting water and raw material consumption, pollution generated, and compliance with prescribed standards.

The colour-coded segregation scheme for healthcare waste, separating yellow, red, white and blue containers according to treatment route, with a maximum storage time before treatment.

A centralised permitted facility that collects, transports and treats bio-medical waste from multiple healthcare units, using incineration, autoclaving, shredding and secure landfill as applicable.

Periodic verification that a steam steriliser achieves the required temperature, pressure and exposure time, proven by biological indicators and recorded for regulatory inspection of healthcare waste treatment.

A policy obliging producers to take back their products at end of life and finance collection and recycling, applied to plastic packaging, electronic equipment, batteries and tyres through mandated targets.

A tradable credit issued on a national portal to registered recyclers or processors, confirming a quantity of end-of-life material was recycled, which producers use to discharge their take-back obligations.

An entity engaged by producers to channel collection and recycling of their end-of-life products, coordinating with registered recyclers and generating EPR credits on the producers' behalf.

Debris from building, renovation and demolition activity, which must be segregated at source, stored separately, transported in covered vehicles and processed at permitted recycling facilities.

A facility that crushes and screens construction and demolition debris into recycled aggregates, sand and bricks, reducing demand for fresh quarry material and landfill volume.

An engineered disposal site for non-biodegradable, non-reactive residues such as treated C&D fines and slag, constructed with liners and leachate controls to prevent groundwater contamination.

Liquid that percolates through waste and dissolves contaminants, requiring collection, treatment and controlled disposal because of high organic load, ammonia and heavy metal content.

The mass of dissolved oxygen consumed by microorganisms oxidising organic matter in a water sample over five days at 20 degrees Celsius, used to gauge organic pollution strength.

The oxygen equivalent of potassium dichromate consumed by oxidisable substances in a water sample under acid conditions, measuring both biodegradable and non-biodegradable organic matter.

A sequence of physical, chemical and biological units that reduces pollutant concentrations in industrial wastewater so that discharge meets the limits fixed for the receiving water body or sewer.

A regime requiring an industry to treat and recycle all wastewater internally, leaving no liquid effluent discharge, typically using evaporators and crystallisers to handle reject brine.

A shared facility treating combined wastewater from a cluster of small industries, with member units paying charges and pre-treating their effluent to inlet norms agreed with the operator.

Area-category and time-dependent permissible limits for noise levels in industrial, commercial, residential and silence zones, measured in A-weighted decibels with specified instruments.

A single steady sound level carrying the same acoustic energy as a fluctuating noise over a stated period, commonly denoted Leq and used to compare against ambient standards.

A logarithmic ratio of measured sound pressure to a reference pressure, expressed in decibels, so that doubling acoustic energy adds roughly three decibels to the reading.

A frequency filter applied to sound measurements that approximates human hearing sensitivity by attenuating low frequencies, indicated by the dB(A) unit used in regulatory limits.

A land-use classification, such as industrial, commercial, residential or silence zone, that determines which ambient noise limits apply and restricts activities such as loudspeaker use.

An area within 100 metres of hospitals, nursing homes, schools and courts where use of horns and loudspeakers is prohibited and the strictest ambient noise limits apply.

Comparison of an instrument's reading against a traceable reference standard, performed before use and at set intervals, with results recorded to establish measurement reliability.

The property of a measurement result whereby it can be related to national or international reference standards through an unbroken documented chain of calibrations, each with stated uncertainty.

A quantified range around a reported result within which the true value is expected to lie, combining contributions from sampling, instrument calibration, operator and environmental variability.

An external quality check in which a laboratory analyses blind samples of known but undisclosed composition and its result is scored against peer laboratories to demonstrate competence.

Formal third-party recognition that a laboratory is competent to perform specific tests, granted after assessment of its quality system, personnel, equipment and traceability practices.