A glossary of toxic terms A glossary of toxic terms (December 24, 2004)

Superfund -- A 1986 law that created a nationwide program to clean up major toxic sites. It holds polluters entirely responsible for the costs of government-ordered cleanups of toxic sites.
PCBs -- Polychlorinated biphenyls, used as coolants and lubricants for electrical transformers before their use has been banned in the U.S. in 1977. These cancer-causing toxincs are found at nearly one-third of the nation's most toxic clean-up sites.
TCE -- Trichloroethene, a carcinogenic chemical solvent made famous in the book "A Civil Action," used in the manufacture of semiconductors and other industrial work.
Vapor intrusion -- A process by which underground toxins seep into buildings, usually through a crack in a foundation or some other pathway. Locally, unsafe levels of TCE have been found to have entered office buildings and homes through this process.

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