Bentonite is an absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate generally impure clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite.  There are a few types of bentonites and their names depend on the dominant elements, such as K, Na, Ca, and Al.  As noted in several places in the geologic literature, there are some nomenclatorial problems with the classification of bentonite clays.  Bentonite usually forms from decomposition of volcanic ash, most often in the presence of water.  However, the term bentonite, as well as a similar clay called tonstein, have been used for clay beds of uncertain origin.  For industrial purposes, two main classes of bentonite exist: sodium and calcium bentonite.  In stratigraphy and tephrochronology, completely devitrified (weathered volcanic glass) ash-fall beds are commonly referred to as K-bentonites when the dominant clay species is illite.  Other common clay species, and sometimes dominant, are montmorillinite and kaolinite.  Kaolinite dominated clays are commonly referred to as tonsteins and are typically associated with coal.

Vinyl chloride is the organic compound with the formula CH₂CHCl.  This colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer, polyvinyl chloride (PVC).  At room temperature, vinyl chloride is a gas with a sickly sweet odor that is easily condensed.  It is highly toxic.

The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) was created in 1986 to co-ordinate and carries out pollution prevention and control activities.  Staff and resources from six government departments were deployed to the EPD.  The EPD replaced the Environmental Protection Agency (which had been created in 1981 to replace the Environmental Protection Unit, created in 1977) as the main government body tackling pollution.  Between 1986 and 31 March 2005 it functioned mainly as an executive department enforcing environmental laws and implementing environmental policies, the latter having been determined by the relevant policy bureau, most recently the then Environment, Transport and Works Bureau.  On 1 April 2005 however the environmental policy-making function carried out by the then Bureau was subsumed within the EPD and the head of the Environment Branch of the policy bureau took up the dual role of Permanent Secretary for the Environment and Director of Environmental Protection.  This significant development has placed the EPD in the position of both determining and implementing environmental policy.  Subsequent to the re-organization of government bureau on 1 July 2007, a new Environment Bureau was formed overseeing the formulation and implementation of environmental policies.

Is the state regulated Environmental Protection Division (EPD), which protects and restores Georgia's environment.  The Georgia EPD takes the lead in ensuring clean air, water and land.  It also pursues a sustainable environment that provides a foundation for a vibrant economy and healthy communities.

The act of excavating, or of making hollow, by cutting, scooping, or digging out a part of a solid mass.

Is a type of gas detector used in gas chromatography.  The first flame ionization detector was developed in 1957 by scientists working for the CSIRO in Melbourne, Australia.

Water beneath the earth's surface that fills pores between materials such as sand, soil or gravel.  Groundwater is a major source of water for agricultural and industrial purposes and is an important source of drinking water for about half of all Americans.  Groundwater is not available in north GA in sufficient quantity to be a source of drinking water.

A well drilled at a waste management facility or site to collect ground-water samples for the purpose of physical, chemical, or biological analysis to determine the amounts, types, and distribution of contaminants in the groundwater beneath the site.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a class of organic compounds with 1 to 10 chlorine atoms attached to biphenyl which is a molecule composed of two benzene rings each containing six carbon atoms.  The chemical formula for all PCBs is C1₂H_10-xCl_x.

PCB production was banned in the 1970s due to the high toxicity of most PCB congeners and mixtures.  PCBs are classified as persistent organic pollutants which bio accumulate in animals.

Potentiometric Surface Map is a map depicting lines of equal groundwater head and thus represents the height of the water table.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), enacted in 1976, is a Federal law of the United States contained in 42 U.S.C. §§6901-6992k.  It is usually pronounced as "rick-rah" or "Wreck-rah." RCRA is the Unites States' primary law governing the disposal of solid and hazardous waste.  Congress passed RCRA on October 21, 1976 to address the increasing problems the nation faced from its growing volume of municipal and industrial waste.  RCRA, which amended the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, set national goals for:

• Protecting human health and the environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal.
• Conserving energy and natural resources.
• Reducing the amount of waste generated.
• Ensuring that wastes are managed in an environmentally-sound manner.

The initial sampling process which takes place at the beginning of a site remediation project to determine the various levels of and their aerial extent chemical constituents in the surrounding area.

Semi-volatile Organic Compounds, a class of chemicals whose presence suggests the presence of hazardous waste; since some of these chemicals occur naturally, their presence is not conclusive evidence of contamination.

Volatile Organic Compounds containing carbon and different proportions of other elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, sulfur, or nitrogen; these substances easily become vapors or gases.  A significant number of the VOCs are commonly used as solvents (paint thinners; lacquer thinner, degreasers, and dry cleaning fluids) and are found in fossil fuels.

TPH stands for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons which refers to a measure of concentration or mass of petroleum hydrocarbon constituents present in a given amount of air, soil, or water.