| AA, AAS | atomic absorption spectroscopy |
| ACC | American Chemistry Council (formerly CMA) |
| ACGIH | American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists |
| AIHA | American Industrial Hygiene Association |
| ALARA | As Low As Reasonably Achievable |
| ANSI | American National Standards Institute |
| APWA | American Public Works Association |
| ASSE | American Society of Safety Engineers |
| ASTM | American Society for Testing and Materials |
| atm | atmosphere (pressure unit) |
| ATR | Attenuated Total Reflection |
| ATSDR | Agency For Toxic Substances And Disease |
| AWWA | American Water Works Association |
| BOD | biological oxygen demand, Biochemical Oxygen Demand |
| bp | boiling point |
| CAA | Clean Air Act |
| CAS | Chemical Abstracts Service |
| CC | closed cup |
| CDL | commercial drivers license |
| CDTA | Chemical Drug and Trafficking Act |
| CE | capillary electrophoresis |
| CERCLA | Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act |
| CFR | Code of Federal Regulations |
| CI | chemical ionization |
| CMA | Chemical Manufacturer's Association (now ACC) |
| COC | Cleveland open cup |
| COD | chemical oxygen demand |
| coeff | coefficient |
| CPR | cardio-pulmonary resuscitation |
| CPSC | Consumer Product Safety Commission |
| CSB | Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board |
| CWA | Clean Water Act |
| DEA | United States Drug Enforcement Agency |
| DL | detection limit |
| DO | dissolved oxygen |
| DOE | United States Department of Energy |
| DOL | United States Department of Labor |
| DOT | United States Department of Transportation |
| DSC | Differential Scanning Calorimetry |
| DSL | (Canadian) Domestic Substances List |
| EHS | Environmental, Health and Safety |
| EINECS | European Inventory of Existing Commercial Substances |
| ELINCS | European List of Notified Chemical Substances |
| EPA | Environmental Protection Agency |
| EPCRA | Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act |
| EPR | Electron Paramagnetic Resonance |
| ERG | Emergency Response Guidebook |
| FAB | fast atom bombardment |
| FDA | Food and Drug Administration |
| FID | flame ionization detector |
| FIFRA | Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act |
| fp | freezing point, flash point |
| FPD | flame photometric detector |
| FT | Fourier Transform |
| GHS | globally harmonized system |
| GRAS | Generally Recognized as Safe |
| GC | gas chromatography |
| HAP | Hazardous Air Pollutant |
| HAZMAT | Hazardous Materials |
| HAZWOPER | Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response |
| HCC | Hazard Characteristic Codes |
| HCS | Hazard communication standard |
| HEPA | High efficiency particulate air (filter) |
| HMIRS | Hazardous Material Information Resource System |
| HMIS | Hazardous Materials Information System |
| HMTA | Hazardous Materials Transportation Act |
| HPLC | high-performance liquid chromatography |
| HSE | Health, Safety and Environmental |
| HSL | Hazardous Substance List |
| Hz | Hertz |
| IARC | International Agency for Research on Cancer |
| IC | ion chromatography |
| ICP | inductively coupled plasma |
| IDLH | immediate danger to life and health |
| IP | Intraperitoneal |
| ISE | ion-specific electrode |
| ISO | International Organization for Standardization |
| IUPAC | International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry |
| iv | intravenous |
| kg | Kilogram |
| L | Liter |
| LC50 | median lethal concentration |
| LCL | Lower Control Limit |
| LD50 | median lethal dose |
| LDMS | laser desorption mass spectrometry |
| LEL | lower explosive limit |
| LIMS | Laboratory Information Management System |
| LOD | limit of detection, loss on drying |
| LOQ | limit of quantitation |
| mg | Milligram |
| mL | Milliliter |
| MS | mass spectrometry |
| MSHA | Mine Safety and Health Administration |
| NA | not applicable, not available |
| ND | not determined |
| NDSL | (Canadian) Non-Domestic Substances List |
| NFPA | National Fire Prevention Association |
| NHTSA | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration |
| NIOSH | National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health |
| NIR | near infrared |
| NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology |
| NLM | National Library of Medicine |
| NMR | nuclear magnetic resonance |
| NOAA | National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency |
| NPD | nitrogen-phosphorus detector |
| NTP | National Toxicology Program |
| NTSB | National Transportation Safety Board |
| OC | open cup |
| ORM | Other Regulated Material |
| ORP | oxidation-reduction potential |
| OSHA | Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
| PAH | Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons |
| Part | partition |
| PCB | polychlorinated biphenyl |
| PEL | permissible exposure limits |
| PMN | Premanufacture Notification |
| POTW | publicly-owned treatment works |
| ppb | parts per billion |
| PPE | personal protective equipment |
| ppm | parts per million |
| psi | pounds per square inch |
| QA | Quality Assurance |
| QC | Quality Control |
| QL | Quantification Limit |
| RCRA | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act |
| REACH | Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals |
| rms | root mean square |
| rpm | revolutions per minute |
| RQ | Reportable quantity |
| RTECS | Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances |
| RTK | Right to Know |
| SARA | Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act |
| SCBA | Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus |
| SCE | saturated calomel electrode |
| SCFM | Standard Cubic Feet Per Minute |
| SDWA | Safe Drinking Water Act |
| SHE | Safety, Health and Enviromnmental OR standard hydrogen electrode |
| SIC | Standard Industrial Classification |
| SIMS | Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry |
| SNUR | Significant New Use Rule |
| STEL | short-term exposure limit |
| STN | Scientific and Technical Information Network |
| TCC | Tagliabue Closed Cup |
| TGA | thermogravimetric analysis |
| TLV | Threshold Limit Value |
| TOC | Total Organic Carbon |
| TOF | time-of-flight |
| TPQ | threshold planning quantity |
| TQ | threshold quantity |
| TRI | Toxic Release Inventory |
| TSCA | Toxic Substances Control Act |
| TWA | time-weighted average |
| UEL | upper explosive limit |
| USCG | United States Coast Guard |
| USDA | United States Department of Agriculture |
| UV | ultraviolet |
| VOC | Volatile Organic Compounds |
| WHMIS | (Canadian) Workplace Hazardous Material Information System |
| XRF | X-ray fluorescence |
| ZRL | Zero Risk Level |