Unit 8 Vocab

Acute disease

A disease that rapidly impairs the functioning of an organism

Bioaccumulation

An increased concentration of a chemical within an organism over time

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

The amount of oxygen a quantity of water uses over a period of time at specific temperatures.

Biomagnification

The increase in chemical concentration in animal tissues as the chemical moves up the food chain

Chronic disease

A disease that slowly impairs the functioning of an organism

Closed-loop recycling

Recycling a product into the same product

Cultural eutrophication

A increase in fertility in a body of water, the result of anthropogenic inputs of nutrients

Endocrine disruptor

A chemical that interferes with the normal functioning of hormones in an animal’s body

Eutrophication

A phenomenon in which a body of water becomes rich in nutrients

Integrated waste management

A approach to waste disposal that employs several waste reduction, management, and disposal strategies in order to reduce the environmental impact of MSW

LD50

The lethal dose of a chemical that kills 50% of the individuals in a dose-responce study

Leachate

Liquid that contains elevated levels of pollutants as a result of having passed through municipal solid waste (MSW) or contaminated soil

Municipal solid waste (MSW)

Refuse collected by municipalities from household, small businesses, and institutions

Open-loop recycling

Recycling one product into a different product

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

A group of toxic chemicals, which are synthetic, carbon-based molecules, that can remain in the environment for long periods of time and travel long distances through the air and water

Primary sewage treatment

A physical process that uses screens and a grit tank to remove large floating objects and allows settling

Sanitary landfill

An engineered ground facility designed to hold municipal solid waste (MSW) with as little contamination of the surrounding environment as possible

Secondary sewage treatment

A biological process in which aerobic bacteria remove as much as 90% of dissolved and biodegradable oxygen-demanding organic wastes

Source reduction

An approach to waste management that seeks to cut waste by reducing the use of potential waste materials in the early stages of design and manufacture

Waste stream

The flow of solid waste that is recycled, incinerated, placed in a solid waste landfill, or disposed of in another way