Unit 8 - Key Terms to Remember

FInd this list on page 652 of "Environmental Science for the AP Course 4th edition, ANdrew Friedland & Rick Relyea"

Point Source + ie. ___, ___ ___, __

A distinct location from which pollution is directly produced + ie. factories, sewage plants, smokestacks

Nonpoint Source + ie. __ region, __ community, __ __ storm runoff

A more diffuse area that produces pollution + ie. farming region, suburban community, parking lot storm runoff

Homeostasis

The ability to experience relatively stable internal conditions within ones body

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s)

A group of carcinogenic industrial compounds that were once used to manufacture plastics and insulat electrical transformers.

Neurotoxin

A chemical that disrupts the nervous systems of animals.

Carcinogen

Chemicals that cause cancer through cell damage leading to uncontrolled growth.

Mutagen + ie. ___, ___, ___

Generally carcinogens that damage cell genetic material + ie. asbestos, radon, formaldehyde

Teratogen + ie. ___

Chemicals that interfere with normal fetus/embryo development + ie. thalidomide

Allergen

Chemicals that cause allergic reactions.

Endocrine disruptor

Chemicals that interfere with hormone functions

Wastewater

Water produced by livestock operations and human activities

Levee

An enlarged bank built upon each side of a river

Dikes

Structures built to prevent ocean water floods

Dam

A barrier that runs across a river or stream to control water flow

Reservoir

The water body created by damming a river or stream

Fish ladder

A stair-like structure wth water that allows migrating fish passage around dams

Desalination (Desalinization)

A process for obtaining fresh water by removing the salt from salt water

Distillation

A process of desalinization in which water is boiled and the resulting steam is captured and condensed to yield pure water

Reverse osmosis

A process of desalinization in which water is forced through a thin semipermeable membrane at high pressure, where salt cannot pass the membrane.

Brine

High salt concentration wastewater from reverse osmosis.

Eutrophication

Deadzones without oxygen caused by algae blooms which are triggered due to excess nutrients in waterbodies that alter food webs resulting in excessive algae which consumes said oxygen.

Oxygen sag curve

The relationship of oxygen concentrations to the distance from a point source of decomposing sewage or other pollutants.

Thermal pollution

Occurs when humans cause a substantial change in the temperature of a water body.

Thermal shock

A dramatic change in temperature that can kill many species.

Chemical Persistence

How long a chemical remains in the environment, impacted by factors like temperature, pH, environment, and method of degradation.

Persistent organic pollutants (POP’s)

Synthetic, carbon-based molecules that break down very slowly in the environment.

Route of exposure

The way in which an individual might ocme into contact with an environmental hazard, such as a chemical.

Solubility

How well a chemical dissolves in a liquid.

Bioaccumulation

The selective absorption and concentration of a chemical within an organism overtime, buildup.

Biomagnification

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

Solid waste

The waste produced by humans as discarded materials in solid form that don’t pose a toxic hazard to humans or other organisms.

Municipal solid waste (MSW)

Solid waste colletcted by municipalities from households, small businesses, and institutions such as schools, prisons, municipal buildings, and hospitals.

Waste stream

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

Leachate

Liquid that can contain elevated levels of pollutants as a result of haiving passed through the solid waste of a landfill.

Sanitary landfill

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

Tipping fee

A fee chrged for trucks that deliver and tip solid waste into a landfill or incinerator.

Incineration

The process of burning waste materials to reduce volume and mass, and sometimes to generate electricity or heat.

Ash

The residual nonorganic material that does not combust during incineration.

Waste-to-energy

A system in which heat generated by incineration is used as an energy source rather than released into the surrounding environment.

Hazardous waste

Liquid, solid, gaseous, or sludge waste material that is harmful to humans, ecosystems, or materials.

Superfund Act (CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act))

1980 U.S. federal act that taxes chemical and petroleum industries to cleanup hazardous waste sites. Authorizes federal government intervention in the release of substances threatening common good.

Brownfields

Contaminated industrial or commercial sites that may require environmental cleanup before they can be redeveloped or expanded.

The Three R’s (—, —, —: explanation)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: a phrase promoting diverting materials from the waste stream.

Source reduction

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

Reuse

Using a product or material that would otherwise be discarded

Recycling

The process of collecting and converting potential MSW into raw materials.

Closed-loop recycling

Recycling a product into the same product.

Open-loop recycling

Recyclign one product into a different product.

Composting

The breakdown of organic materials into organic matter (humus).

Life-cycle analysis (Cradle-to-grave Analysis)

A systems tool that examines the materials ujsed and released throughout the lifetime of a product, including design, material procurement, use, and disposal.

Integrated waste managment

An approach to waste disposal that employs several waste reduction, management, and disposal strategies to reduce their costs and reduce the environmental impact of MSW.

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

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

Cultural eutrophication

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

Fecal coliform bacteria

A group of microorganisms that live in the intestines of humans, other mammals, and birds, that serve as an indicator species for potentially harmful microorganisms associated with contaminated sewage.

Septic system

A relatively small and simple sewage treatment system made up of a septic tank and leach field, traditionally in rural area homes.

Septic tank

A large container that receives wastewater from a house as part of a septic system.

Sludge

Solid waste material from wastewater.

Septage

A layer of fairly clear water found in the middle of a septic tank.

Leach field

A component of a septic system, made up of underground pipes laid out below the surface of the ground.

Dose-response study

A study that exposes animals or plants to different amounts of a chemical and then looks for a variety of possible responses, including mortality or changes in behavior or reproduction.

Acute study

An experiment that exposes organisms to an environmental hazard for a short duration.

Chronic study

An experiment that exposes organisms to an environmental hazard for a long duration.

LD 50

The lethal dose of a chemical which’ll kill 50% of individuals in a dose-response study.

Sublethal effect

The effect of an environmental hazard that does not kill an organism but may impar an organisms behavior, pyhsiologoy, or reproduction.

ED 50

The effective dose of a chemical that causes 50% of individuals in a dose-response study to diplay a harmful, but nonlethal, effect.

No-observed-effect level (NOEL)

The highest concentration of a chemical that causes no lethal or sublethal effects.

Environmental hazard

Anything in the environment that can potentially cause harm in a risk assessment.

Innocent-until-proven-guilty Principal

Broadly American principle of belief that a potential hazard shouldn’t be considered an actual hazard until scientific data definitively demonstrates harm.

Precautionary Principle

Principle that if a hazard is plausible, even if it’s not yet certain, we should take actions to reduce or remove the potential hazard.

Stockholm Convention

2001 UN-ratified, legally binding international treaty aimed at mitigating the environmental hazards of POP’s. Initially targeted the “dirty dozen” of 12 chemicals.

REACH (Registration. Evaluation. Authorization. Restriction.)

A 2007 European agreement on chemical regulation, focusing on the precautionary principle.

Retrospective Study

A study looking at the past to monitor the effect of an environmental hazard on people already impacted.

Prospective Study

A study looking towards the future, monitoring people who may become exposed to an environmentla hazard in the future.

Synergistic interaction

A situation in which two risks together enhance each other to cause more harm than either individually.

Disease

Any impaired function of the body with a characteristic set of symptoms

Pathogen Types (there are six.)

Bacteria, Fungi, Viruses, Parasites, Yeast, Prions

Infectious disease + ie. —, —, —

A disease caused by a pathogen + ie. Cholera, STI, Malaria

Acute disease

A disease that rapidly impars the functioning of a person’s body

Chronic disease

A disease that slowly impairs the functioning of a person’s body

Epidemic

A situation in which a pathogen causes a rapid increase in disease

Pandemic

An epidemic that occurs over a large geographic region, such as an entire continent

Dysentery

An infection of the intestines that causes diarrhea, which results in dehydration and can cause death

Plague

An infectious disease caused by a bacterium (Yersinia pestis) that is carried by fleas

Malaria

An infectious disease caused by one of several species of protists in the genus Plasmodium

Tuberculosis

A highly contagious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis that primarily infects the lungs

Emergent infectious disease

An infectious deisease that has not been previously described or has not been common for at least 20 years

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

An infectious disease caused by HIV, which weakens the immune system

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)

A type of virus that causes AIDS

Ebola hemorrhagic fever

An infectious disease with high death rates, caused by several species of Ebola viruses

Mad cow disease

A disease in which prions mutate into deadly pathogens and slowly damage a cow’s nervous system. Can be transmitted through meat regardless of cooking

Prion

A small, beneficial protein that occassionally mutates into a pathogen

Swine flu

A type of flu caused by the H1N1 virus

Bird flu

A type of flu caused by the H5N1 virus that jumped from birds to people

SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome)

An unusual form of pneumonia, a type of flu caused by a coronavirus

MERS-CoV

A coronavirus that causes the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome disease

SARS-COV-2

A coronavirus that causes the disease Covid-19

West Nile virus

A virus that lives in hundreds of species of birds and is transmitted amongst birds by mosquitoes.

Lyme disease

A disease caused by a bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi) that is transmitted by ticks.

Zika virus disease

A disease caused by a pathogen that causes fetuses to be born with unusually small heads and damaged brains.

Clean Water Act

Legislation protecting aquatic life and recreation through monitoring, maintaining, and restoring chemical, physical, and biological properties in surface waters.