APES Unit 8.9 - 8.15 Vocab

MSW (Municipal Solid Waste)

Solid waste from cities including households, businesses, and schools.

E-Waste

Waste from old computers, TVs, phones, and tablets, considered hazardous due to metals like cadmium, lead, mercury, and PBDEs.

Sanitary Landfills

Developed nations' disposal sites with features like clay/plastic bottom liners, leachate collection systems, methane recovery systems, and clay caps.

Landfill Issues

Environmental impacts of landfills include groundwater contamination, release of greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4), and NIMBY (Not in my Back Yard) concerns.

Waste Incineration

Burning waste to reduce volume and generate electricity, releasing CO2 and air pollutants, with bottom ash containing toxic metals.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The Three Rs - reducing consumption, reusing products, and recycling waste materials to conserve resources and reduce landfill volume.

Composting

Controlled decomposition of organic matter like food scraps and yard waste to reduce landfill volume and produce nutrient-rich compost.

Dose-Response Studies

Exposing organisms to different chemical doses to measure responses, including LD50 (dose killing 50% of population) and ED50 (dose causing non-lethal effects in 50%).

Routes of Exposure

Various ways pollutants enter the human body, such as lead through water pipes and paint chips, mercury through seafood, and CO through indoor biomass combustion.

Synergism

Interaction of substances causing effects greater than individual effects, making it challenging to determine the specific impact of one pollutant on humans.

Pathogen

A living organism (virus, bacteria, fungus, protist, worm) that causes an infectious disease

Vectors

Living organisms (rat, mosquito) that carry and transmit infectious pathogens to other organisms

Plague

Bacterial infection transmitted by fleas that attach to mice & rats; also known as "bubonic" or "black" plague

Tuberculosis (TB)

Bacterial infection targeting the lungs, transmitted by breathing bacteria from infected persons

Malaria

Parasitic protist infection caused by mosquito bites, common in sub-Saharan Africa, causing recurring flu-like symptoms

West Nile

Virus infection caused by mosquito bites, mainly transmitted from birds to humans, causing brain inflammation

Zika Virus

Virus infection caused by mosquito bites & sexual contact, leading to birth defects in babies

SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

Coronavirus infection transmitted by respiratory droplets, causing pneumonia

MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome)

Virus respiratory infection transmitted from animals to humans, originating in the Arabian peninsula

Cholera

Bacterial infection caused by drinking contaminated water, leading to severe dehydration