Overview of Air Pollution and Waste Management Concepts

  1. Air Pollution: One or more chemicals in high enough concentration in the atmosphere to harm animals, vegetation, or materials

  2. primary pollutants: pollutants released into the air in a harmful form (gas or pm)

  3. Secondary pollutants: not toxic when released, but atmospheric reactions from a pollutant

  4. Photochemical Smog or Brown Smog: Smog occurring in warm, dry climates with lots of vehicles and planes.

  5. Industrial Smog: Smog occurring in cool, wet climates that produces gray, sooty particles.

  6. Thermal Inversion: when a layer of warm air settles over a layer of cooler air that lies near the ground, the warm area holds the cool air and prevents pollutants from rising and scattering.

  7. Industrial indoor air pollution: air pollution within an area shared by multiple people, typically with a maintenance staff responsible for ensuring popper ventilation

  8. Sick Building Syndrome: non-specific illness experienced by building occupants related to the time spent there.

  9. Building Related Illness: Specific diagnosed illness attributed directly to the indoor air quality of a building

  10. Noise Pollution: exposure to either a loud noise or continuous loud noises over a period of time

  11. Gyre: Large-scale circular feature of ocean currents that spiral around a central point.

  12. Trash: dry discard and waste (paper, boxes, packing)

  13. Garbage: wet discards and waste (Food remains, yard waste)

  14. Refuse: inclusive term for wet and dry waste

  15. Rubbish: All refuse, plus construction and demolition debris

  16. Biodegradable Waste: Capable of being broken down by living organisms (in a reasonable timeframe)

  17. Non-biodegradable waste: incapable of being broken down under normal circumstances

  18. Industrial solid waste: Waste produced by mines, farms, and industry which provide people with goods and services

  19. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): Waste produced by homes and businesses other than factories

  20. Industrial Ecology: Field of Study to find innovative industrial solutions to complicated environmental problems (relies on engineering, science, politics, and the general public)

  21. Compositing: Using decomposers (bacteria, fungus, worms) to break down organic matter into valuable humus (builds loam soils)

  22. Compost ‘tea’: When water is drained from compost and used to water plants.

  23. Recycling: the act of processing used or abandoned materials for use in creating new products

  24. Primary recycling: materials discarded by consumers are reprocessed into products of the same type

  25. Secondary Recycling: Materials discarded are converted into different, usually lower-quality products

  27. Pre-consumer content: paper made from scraps from the paper manufacturing process

  28. Post-consumer Waste: Products made from paper which was collected from recycled paper products

  29. Dioxins: a family of chemicals that are among the most toxic known to humans

  30. Mercury: Potent Neurotoxin

  31. Sanitary Landfills: Solid waste is compacted, spread in layers, and covered in soil and plastic weekly or daily.

  32. Leachate: residual liquids from solid waste, plus rainwater

  33. United States definition of Hazardous Waste: Any material containing one or more of 39 identified toxic compounds, flammable, reactive, and capable of corroding metals.

  34. Brownfield: abandoned or industrial or commercial property.

  35. E-waste: disposal of electronic waste loaded with lead cadmium, zinc, dioxins, and more.