| A | B |
|---|
| acid precipitation | acid rain acid hail or acid snow all of which occur as a result of pollution in the atmosphere |
| acute effect | the effect caused by a short exposure to a high level of toxin |
| catalytic converter | a platinum-coated in device that oxidizes most of the VOCs and some of the CO that would otherwise be emitted in exhaust converting them CO<sub>2</sub> |
| closed-loop recycling | when materials such as plastic or aluminum are used to rebuild the same product |
| composting | a process that allows the organic material in solid waste to be decomposed and reintroduced into the soil often as fertilizer |
| building-related illness | when the signs and symptoms of an illness can be attributed to a specific infectious organism that resides in the building |
| chronic effect | an effect that results from long-term exposure to low levels of toxin |
| deep well injection | drilling a hole in the ground that's below the water table to hold waste |
| disease | occurs when infection causes a change in the State of health |
| dose-response analysis | a process in which an organism is exposed to a toxin at different concentrations and the dosage that causes the death of the organism is recorded |
| dose-response curve | the result of graphing a dose-response analysis |
| ED-50 | the point at which 50 percent of the test organisms show a negative effect from a toxin. |
| global warming | an intensification of the Greenhouse Effect due to the increased presence of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere |
| gray smog (industrial Smog) | Smog resulting from emissions from industry and other sources of gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels |
| hazardous waste | any waste that poses a danger to human health t must be deatt with in a different way from other types of waste. |
| heat islands | urban areas that heat up in ore quickly and retain heat better than nonurban areas |
| high level radioactive waste | radioactive wastes that produce high levels of ionizing radiation |
| Infection | the result of a pathogen invading a body |
| LD-50 | the point at which 50 percent of the test organisms die from a toxin |
| leachate | the liquid that percolates to the bottom of a landfill |
| low-level radioactive waste | radioactive wastes that produce low levels of ionizing radiation |
| noise pollution | any noise that causes stress or has the potential to damage human health |
| non-point source pollution | pollution that does not have a specific point of release |
| open-loop recycling | when materials are reused to form new products |
| ozone holes | the thinning of the ozone layer over over Antarctica and to some extent the Arctic |
| Pathogens | bacteria virus or other microorganisms that can cause disease |
| photochemical smog | usually formed on hot sunny days when NO<sub>x</sub> compounds and VOCs and ozone combine to form smog with a brownish hue |
| point source pollution | a specific location from which pollution is released |
| Poison | any substance that has an LD<sub>50</sub> of 50 mg or less per kg of body weight. |
| Physical treatment | the initial filtration that is done to remove debris that were flushed down the toilet in a sewage treatment plant |
| primary pollutants | pollutants that are released directly into the lower atmosphere. |
| Primary treatment | when physically treated sewage water is passed into settling tank where suspended solids settle out as sludge |
| Risk assessment | calculating risk or the degree of likelihood that a person will become ill upon exposure to a toxin or pathogen |
| risk management | using strategies to reduce the amount of risk |
| secondary treatment | the biological treatment of wastewater in order to continue to remove biodegradable waste |
| sick building syndrome | a condition in which the majority of a building’s occupants experience certain symptoms that vary with the amount of time spent in the building without being able to identify a specific cause or illness |
| sludge | the solids that remain after the secondary treatment of Sewage |
| sludge processor | a tank filled with aerobic bacteria that's used to treat sewage |
| solid waste | can consist of hazardous waste industrial solid waste or municipal waste |
| stationary sources | non-moving sources of pollution such as factories |
| Superfund Program | a program funded by the federal government and a trust that's funded by taxes on chemicals |
| toxicity | the degree to which a substance is biologically harmful |
| toxin | any substance that is inhaled ingested or absorbed at dosages sufficient to damage a living organism |
| tropospheric ozone | ozone that exists in the trophosphere. |
| U.S. Noise Control Act | gave the EPA power to set emission standards for major sources of noise including transportation machinery and construction |
| vector | the carrier organism through which pathogens can attack such as a tick |
| wastewater | any water that has been used by humans |
| Waste-to-Energy (WTE) program | when the energy released from waste incineration is used to generate electricity |
