Mrs.
Zachey Chapter 8 Terms
area sources
emit less than 10 tons per year of a
criteria or hazardous air pollutant or less
than 25 tons per year of a combination
of pollutants.
asbestos
a soft, gray-white material that does not
burn and was used in buildings as a
protection against fire, and as a form of
insulation
biomagnification
the concentration of toxins in an
organism because of its ingesting other
plants or animals in which the toxins are
more widely disbursed.
carcinogen
a substance capable of causing cancer
in living tissue.
contamination
the action or state of making or being
made impure by polluting or poisoning.
disease
a disorder of structure or function in a
human, animal, or plant, especially one
that produces specific signs or
symptoms or that affects a specific
location and is not simply a direct result
of physical injury.
dose response
the pattern of physiological response to
varied dosage (as of a drug or radiation)
in which there is typically little or no
effect at very low dosages and a toxic or
unchanging effect at high dosages with
the maximum increase in effect
somewhere between the extremes
Grace Solberg
ecological gradient
a gradual change in abiotic factors
through space (or time). Can be related
to factors such as altitude, temperature,
depth, ocean proximity and soil
humidity.
ED-50
The "median effective dose" is the dose
that produces a quantal effect (all or
nothing)
electromagnetic fields (EMF's)
a field of force that consists of both
electric and magnetic components,
resulting from the motion of an electric
charge and containing a definite amount
of electromagnetic energy.
heavy metal
metal of relatively high density, or of
high relative atomic weight.
hormonally active agents (HAAs)
substances that possess hormone-like
activity, regardless of mechanism
LD-50
the amount of a toxic agent (as a
poison, virus, or radiation) that is
sufficient to kill 50 percent of a
population of animals usually within a
certain time — called also median lethal
dose.
mobile sources
air pollution includes any air pollution
emitted by motor vehicles, airplanes,
locomotives, and other engines and
equipment that can be moved from one
location to another.
noise pollution
harmful or annoying levels of noise, as
from airplanes, industry, etc.
Mrs. Zachey Chapter 8 Terms
organic compounds
chemical compounds in which one or
more atoms of carbon are covalently
linked to atoms of other elements, most
commonly hydrogen, oxygen, or
nitrogen.
particulates
that are given off by the burning of oil,
gasoline, and other fuels can remain
suspended in the atmosphere for long
periods, where they are a major
component of air pollution and smog.
persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
a hazardous organic chemical
compound that is resistant to
biodegradation and thus remains in the
environment for a long time.
point source
a localized and stationary pollution
source.
pollution
the presence in or introduction into the
environment of a substance or thing that
has harmful or poisonous effects.
risk assessment
a systematic process of evaluating the
potential risks that may be involved in a
projected activity or undertaking.
synergism
the interaction or cooperation of two or
more organizations, substances, or
other agents to produce a combined
effect greater than the sum of their
separate effects.
Grace Solberg
synthetic organic compounds
used as pesticides, defoliants, fuel
additives and as ingredients for other
organic compounds. They are all man
made and do not naturally occur in the
environment.
TD-50
toxin is the dose at which toxicity occurs
in 50% of cases. The type of toxicity
should be specified for this value to
have meaning for practical purposes.
thermal pollution
the harmful release of heated liquid into
a body of water or heat released into the
air as a waste product of a business.
threshold
the magnitude or intensity that must be
exceeded for a certain reaction
tolerance
an allowable amount of variation of a
specified quantity
toxicology
the branch of science concerned with
the nature, effects, and detection of
poisons.
toxin
an antigenic poison or venom of plant or
animal origin, especially one produced
by or derived from microorganisms and
causing disease when present at low
concentration in the body.