Definitions: Modules 21-23 Flashcards
solid waste
total of all materials thrown away from homes and commercial establishments, excluding hazardous wastes and industrial nonhazardous wastes
raw sewage
- mainly water
- also has debris, grit, dissolved and particulate organic material like feces
preliminary treatment
- removes large debris from the sewage
- disposed at local landfill
effluent
discharged off-site when there is a partial plant by pass
denitrification
microbes turn nitrates into nitrogen gas, occurring in the absence of oxygen
sludge
- used to describe the solid organic rich material that settle at the bottom of tanks
- can be used as fertilizers
hazardous chemicals
chemicals that have one or more of the following attributes: flammable, corrosive, toxic (Acute or chronic), and reactive
acute toxicity
symptoms are immediate
chronic toxicity
symptoms develop overtime
carcinogenic
chemical is a causative agent of cancer
tetratogenic
chemical causes fetus in exposed mom to develop abnormally
bioaccumulation
- the storage of chemicals in an organism in high concentrations than is normally found in the environment
- occurs when substances are ingested but cannot be excreted/broken down
biomagnification
multiplying effect of bioaccumulation that occurs throughout a food chain
precautionary principle
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
population pyramids
illustrates within a given population how many people belong to different age groups
ecological footprint
measure of all natural areas required to satisfy human needs
sustainable society
society in balance with the natural world, which continues generation after generation, which does not deplete resources by exceeding sustainable yields and does not produce pollutants in excess of nature’s capacity to absorb them
