exam4

Question 1

disease

Answer 1

any impaired function of the body with a characteristic set of symptoms

Question 2

infectious disease

Answer 2

a disease caused by a pathogen

Question 3

chronic disease

Answer 3

a disease that slowly impairs functioning of an organism

Question 4

acute disease

Answer 4

a disease that rapidly impairs the functioning of an organism

Question 5

epidemic

Answer 5

a situation in which a pathogen causes a rapid increase in disease

Question 6

pandemic

Answer 6

an epidemic that occurs over a large geographic region

Question 7

plague

Answer 7

an infectious disease caused by the bacterium yersinia pestis, carried by fleas

Question 8

emergent infectious disease

Answer 8

an infectious disease that has not been previously described or has not been common for at least 20 years

Question 9

neurotoxin

Answer 9

a chemical that disrupts the nervous systems of animals

Question 10

carcinogens

Answer 10

chemicals that cause cancer

Question 11

mutagens

Answer 11

carcinogens that cause damage to the genetic material of a cell

Question 12

teratogens

Answer 12

chemicals that interfere with the normal development of embryos or fetuses

Question 13

alleragens

Answer 13

a chemical that causes allergic reactions

Question 14

endocrine disrupters

Answer 14

chemicals that interfere with the normal functioning of hormones in an animal

Question 15

LD50

Answer 15

the lethal dose of a chemical that kills 50 percent of the individuals in a dose-response study

Question 16

ED50

Answer 16

an abbreviation for the effective dose of a chemical that causes 50 percent of the individuals in a dose-response study to display a harmful, but nonlethal, effect

Question 17

epidemiology

Answer 17

the study and analysis of the distribution, patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population

Question 18

route of exposure

Answer 18

the way in which an individual might come into contact with an environmental hazard

Question 19

solubility

Answer 19

how well a chemical dissolves in a liquid

Question 20

biomagnification

Answer 20

an increase in the concentration of a chemical in animal tissue as the chemical moves up the food chain

Question 21

persistence

Answer 21

the length of time a chemical remains in the environment

Question 22

environmental hazard

Answer 22

anything in the environment that can potentially cause harm

Question 23

risk assessment

Answer 23

the process of analyzing potential events that may result in the loss of an asset, loan, or investment

Question 24

qualitative

Answer 24

measuring the quality of something rather than its quantity

Question 25

quantitative

Answer 25

measuring the quantity of something rather than its quality

Question 26

precautionary principle

Answer 26

a principle based on the philosophy that action should be taken against a plausible environmental hazard

Question 27

waste

Answer 27

material outputs from a system that are not useful or consumed

Question 28

recycling

Answer 28

the process by which materials destined to become municipal solid waste (MSW) are collected and converted into raw material that is then used to produce new objects

Question 29

compost

Answer 29

organic matter that has decomposed under controlled conditions to produce an organic-rich material that is used to improve soil structure and nutrient concentrations

Question 30

sanitary landfill

Answer 30

an engineered ground facility designed to hold municipal solid waste (MSW) with as little contamination of the surrounding environment as possible

Question 31

incineration

Answer 31

the process of burning waste materials to reduce volume and mass, sometimes to generate electricity or heat

Question 32

hazardous waste

Answer 32

waste material that is dangerous or potentially harmful to humans or ecosystems

Question 33

brownfields

Answer 33

contaminated industrial or commercial sites that may require environmental cleanup before they can be redeveloped

Question 34

superfund sites

Answer 34

superfund sites are polluted locations in the u.s. requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations; sites include landfills, mines, manufacturing facilities, processing plants where toxic waste has either been improperly managed or dumped

Question 35

life-cycle analysis

Answer 35

a systems tool that looks at the materials used and released throughout the manufacturing, use, and disposal of a product

Question 36

integrated waste management

Answer 36

a waste management technique that employs several waste reduction, management, and disposal strategies to reduce the environmental impact of municipal solid waste (MSW)