exam4 Flashcards
chapters 12 and 11
disease
any impaired function of the body with a characteristic set of symptoms
infectious disease
a disease caused by a pathogen
chronic disease
a disease that slowly impairs functioning of an organism
acute disease
a disease that rapidly impairs the functioning of an organism
epidemic
a situation in which a pathogen causes a rapid increase in disease
pandemic
an epidemic that occurs over a large geographic region
plague
an infectious disease caused by the bacterium yersinia pestis, carried by fleas
emergent infectious disease
an infectious disease that has not been previously described or has not been common for at least 20 years
neurotoxin
a chemical that disrupts the nervous systems of animals
carcinogens
chemicals that cause cancer
mutagens
carcinogens that cause damage to the genetic material of a cell
teratogens
chemicals that interfere with the normal development of embryos or fetuses
alleragens
a chemical that causes allergic reactions
endocrine disrupters
chemicals that interfere with the normal functioning of hormones in an animal
LD50
the lethal dose of a chemical that kills 50 percent of the individuals in a dose-response study
ED50
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
epidemiology
the study and analysis of the distribution, patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population
route of exposure
the way in which an individual might come into contact with an environmental hazard
solubility
how well a chemical dissolves in a liquid
biomagnification
an increase in the concentration of a chemical in animal tissue as the chemical moves up the food chain
persistence
the length of time a chemical remains in the environment
environmental hazard
anything in the environment that can potentially cause harm
risk assessment
the process of analyzing potential events that may result in the loss of an asset, loan, or investment
qualitative
measuring the quality of something rather than its quantity
quantitative
measuring the quantity of something rather than its quality
precautionary principle
a principle based on the philosophy that action should be taken against a plausible environmental hazard
waste
material outputs from a system that are not useful or consumed
recycling
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
compost
organic matter that has decomposed under controlled conditions to produce an organic-rich material that is used to improve soil structure and nutrient concentrations
sanitary landfill
an engineered ground facility designed to hold municipal solid waste (MSW) with as little contamination of the surrounding environment as possible
incineration
the process of burning waste materials to reduce volume and mass, sometimes to generate electricity or heat
hazardous waste
waste material that is dangerous or potentially harmful to humans or ecosystems
brownfields
contaminated industrial or commercial sites that may require environmental cleanup before they can be redeveloped
superfund sites
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
life-cycle analysis
a systems tool that looks at the materials used and released throughout the manufacturing, use, and disposal of a product
integrated waste management
a waste management technique that employs several waste reduction, management, and disposal strategies to reduce the environmental impact of municipal solid waste (MSW)
three historically important infectious disease + what kind of pathogen caused them
plague- bacteria to fleas to rats to humans
malaria- mosquitos to humans
polio- virus person to person
four emergent infectious diseases + the pathogen that causes them
HIV/AIDS- bodily fluids
ebola- bodily fluids
sars- respiratory (human to human)
covid19- virus to bats to human (respiratory)
five ways to minimize your risk of infectious disease
wash you hands; cover your cough; wear a mask; social distance; vaccination
seven risk factors for cardiovascular disease
high blood pressure; high cholesterol; diabetes; obesity; smoking; unhealthy diet; physical activity
what are the leading health risks in developing v. developed countries
low weight during childhood v. tobacco use
what are some health risks developing and developed countries have incommon
high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood glucose, tobacco use, physical inactivity
what are the five main types of health risks that chemicals can pose and what they mean
neurotoxins: disrupt neurological system
carcinogens: cancer causing
teratogens: disrupt embryo and fetus development
allergens: allergic reaction
endocrine disruptors: disrupts the endocrine system
what are “new” chemicals of major concern
PFAS- “forever chemicals”, resulting from plastics, so numerous and w/ lil research on effects
several aspects of a dose-response study
plant and animal testing (not on humans); test multiple subjects and doses; to find the LD50 and ED50
the two types of study common in epidemiology
retrospective studies and prospective studies
five factors to consider in epidemiology
route of exposure; solubility (does it flush out w/ water or does it stick to fat); bioaccumulation (in one organism); biomagnification (up a portion of the food web, passing up what smone else had); persistence
what are the three things that lead to a significant increase in waste production in the u.s. in the 1950s
economic boom, planned obsolescence/short life spans of technology, cultural shifts to a more throw away society/consumerism
what are the three R’s in order (and what they mean)
Reduce- buy less
Reuse- upcycling/taking care of what you have
Recycle- plastics/metal/old technology
what are the main two ways municipal waste solid waste (MSW) is disposed of in the u.s.
landfills and incinerators
as of 2010 how many superfund sites were designated in the u.s. + estimated contaminated sites existed in the u.s. that needed remediation
1282 sites, 450,000
what are three new(er) ways to think about managing MSW
life-cycle analysis, integrated waste management, zero-waste goal
what are the two kinds of risk assessment + their uses
qualitative (perspective/subjective) v. quantitative (data/numbers/fact/objective)
how it could effect an environment/org v. once its known (innocent until proven guilty)
