Unit 5 (diseases) and Unit 6 (water) Vocab Flashcards
lifestyle choices
things you do everyday like driving or smoking
risk
probability of harmful effects to human health
biological hazards
pathogens that are living organisms and viruses that can cause human disease
chemical hazards
chemicals in the air, soil, and water we ingest
cultural hazards
natural events like fires and earthquakes
lifestyle hazards
human choices that pose health concern
risk assessment
probability of adverse human health effects resulting from exposure to a specific hazard
4 steps to risk assessment
hazard identification; dose-response assessment; exposure assessment; risk characterization
risk management
cost analysis of remediating the specific hazard and possibly establish legal limits for discharge, exposure, and allowable levels of the hazard.
non-transmissible disease
cannot be spread from person to person
infectious disease
spread from person to person; contagious
epidemic
outbreak of disease special to an area or region
pandemic
outbreak of disease globally
Influenza
most deadly infectious disease known as flu; respiratory illness caused by virus
types of flu
H5N1: Avian flu from birds, carried in their intestines
H1N1: Swine flu from livestock
HIV
Human Immune Deficiency Virus; develops AIDS; the body attacks itself
malaria
mosquito borne illness spread by protozoan parasite
diarrheal diseases
stems from unclean drinking water; cholera and dysentery
tuberculosis
bacterial disease found in crowded developing countries; respiratory disease
measles
extremely contagious respiratory disease
SARS
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; spread like hepatitis, through air
West Nile Virus
mosquito and wild bird populations in contact with human body fluids
toxicology
study of detrimental effects chemicals have on humans and wildlife
persistence
chemicals that last a long period of time because not easily degradable
solubility
chemicals that are fat soluble that accumulate in tissues
biomagnification
passing down of compounds from one organism to another
dose
to define a harmful level of a toxic chemical or compound
dose-response curve
organisms response to toxic dose
response
any negative health effect elicited from that material
acute effect
immediate response to exposure
chronic effect
single dose or long term exposure
median lethal dosage
LD50, the dose that would be required to be lethal to 50% of the test population
non-threshold response
response starts at zero and continuously increases
threshold dose-response
a model that shows harmful effects do not occur until after the dose exceeds a threshold level
Toxic chemicals
short term of permanent damage to humans or animals
carcinogen
promote cancer cells to grow
mutagen
promotes mutations or changes in DNA
teratogens
cause birth defects
neurotoxins
damage brain, nerves, or spinal cord
endocrine system
produces hormones
hormonally active agents
HAA endocrine disrupters because they mimic estrogen or block androgens from binding to cells
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
FIFRA: gives EPA the authority to regulate the sale, packaging, distribution, and disposal of pesticides
Feder Food, Drug, Cosmetic Act
Allows EPA to set tolerance levels for pesticide residue on food
Food Quality Protection Act of 1996
Outlines more requirements for assessing tolerance levels for pesticides
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
Requires federal, state, and local governments to improve public knowledge and access to information about toxins
groundwater
water found in porous spaces below the surface
zone of aeration
the first few layers where more air is trapped than water
zone of saturation
deeper subsurface layers that fill all porous space with water
water table
the upper limit of the saturation zone
aquifers
deep underground layers of porous rock material, gravel, sand, silt, or clay where groundwater flows
natural recharge
though percolation of precipitation through soil and rock layers
lateral recharge
movement of water from rivers and streams
surface runoff
precipitation and snowmelt that does not infiltrate into soil
watershed
land surrounding bodies of water that contribute to surface runoff
droughts
long periods of time when regions receive 30% or less of their average annual precipitation
floodplains
flat land areas that are periodically flooded with nutrient rich silt from nearby rivers and streams
reservoir
a holding place for water above ground
land subsidence
when the reservoirs collapse
sinkhole
created from land subsidence
Ogallala Aquifer
provides one third of irrigation water to the US
hydroelectric power
fast flowing rivers are dammed to create freshwater reservoirs and provide power
Colorado River Basin
know this
Three gorges dam
largest dam in the world, in china
Aral sea
the russian sea that dried up
California Water Transfer Project
water from northern California to the dry southern California
China’s Water Transfer Project
water from the Yangtze River to China’s highly populated northern provinces
flood irrigation
pump large volumes of water onto land as it soaks the ground
drip irrigation
small drops of water through tubes directly to roots
center pivot
frames on metal wheels that travel some radius around field
low-pressure sprinklers
pipes deliver water directly to crops
LEPA sprinkler
Low Energy Precision Application: center pivot that increases efficiency by 95%
grey water systems
collection of water from showers, bathtubs, dishwashers, and washers to be recycled
desalination
removes dissolved salts from ocean water or brackish seas/lakes
reverse osmosis
external pressure pushes saline water though membranes that separate salt from water
distillation
heating saltwater until evaporation begins, steam is collected and turned to water again
fecal coliform
E. coli that lives in animals and human intestines
oxygen sag curve
occurs in flowing streams as bacteria breakdown degradable wastes and depletes the dissolved oxygen
eutrophication
natural nutrient enrichment in lakes
cultural eutrophication
when humans input unnatural nutrients
Great Lakes Water Pollution
endured eutrophication issues when sewage became an issue
Lake Washington
rapid eutrophication from development as treated wastewater entered the lake
Temperature
impacts solubility of oxygen
River/Stream Flow Velocity
velocity impacts the ability for oxygen to diffuse in water
Turbidity
the measure of cloudiness of the water
pH
measure the hydrogen ion concentration to determine acidity.
Dissolved Oxygen
amount of oxygen gas in the water
Nitrates/Nitrites and Phophates
nitrogen containing compounds and phospates
hardness
amount of magnesium and calcium in water
fecal coliform
determines the possibility of fecal contamination from sewage
biological assessment
monitory organisms to track their health in changing environments
Benthic Macro-invertebrates
aquatic insects, insect larvae, and crustaceans
fish species
used as biological indicators
arsenic
water is polluted of arsenic from rock and soil
nitrate ions
groundwater is polluted with this from fertilizers
MTBE
gasoline additive
hypoxia
concentrations of dissolved oxygen.
VOCs
Volatile organic compounds kills larval forms of ocean organisms
Exxon Valdez
oil spill in 1989 in Alaskas Prince William Sound
Primary sewage treatment
physical process that uses screens and grit tanks
secondary sewage treatment
biological process when aerobic bacteria removes oxygen demanding waste
advanced or tertiary sewage treatment
physical and chemical process to remove specific pollutants
septic tanks
large buried collection tanks for waste
Clean Water Act
regulates point source pollution from municipal facilities
Water Quality Act
encourages the separation of storm water and sewer water lines
US Safe Drinking Water Act
EPA to set standards of maximum containment levels for water pollutants
Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002
assess community water systems infrastructure for any possible terrorist attack
