Pollution

The effect caused by a short exposure to a high level of toxin.

A platinum-coated device that oxidizes most of the VOCs and some of the CO that would otherwise be emitted in exhaust, converting them to CO₂.

• When materials, such as plastic or aluminum, are used to rebuild the same product.
• An example of this is the use of the alumnimum from aluminum cans to produce more aluminum cans.

When the signs and symptoms of an illness can be attributed to a specific infectious organism that resides in teh building.

An effect that results from long-term exposure to low levels of toxin.

Drilling a hole in the ground that's below the water table to hold waste.

A process in which an organism is exposed to a toxin at different concentrations, and the dosage that causes the death of the organism is recorded.

The point at which 50% of the test organisms show a negative effect from a toxin.

Industrial Smog

Urban areas that heat up more quickly and retain heat better than nonurban areas.

The point at which 50% of the test organisms die from a toxin.

The liquid that percolates to the bottom of a landfill.

Any noise that causes stress or has the potential to damage human health.

When materials are reused to form new products.

Any substance that has an LD₅₀ of 50 mg or less per kg of body weight.

In a sewage treatment plant, the inital filtration that is done to remove debris such as stones, sticks, rags, toys, and other objects that were flushed down the toilet.

Pollutants that are released directly into the lower atmoshpere.

• When physically treated sewage water is passed into a setling tank, where suspended solids settle out as sludge.
• Chemically treated polymers may be added to help the suspended solids separate and settle out.

Pollutants that are formed by the combination of primary pollutants in the atmosphere.

The biological treatment of wastewater in order to continue to remove biodegradable waste.

When the majority of a building's occupants experience certain symptoms that vary with the amount of time spent in the building.

The solids that remain after the sevondary treatment of sewage.

A tank filled with aerobic bacteria that's used to treat sewage.

A program funded by the federal government and a trust that's funded by taxes on chemicals; identifies pollutants and cleans up hazardous waste sites.

The dosage level of a toxin at which a negative effect occurs.

Ozone that exists in the tropsphere.

Gave the EPA power to set emission standards for major sources of noise, including transportation, machinery, and construction.

The carrier organism through which pathogens can attack.

When the energy released from waste incineration is used to generate electricity.

• Dosage amount over a period of time
• number of times of exposure
• size or age of the organism that is exposed
• ability of the body to detoxify that substance
• organism's sensitivity to the substance
• synergistic effect.

• Carbon monoxide
• Lead
• Ozone
• nitrogen dioxide
• sulfur dioxide
• particulate matter

• odorless, colorless gas that's typically released by incompletely burned material.
• Binds irreversibly to hemoglobin, which is the molecule responsible for transporting oxygen to lungs.

• Pollutant that is released as particulate, but settles in land and water.
• When eventually consumed, it causes nevous disorders, including mental retardation.

• Secondary pollutant formed by the interaction of nitrogen oxides, heta, light, VOCs.
• Poisonous, and a major component of smog.

• Formed when atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen react as a result of exposure to high temperatures.
• Released from combustion engines.

• Colorless gas with a suffocating odor, respiratory irritant.
• released through the combustion of coal.
• Reacts with water vapor to produce acid rain.

Volatile Organic Compounds, which are released through industrial processes.

Produced when the burning of CO and CO2 mix with particulate matter.

• Produced by NOx, VOCs, and ozone combine to form smog with a brownish hue.
• The intensity of sunlight on photochemical smog accelerates the creation of ozone.

• Man-made chemicals used in aerosols.
• Once released, they migrate to the stratosphere, where UV breaks them down that releasees chlorine atoms that break apart ozone
• Significantly reduced by the Montreal Protocol

• Leaches minerals from the soil.
• Builds up sulfur in the soil.
• Increases aluminum concentration in soil and water, which is toxic.
• Lowers pH of bodies of water, killing life there.

• Second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.
• Gas emitted by uranium as it undergoes radioactive decay.

• Air pollutatnts become trapped over cities beacause they are not able to rise into the atmosphere.
• In normal atmospheric conditions, the warm polluted air over a city rises into the cooler atmosphere.
• In an inversion, the air above the city is warm, and blocks the polluted air from rising.

• Overgrowth of zooplankton and phytoplankton caused by runoff of excess nutrients.
• Deprives water of dissolved oxygen.

A water zone in which nothing that depends on oxygen can grow.

• Biggest source is agricultural activities.
• Followed by mining and industrial activities.

• No evaporation
• Little movement.
• Cold, which slows biodegradation.
• Low Oxygen, which slows beiodegradation

• Involves passing secondary treated wastewater through a series of sand and carbon filters, and then further chlorination.
• Expensive, but valuable in arid regions.