Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
82 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
dsd
|
sdds
|
|
|
1. Absorption
|
The process of absorbing or of being absorbed -- to incorporate or take up-- to take in.
|
|
|
2. Acute, Chronic
|
Acute is a short, one time exposure while chronic is a continuous, low-level exposure.
|
|
|
3. Algae
|
Any of various chiefly aquatic, eukaryotic, photosynthetic organisms, ranging in size from single-celled forms to the giant kelp. Algae were once considered to be plants but are now classified separately because they lack true roots, stems, leaves, and embryos.
|
|
|
4. Ammonia
|
A pungent colorless gaseous alkaline compound of nitrogen and hydrogen NH3 that is very soluble in water and can easily be condensed to a liquid by cold and pressure.
|
|
|
5. Bacteria
|
Any of a group (as kingdom Prokaryotae syn. Monera) of prokaryotic unicellular round, spiral, or rod-shaped single-celled microorganisms that are often aggregated into colonies or motile by means of flagella, that live in soil, water, organic matter, or the bodies of plants and animals, and that are autotrophic, saprophytic, or parasitic in nutrition and important because of their biochemical effects and pathogenicity.
|
|
|
6. Bhopal, India
|
A noxious gas (methylisocyanate) blanketed the city when water had gotten into a tank containing 40 tons of MIC setting off a chemical reaction. 1754 died with over 200,000 injured.
|
|
|
7. Bioaccumulation
|
The presence of a chemical substance in higher concentrations in an organism than in the direct environment or in its food.
|
|
|
8. Carcinogenic
|
A substance that causes cancer.
|
|
|
9. Chlorine
|
A halogen element that is isolated as a heavy greenish yellow gas of pungent odor and is used especially as a bleach, oxidizing agent, and disinfectant in water purification.
|
|
|
10. Coliform Bacteria
|
Bacteria that live in the intestines (including the colon) of humans and other animals, used as a measure of the presence of feces in water or soil.
|
|
|
11. Concentration
|
The amount of a component in a given area or volume.
|
|
|
Contaminants
|
Something that contaminates. A substance that harms the integrity of another substances. Sometimes called a pollutant.
|
|
|
13. DDT
|
A colorless odorless water-insoluble crystalline insecticide C14H9Cl5 that tends to accumulate in ecosystems and has toxic effects on many vertebrates; became the most widely used pesticide from WWII to the 1950's; implicated in illnesses and environmental problem; now banned in US.
|
|
|
14. Disinfection
|
To free from infection especially by destroying harmful microorganisms.
|
|
|
Distillation
|
The process of purifying a liquid by successive evaporation and condensation.
|
|
|
16. Dose Threshold Level
|
Maximum level of a substance before toxic levels are reached.
|
|
|
17. Feces
|
Bodily waste discharged through the anus.
|
|
|
18. Hazardous Chemicals
|
acids, caustics, irritants, etc.Many are hazardous in high concentrations but harmless when diluted.
|
|
|
19. Heavy Metals
|
Mercury, lead, cadmium and nickel-highly toxic in very small quantities; can be fatal and bioaccumulate in environment-have cumulative effects in humans.
|
|
|
20. Hemoglobin
|
The iron-containing respiratory pigment in red blood cells of vertebrates, consisting of about 6 percent heme and 94 percent globin.
|
|
|
21. Mutagens
|
Agents, such as chemicals or radiation, that damage or alter genetic material (DNA) in cells.
|
|
|
22. Mutate
|
A change, either spontaneous or by external factors, in the genetic material of a cell, mutations in the gametes (sex cells) can be inherited by future generations of organisms.
|
|
|
23. Nitrates
|
a) a salt or ester of nitric acid (b) sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate used as a fertilizer.
|
|
|
24. Non-point sources
|
Scattered, diffuse sources of pollutants, such as runoff from fields golf courses, etc.
|
|
|
25. Oxidation
|
The act or process of oxidizing- to change (a compound) by increasing the proportion of the electronegative part or change (an element or ion) from a lower to a higher positive valence
|
|
|
26. Pathogen
|
An organism that produces disease in a host organism, disease being an alteration of one or more metabolic functions in response to the presence of the organism.
|
|
|
27. Pathogenic
|
To cause disease.
|
|
|
28. Pathogenic organisms
|
Produce disease in host organisms.
|
|
|
Pesticide
|
A chemical that kills, controls, drives away, or modifies the behavior of pests.
|
|
|
30. Phosphates
|
A salt or ester of a phosphoric acid (2) the trivalent anion PO43- derived from phosphoric acid H3PO4 b: an organic compound of phosphoric acid in which the acid group is bound to nitrogen or a carboxyl group in a way that permits useful energy to be released (as in metabolism)-- 3: a phosphatic material used for fertilizers.
|
|
|
31. Point sources
|
Specific locations of highly concentrated pollution discharge, such as factories, oils wells, etc.
|
|
|
Relative
|
Relation of one thing to another; Expressed as the ratio of the specified quantity to the total magnitude (as the value of a measured quantity) or to the mean of all the quantities involved.
|
|
|
Residue
|
What is left over or remains; the part of a molecule that remains after portion of its constituents are removed. Residues of some contaminants may remain after
|
|
|
34. Resistant
|
The ability of an individual or community to resist being changed by potentially disruptive events.
|
|
|
35. Routinely monitored
|
Regular, periodic testing
|
|
|
36. Soluble
|
Susceptible of being dissolved in a liquid, particularly water.
|
|
|
37. Systems
|
A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole.
|
|
|
38. Teratogens
|
Chemicals or other factors that specifically cause abnormalities during embryonic growth and development.
|
|
|
39. Thermal Pollution
|
Industrial discharge of heated water into a river, lake, or other body of water, causing a rise in temperature that endangers aquatic life.
|
|
|
40. Toxic
|
Poisonous, a substance that reacts with specific cellular components to kill cells.
|
|
|
41. Underutilized
|
To utilize less than fully or below the potential use.
|
|
|
42. Ash
|
The grayish-white to black powdery residue left when something is burned.
|
|
|
43. Biodegradable
|
Able to be decomposed by microorganisms.
|
|
|
44. CERCLA (Superfund) Act of 1980
|
Sets up a fund to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites. Establishes strict liability which means that any individual or corporation associated with the site can be held liable for the entire cost of the cleanup, regardless of their contribution to the pollution at the site. Sets guidelines on how to clean up sites.
|
|
|
45. Clay
|
A fine-grained, firm earthy material that is plastic when wet and hardens when heated, consisting primarily of hydrated silicates of aluminum and widely used in making bricks, tiles, and pottery; used for liners in landfills because it is impervious.
|
|
|
46. Corrosive
|
Gradually destructive; steadily harmful.
|
|
|
47. Impervious
|
Incapable of being penetrated. Think of rocks and aquifers.
|
|
|
48. Incinerator
|
An apparatus, such as a furnace, for burning waste. What is the concern with using an incinerator for waste treatment?
|
|
|
49. Intermittent
|
Stopping and starting at intervals. Think of pollutants, think of weather, think of other systems that change
|
|
|
50. Landfills
|
Land disposal sites for solid waste; operators compact refuse and cover it with a layer of dirt to minimize rodent and insect infestations, wind-blown debris, and leaching by rain.
|
|
|
51. Leachate
|
A product or solution formed by leaching, such as a solution containing contaminants picked up through the leaching of soil.
|
|
|
52. Love Canal
|
An area in Niagara Falls, NY where seepage from buried toxic wastes contaminated local soil and water. In 1968, President Carter relocated almost all the residents of Love Canal. This incident provided impetus for the 1980 Superfund legislation.
|
|
|
53. Municipal Sewage
|
The wastewater from households, offices, and other buildings in a city. Municipal and regional sewage systems can either be sanitary sewage only, or sanitary sewage and storm water. Municipal sewage is collected at treatment plants where solids are removed (primary sewage treatment) and then is treated by various other methods including using aerobic bacteria to remove organic wastes (secondary treatment), and advanced or tertiatry treatment with various chemical and physical processes.
|
|
|
NPL
|
Set up by EPA as part of the Superfund program. Locates and sets priorities for cleaning up hazardous waste sites.
|
|
|
56. Organic Matter
|
Compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen covalently bonded together in molecules; molecules from living matter. Organic wastes in sewage and runoff from lawns and farms in fresh waters can cause oxygen-depletion and degration of water quality.
|
|
|
57. Primary Sewage Treatment
|
A process that removes solids from sewage before it is discharged or treated further.
|
|
|
58. Proximity
|
The state, quality, sense, or fact of being near or next; closeness.
|
|
|
59. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
|
Regulates the handling of wastes from cradle to grave. Establishes rules for the handling of such waste from the time it is generated, while it is packaged, stored, while it is transported, and how it is disposed, and the disposal sites themselves.
|
|
|
60. Secure
|
A landfill designed to prevent against leaking or exposure. Can you illustrate in a cartoon what a secure landfill would look like?
|
|
|
61. Sludge
|
A semi-solid mixture of organic and inorganic materials that settles out of wastewater at a sewage treatment plant.
|
|
|
Tipping fee
|
A fee for disposal of waste.
|
|
|
63. Waste Lagoons
|
A blocked-off area used for the dumping of waste products.
|
|
|
64. Waste Stream
|
The steady flow of varied wastes, from domestic garbage and yard wastes to industrial, commercial, and construction refuse.
|
|
|
65. Contour Plowing
|
Plowing along hill contours-reduces erosion.
|
|
|
66. Desertification
|
Loss of vegetation and land degradation in dry and semi-arid areas resulting from land mismanagement or climate changes.
|
|
|
1. Drip Irrigation
|
Uses pipe or tubing perforated with very small holes to deliver water one drop at a time directly to the soil around each plant. This conserves water and reduces soil water logging and salinization.
|
|
|
68. Erosion
|
To wear away by the action of water, wind, or glacial ice. Removal of vegetation and trees can increase erosion of topsoil.
|
|
|
69. Fertilization
|
The process of union of two gametes whereby the somatic chromosome number is restored and the development of a new individual is initiated; addition of materials to soil to increase the available nutrient content.
|
|
|
70. Siltation
|
To become choked or obstructed with silt or mud.
|
|
|
1. Strip Farming
|
Planting different kinds of crops in alternating strips along land contours-when one crop is harvested one remains to protect the soil and reduce erosion.
|
|
|
72. Topsoil
|
The uppermost 3 to 10 inches of soil, layer in which organic material is mixed with mineral particles; critical for agriculture.
|
|
|
73. Aqueduct
|
A pipe or channel designed to transport water from a remote source, usually by gravity. A bridge like structure supporting a conduit or canal passing over a river or low ground.
|
|
|
74. Aquifer
|
Porous, water-bearing layers of sand gravel, and rock.
|
|
|
1. Artesian wells
|
When water gushes out of an aquifer without being pumped; caused by pressure from the earth's crust.
|
|
|
1. Aswan High Dam
|
Dam across the Nile River in Egypt, which impounds one of the largest reservoirs in the world.-- the artificial lake created by the dam Called Lake Nasser inundated many villages along the Nile.-- Hydroelectric installations were added in 1960 to the Aswan Dam.
|
|
|
77. Basin
|
A large, bowl shaped depression in the surface of the land or ocean floor.
|
|
|
1. Black Water
|
Water containing human excrement whichcannot be reused without purification.
|
|
|
1. Brackish Water
|
Fresh and salt water combined.
|
|
|
80. Cap Rock
|
Last layer of material on top of a geological formation such as the Canadian Shield.
|
|
|
1. Capillary water
|
Water that clings in small pores, cracks, and spaces against the pull of gravity, like water held in a sponge.
|
|
|
82. Channelization
|
To straighten by means of a channel.
|
