Unit 8
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Reservoir
The water body created by damming a river or stream.
Allergen
A chemical that causes allergic reactions.
Dysentery
An infection of the intestines that causes diarrhea, which results in dehydration and can cause death.
Neurotoxin
A chemical that disrupts the nervous systems of animals.
Oxygen sag curve
The relationship of oxygen concentrations to the distance from a point source of decomposing sewage or other pollutants.
Persistence
The length of time a chemical remains in the environment.
Thermal shock
A dramatic change in temperature that can kill many species.
Stockholm Convention
A 2001 agreement among 127 nations concerning 12 chemicals to be banned, phased out, or reduced.
Closed-loop recycling
Recycling a product into the same product.
Thermal pollution
Occurs when humans cause a substantial change in the temperature of a water body.
Prion
A small, beneficial protein that occasionally mutates into a pathogen.
Infectious disease
A disease caused by a pathogen.
Dose-response study
A study that exposes animals or plants to different amounts of a chemical and then looks for a variety of possible responses, including mortality or changes in behavior or reproduction.
Wastewater
The water produced by livestock operations and human activities, including human sewage from toilets and gray water from bathing and washing of clothes and dishes.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
An infectious disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Mad cow disease
A disease in which prions mutate into deadly pathogens and slowly damage a cow’s nervous system.
Ash
The residual nonorganic material that does not combust during incineration.
Septic tank
A large container that receives wastewater from a house as part of a septic system.
Source reduction
An approach to waste management that seeks to cut waste by reducing the use of potential waste materials in the early stages of design and manufacture.
Chronic disease
A disease that slowly impairs the functioning of a person’s body.
Septic system
A relatively small and simple sewage treatment system, made up of a septic tank and a leach field, often used for homes in rural areas.
Pandemic
An epidemic that occurs over a large geographic region, such as an entire continent.
Lifecycle analysis (Cradle-to-grave analysis)
A systems tool that looks at the materials used and released throughout the lifetime of a product—from the procurement of raw materials through their manufacture, use, and disposal.
ED50
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.