HW2:9219

From Environmental Technology

Revision as of 19:13, 30 January 2006

Endocrine Disrupter

• Endocrine disruptors are exogenous substances that cause adverse biological effects by interfering with the endocrine system and disrupting the physiologic function of hormones.

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Ecotoxicology

• Ecotoxicology is a discipline of ecology, which looks at the ecological role of toxic chemicals (often pollutants, but also naturally occurring compounds).

Ecologicl Risk Assessment

• An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an assessment of the likely human environmental health impact, risk to ecological health, and changes to nature's services that a project may have. The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision-makers consider environmental impacts before deciding whether to proceed with new projects.

Bioaccumulation

• The accumulation of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in various tissues of a living organism: the bioaccumulation of mercury in fish.

Emerging Disease

• A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.
• A condition or tendency, as of society, regarded as abnormal and harmful.

Obsolete. Lack of ease; trouble.

Pollution

• The act or process of polluting or the state of being polluted, especially the contamination of soil, water, or the atmosphere by the discharge of harmful substances.
• Something that pollutes; a pollutant or a group of pollutants: Pollution in the air reduced the visibility near the airport.

Biological Amplification or Biological Magnification

• Increase in concentration of DDT, PCB, and other slowly degradable, fat-soluble chemicals in organisms at successively higher levels.

Carcinogen

• A cancer-causing substance or agent.

Environmental Stressor

• The stress screening from this process will help find infant mortality in the product. Finding these failures before the product reaches the customer yields better quality, lower warranty expenses, and happier customers. Tests may include the following:

1. Temperature variations
2. Vibration tests
3. Pressure
4. Flexability tests

Red Tides

• A bloom of dinoflagellates that causes reddish discoloration of coastal ocean waters. Certain dinoflagellates of the genus Gonyamlax produce toxins that kill fish and contaminate shellfish.