Hw2:4545

From Environmental Technology

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Revision as of 18:49, 1 February 2006

endocrine disrupter

  A natural or pollutant substance in the environment possibly capable of acting -- alone or in combination with other substances -- as an estrogen or as a blocker of androgens during development of the fetus. Suspected of causing endometriosis and oligospermia in later life.
  www.jansen.com.au/Dictionary_DF.html

ecotoxicology

  Ecotoxicology is the study of the harmful effects of chemical compounds on species, population and the natural environment.
  www.eurochlor.org/tools/glossary/glossary.htm

ecological risk assessment

   The application of a formal framework, analytical process, or model to estimate the effects of human actions(s) on a natural resource and to interpret the significance of those effects in light of the uncertainties identified in each component of the assessment process. Such analysis includes initial hazard identification, exposure and dose-response assessments, and risk characterization.
   www.entrix.com/resources/glossary.aspx

bioaccumulation

   The process by which the concentrations of some toxic chemicals gradually increase in living tissue, such as in plants, fish, or people as they breathe contaminated air, drink contaminated water, or eat contaminated food.
   www.sbcfire.org/hazmat/env_terms.asp

emerging disease

   Any of a group of diseases, of various cause, that have newly appeared or are rapidly expanding their range in the human species.
   highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072549238/student_view0/glossary.html

pollution

   Undesirable change in the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of the air, water, or land that can harmfully affect the health, survival, or activities of human or other living organisms.
   www.pce.govt.nz/reports/pce_reports_glossary.shtml

biological magnification

   A cumulative increase in the concentrations of a persistent substance in successively higher levels of the food chain.
   www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/info/gloss/e_gloss.htm

carcinogen A substance that may cause cancer in animals or humans.

   www.weizmann.ac.il/safety/chgl.html

environmental stressor

  any event or situation that requires a nonroutine change in adaptation or behavior of the environment
   www.epa.gov/reva/glossary.htm

red tides

   large concentrations of phytoplankton which impart a color to coastal waters. Some of these algal species can be toxic to fish population and even mammals, including humans.
   www.woodrow.org/teachers/esi/1998/r/plankton/gloss.htm