Paul M. Insel,
Stanford University School of Medicine
Walton T. Roth,
Stanford University School of Medicine
| environmental health | The collective interactions of humans with the environment and the short-term and long-term health consequences of those interactions.
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| fluoridation | The addition of fluoride to the water supply, thereby reducing tooth decay.
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| septic system | A self-contained sewage disposal system, often used in rural areas, in which waste material is decomposed by bacteria.
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| heavy metal | A metal with a high specific gravity, such as lead, copper, or tin.
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| polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) | An industrial chemical used as an insulator in electrical transformers and linked to certain human cancers.
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| sanitary landfill | A disposal site where solid wastes are buried.
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| ecosystem | The community of organisms (plants and animals) in an area, and the nonliving physical factors with which they interact.
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| food chain | The transfers of food energy and other substances in which one type of organism consumes another.
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| biodiversity | The variety of living things on the earth, including all the different species of flora and fauna and the genetic diversity among individuals of the same species.
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| fossil fuels | Buried deposits of decayed animals and plants that are converted into carbon-rich fuels by exposure to heat and pressure over millions of years; oil, coal, and natural gas are fossil fuels.
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| temperature inversion | A weather condition in which a cold layer of air is trapped by a warm layer so that pollutants cannot be dispersed.
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| greenhouse effect | A warming of the earth due to a buildup of carbon dioxide and certain other gases.
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| global warming | An increase in the earth's atmospheric temperature when averaged across seasons and geographical regions.
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| ozone layer | A layer of ozone molecules (O3) in the upper atmosphere that screens out UV rays from the sun.
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| chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) | Chemicals used as spray-can propellants, refrigerants, and industrial solvents, implicated in the destruction of the ozone layer.
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| acid precipitation | Rain, snow, sleet, or hail with a low pH (acid), caused by atmospheric moisture combining with products of industrial combustion to form acids such as sulfur dioxide; harmful to forests and lakes, which cannot tolerate changes in acidity/alkalinity.
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| asbestosis | A lung condition caused by inhalation of microscopic asbestos fibers, which inflame the lung and can lead to lung cancer.
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| pesticides | Chemicals used to prevent the spread of diseases transmitted by insects and to maximize food production by killing insects that eat crops.
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| biomagnification | The accumulation of a substance in a food chain.
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| radiation | Energy transmitted in the form of rays, waves, or particles.
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| radiation sickness | An illness caused by excess radiation exposure, marked by low white blood cell counts and nausea; possibly fatal.
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| nuclear power | The use of controlled nuclear reactions to produce steam, which in turn drives turbines to produce electricity.
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| radon | A naturally occurring radioactive gas emitted from rocks and natural building materials that can become concentrated in insulated homes, causing lung cancer.
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| tinnitus | Ringing in the ears, a condition that can be caused by excessive noise exposure.
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| Air Quality Index (AQI) | A measure of local air quality and what it means for health. Concentration of five major pollutants are measured and assigned index values between 0 and 500, with values above 100 considered unhealthy; the highest of the five values becomes the overall AQI for the day. Health warnings and recommendations may be issued when AQI values exceed 100.
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| smog | Hazy atmospheric conditions resulting from increased concentrations of ground-level ozone and other pollutants. Smog most commonly occurs when oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons, primarily from motor vehicle exhaust, react in the presence of sunlight; also known as photochemical smog. (The term was first used to describe the combination of smoke and fog in early twentieth century London.)
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education