APES Toxic Substances Unit 8

Carcinogen

A cancer-causing substance + radiation

Malaria

A disease caused by mosquitoes implanting parasites in the blood.

Zika

A virus that is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. Can get pregnant woman sick = birth defects to baby.

Tuberculosis

An infectious disease that may affect almost all tissues of the body, especially the lungs

endocrine disruptors

Chemical pollutants that have the potential to substitute for, or interfere with, natural hormones.

federal law specifically deals with the cleanup of abandoned hazardous waste sites

Comprehensive Environmental Responsibility Compensation and Liability Act

MERS

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome - viral respiratory illness from animals to humans

Phthalates

Plastics, cosmetics. Endocrine disruptors. Feminization of males.

Establishes cradle-to-grave tracking of hazardous waste

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Plague (The black Death)

Started in 1347. It was an epidemic that was started by rats infected by the disease. Fleas would bite the rat, and then bite people, and so the disease was spread.

how the Clean Water Act legislation aims to protect wetlands from being lost?

The Clean Water Act requires wetlands to be constructed to mitigate the effect of newly drained wetlands.

Cholera

Waterborne disease commonly spread by contaminated water; a major problem in nineteenth-century European cities before sewerage systems were installed.

Wetlands

a lowland area, such as a marsh or swamp, that is saturated with moisture, especially when regarded as the natural habitat of wildlife.

Marshes

a wetland typically covered with grasses

Vernal Pools

adapted to seasonal drying

Neurotoxins

assault the nervous system

Teratogens

birth defects

Mutation

change in a DNA sequence that affects genetic information

Bogs

ponds covered in thick floating mats of vegetation

severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

severe and highly contagious viral lung infection with high fever; threatened worldwide epidemic in 2003

Swamps

shallow water in forested areas

West Nile Virus

spread to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito (Sub Saharan Africa)

pathway inhibitors

toxicants that interrupt vital biochemical processes in organisms by blocking one or more steps in important biochemical pathways

Mangroves

tropical trees that grow along coasts and help maintain the health of coastal environments