| Glossary | Ch01 Ch02 Ch02 Ch04 Ch05 Ch06 Ch07 Ch08 Ch09 Ch10 Ch11 Ch12 Ch13 Ch14 |
| Chapter 10 | |
| adaptive management | Flexible management that views attempts to solve problems as experiments, analyzes failures to see what went wrong, and tries to modify and improve an approach before abandoning it. Because of the inherent unpredictability of complex systems, it often uses the precautionary principle as a management tool. See precautionary principle. |
| benefit-cost analysis | Estimates and comparison of short-term and long-term benefits (gains) and costs (losses) from an economic decision. |
| cancer | Group of more than 120 different diseases, one for each type of cell in the human body. Each type of cancer produces a tumor in which cells multiply uncontrollably and invade surrounding tissue. See carcinogen, metastasis. |
| carcinogen | Chemicals, ionizing radiation, and viruses that cause or promote the development of cancer. See cancer. Compare mutagen, teratogen. |
| civil suit | Lawsuit in which a plaintiff seeks to (1) collect damages for injuries or for economic loss or (2) have the court issue a permanent injunction against further wrongful action. Compare class action suit. |
| class action suit | Civil lawsuit in which a group files a suit on behalf of a larger number of citizens who allege similar damages but who need not be listed and represented individually. Compare civil suit. |
| cost-benefit analysis | See benefit-cost analysis. |
| DDT | Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, a chlorinated hydrocarbon that has been widely used as a pesticide but is now banned in some countries. |
| defendant | The individual, group of individuals, corporation, or government agency being charged in a lawsuit. Compare plaintiff. |
| dose | Amount of a potentially harmful substance an individual ingests, inhales, or absorbs through the skin. See dose-response curve, median lethal dose. Compare response. |
| dose-response curve | Plot of data showing effects of various doses of a toxic agent on a group of test organisms. See dose, median lethal dose, response. |
| dredge spoils | Materials scraped from the bottoms of harbors and streams to maintain shipping channels. High levels of toxic substances that have settled out of the water often contaminate these materials. See dredging. |
| dredging | Type of surface mining in which chain buckets and draglines scrape up sand, gravel, and other surface deposits covered with water. It is also used to remove sediment from streams and harbors to maintain shipping channels. See dredge spoils. Compare area strip mining, contour strip mining, mountaintop removal, open-pit mining, subsurface. |
| economic threshold | Point at which the economic loss caused by pest damage outweighs the cost of applying a pesticide. |
| epidemiology | Study of the patterns of disease or other harmful effects from exposure to toxic chemicals or disease organisms within defined groups of people to find out why some people get sick and some do not. |
| hazard | Something that can cause injury, disease, economic loss, or environmental damage. See also risk. |
| hazardous chemical | Chemical that can cause harm because it (1) is flammable or explosive, (2) can irritate or damage the skin or lungs (such as strong acidic or alkaline substances), or (3) can cause allergic reactions of the immune system (allergens). See also toxic chemical. |
| LD50 | See median lethal dose. |
| median lethal dose (LD50) | Amount of a toxic material per unit of body weight of test animals that kills half the test population in a certain time. |
| meltdown | Melting of the core of a nuclear reactor. |
| metastasis | Spread of malignant (cancerous) cells from a tumor to other parts of the body. See cancer. |
| mutagen | Chemical or form of radiation that causes inheritable changes (mutations) in the DNA molecules in the genes found in chromosomes. See carcinogen, mutation, teratogen. |
| nontransmissible disease | Disease that is not caused by living organisms and does not spread from one person to another. Examples are most cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and malnutrition. Compare transmissible disease. |
| parts per billion (ppb) | Number of parts of a chemical found in 1 billion parts of a particular gas, liquid, or solid. |
| parts per million (ppm) | Number of parts of a chemical found in 1 million parts of a particular gas, liquid, or solid. |
| parts per trillion (ppt) | Number of parts of a chemical found in 1 trillion parts of a particular gas, liquid, or solid. |
| pathogen | Organism that produces disease. |
| plaintiff | The individual, group of individuals, corporation, or government agency bringing the charges in a lawsuit. Compare defendant. |
| poison | Chemical that in one dose kills exactly 50% of the animals (usually rats and mice) in a test population (usually 60 to 200 animals) within a 14-day period. See median lethal dose. |
| ppb | See parts per billion. |
| ppm | See parts per million. |
| ppt | See parts per trillion. |
| precautionary principle | When there is scientific uncertainty about potentially serious harm from chemicals or technologies, decision makers should act to prevent harm to humans and the environment. See pollution prevention. |
| probability | Mathematical statement about how likely it is that something will happen. |
| response | Amount of health damage caused by exposure to a certain dose of a harmful substance or form of radiation. See dose, dose-response curve, median lethal dose. |
| risk | Probability that something undesirable will result from deliberate or accidental exposure to a hazard. See risk analysis, risk assessment, risk-benefit analysis, risk management. |
| risk analysis | Identifying hazards, evaluating the nature and severity of risks (risk assessment), using this and other information to determine options and make decisions about reducing or eliminating risks (risk management), and communicating information about risks to decision makers and the public (risk communication). |
| risk assessment | Process of gathering data and making assumptions to estimate short- and long-term harmful effects on human health or the environment from exposure to hazards associated with the use of a particular product or technology. See risk-benefit analysis. |
| risk communication | Communicating information about risks to decision makers and the public. See risk, risk analysis, risk-benefit analysis. |
| risk management | Using risk assessment and other information to determine options and make decisions about reducing or eliminating risks. See risk, risk analysis, risk-benefit analysis, risk communication. |
| risk-benefit analysis | Estimate of the short- and long-term risks and benefits of using a particular product or technology. See risk assessment. |
| synergistic interaction | Interaction of two or more factors or processes so the combined effect is greater than the sum of their separate effects. |
| teratogen | Chemical, ionizing agent, or virus that causes birth defects. Compare carcinogen, mutagen. |
| toxic chemical | Chemical that is fatal to humans in low doses or fatal to more than 50% of test animals at stated concentrations. Most are neurotoxins, which attack nerve cells. See carcinogen, hazardous chemical, mutagen, teratogen. |
| toxic waste | Form of hazardous waste that causes death or serious injury (such as burns, respiratory diseases, cancers, or genetic mutations). See hazardous waste. |
| toxicity | Measure of how harmful a substance is. |
| toxicology | Study of the adverse effects of chemicals on health. |
| transmissible disease | Disease caused by living organisms (such as bacteria, viruses, and parasitic worms) that can spread from one person to another by air, water, food, or body fluids (or in some cases by insects or other organisms). Compare nontransmissible disease. |