Chapter 3 Flashcards
toxins
chemicals that cause direct damage upon exposure
persistent chemicals
chemicals that don’t readily degrade over time
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The federal agency responsible for setting policy and enforcing U.S. environmental laws.
risk assessment
weighing the risks and benefits of a particular action in order to decide how to proceed.
precautionary principle
a rule of thumb that calls for leaving a safety margin when the data about a particular substance’s potential for harm are uncertain and where the substance may cause unexpected or unpredictable effects.
information literacy
the ability to find and evaluate the quality of information.
primary sources
sources that present new and original data or information, including novel scientific experiments or observations and first hand accounts of any given event.
peer review
a process where researchers submit a report of their work to outside experts who evaluate the study’s design and results to determine if it is of a high-enough quality to publish.
secondary sources
sources that present and interpret information from primary sources. Secondary sources include newspapers, magazines, books, and most information from the Internet.
tertiary sources
Sources and present and interpret information from secondary sources.
persistence
the length of time it takes a substance to break down in the environment.
solubility
the ability of a substance to dissolve in a liquid or gas.
bioaccumulation
the buildup of fat-soluble substances in the tissue of an organism over the course of its lifetime.
biomagnification
the increased levels of fat-soluble substances in the tissue of predatory animals that have consumed organisms that have bioaccumulated toxins.
epidemiologist
a scientist who studies the cause and patterns of disease in human populations.
toxicologists
scientists who study the specific properties of any given potential toxin.
in vivo study
research that studies the effect of an experiment treatment in intact organisms.
in vitro study
research that studies the effects of experimental treatment cells in culture dishes rather than in intact organisms.
additive effects
exposure to two or more chemicals has an effect equivalent to the sum of their individual effects.
antagonistic effects
exposure to two or more chemicals has a lesser effect than the sum of their individual effects would predict.
synergistic effects
exposure to two or more chemicals has a greater effect than the sum of their individual effects would predict.
endocrine disruptor
a molecule that interferes with the endocrine system, typically by mimicking a hormone or preventing a hormone from having an effect.
hormone
a molecule released by the body that directs cellular activity and produces changes in how the body functions.
receptor
a structure on or inside a cell that binds a hormone, thus allowing the hormone to affect the cell.
