Clean Air Act

1. Clean Air Act McClain

2. A U.S. law that authorizes the EPA to set limits on the amount of specific air pollutants that are permitted everywhere in the United States Focuses on six air pollutants (lead, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and ozone) McClain

3. Dust Dome McClain

4. A dome of heated air that surrounds an urban area and contains a lot of air pollution McClain

5. Electrostatic Preceptor McClain

6. An air pollution control device that gives ash a positive electrical charge so that it adheres to negatively charged plates Used in smelting and other combustible processes to remove dust, sulfuric acid & lead oxide. Some home purifiers/filters use this process, but produces ozone (bad for lungs) McClain

7. Green House Gases McClain

8. The gases that absorb infrared radiation, which include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and tropospheric ozone, all of which are accumulating in the atmosphere as a result of human activities McClain

9. Hydrocarbons McClain

10. A diverse group of organic compounds that contain only hydrogen and carbon McClain

11. Industrial Smog McClain

12. The traditional, London-type smoke pollution, which consists principally of sulfur oxidesand particulate matter Smog is the brown-colored haze which hangs in the air over industrial areas. It is often visible over cities, particularly in summer when the particles in smog catch the light. McClain

13. Nitrogen oxides McClain

14. Gases produced by the chemical interactions between nitrogen and oxygen when a source of energy, such as combustion of fuels, produces high temperatures Often referred to as Nox McClain

15. Particulate Matter McClain

16. Solid particles and liquid droplets suspended in the atmosphere Often referred to as PM McClain

17. Persistent Organic Pollutants McClain

18. A group of persistent, toxic, chemicals that bioaccumulate in organisms and can travel long distances through air and water to contaminate sites far removed from their source; some disrupt the endocrine system, cause cancer, or adversely affect the developmental processes of organisms Also referred to as POPs McClain

19. Photochemical Smog McClain

20. A brownish orange haze formed by complex chemical reactions involving sunlight, nitrogenoxides, and hydrocarbonssome of the pollutants in photochemical smog include peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs), ground level ozone, and aldehydes McClain

21. Reading Prong McClain

22. Stretches from near Reading Pennsylvania, through northern New Jersey and southern New York. Soil contains elevated concentrations of uranium, the decay of which produces gaseous radonwhich seeps into houses and long term exposure results in lung cancer. McClain

23. Radon McClain

24. Info. McClain

25. Sick Building Syndrome McClain

26. Eye irritations, nausea, headaches, respiratory infections, depression, and fatigue caused by the presence of air pollution inside office buildings McClain

27. Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants McClain

28. An international (UN) treatyeffective in 2004 whose goal is to phase out the use of at least 12 persistent toxic chemicals (POPs), including PCBs, dioxins and furans (chemical contaminants), and DDT and eight other pesticides McClain

29. Thermal Inversion McClain

30. A layer of cold air temporarily trapped near the ground by a warmer, upper layer (acts like a cape & locks in smog). If this phenomenon persists, air pollutants may build up to harmful or even dangerous levels. Common in Los Angeles McClain

31. Urban Heat Islands McClain

32. Local heat buildup in an area of high population density with lots of darksurfaces (roads & buildings) that lowers albedo & buildings block wind circulation. Green space & green roofs helps reduce heat buildup.Often hotter downtown than in surrounding suburbs. McClain

33. Cultural Eutrophication McClain

34. Also known as Artificial Eutrophication.Over-nourishment of an aquatic ecosystem by nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates. In this event, the pace of eutrophication is rapidly accelerated due to human activities such as agriculture and discharge from sewage treatment plants McClain

35. Biological Oxygen Demand McClain

36. Also known as BOD.The amount of oxygen needed by microorganisms to decompose the organic material in a given volume of water. McClain

37. Bioremediation McClain

38. A method employed to clean up a hazardous waste site that uses microorganisms to break down the toxic pollutants. Genetic engineering is helping create organisms that can bioremediate. McClain

39. Clean Water Act McClain

40. A U.S. law that has two basic goals: Created in 1972 & amended in 1977, 1981, & 1987 To eliminate the discharge of pollutants in U.S. waterways 2. To attain water quality levels that make these waterways safe to fish and swim in. McClain

41. Eutrophic Lake McClain

42. A lake enriched with nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates and consequently overgrown with plants or algae (blooms); LOW dissolved oxygen (DO); fish kills result McClain

43. Fecal Coliform McClain

44. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. A test can indicate of fecalcontamination with E.coliContamination usually comes from human sewage, livestock, and pet waste (dog & bird poop are common) McClain

45. Hypoxia McClain

46. LOW dissolved oxygen(DO) concentrations that occur in many bodies of water when nutrients stimulate the growth of algae that subsequently die and are decomposed by oxygen-using bacteria (decomposition).Creates “dead zones” McClain

47. Non-Point Source Pollution McClain

48. Pollutants that enter bodies of water over large areasrather than being concentrated at a single point of entry. Example: Cars on roads leak oil as they drive around all day/everyday…rain washes oil into water systems McClain

49. Oligotrophic Lake McClain

50. A lake that has minimal(few) nutrients buthigh dissolved oxygen. Usually clear & often used as drinking water. Has slow growth rate & low population density. McClain