APES Unit 8 Vocab

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Landfill mitigation

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Measures or actions to reduce the environmental impact of waste generation through reuse, treatment, or final disposal.

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Great Pacific Garbage Patch

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A patch of solid waste the size of Texas floating in the North Pacific gyre, mostly consisting of plastics.

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Composting

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A process that allows organic material in solid waste to decompose and be reintroduced into the soil, often as fertilizer.

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Primary treatment of wastewater

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A process that removes solids from sewage before it is discharged or treated further.

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Steps of wastewater treatment

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1. Primary (physical removal of large debris) 2. Secondary (biological breakdown of organic matter) 3. Tertiary (chemical process of removing remaining pollutants) 4. Disinfection (treated water is exposed to disinfectants).

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Cultural eutrophication

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The process by which water bodies become overly enriched with nutrients, leading to excessive growth of algae and depletion of oxygen.

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Biomagnification

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The process by which the concentration of toxic substances increases in organisms at each successive level of the food chain.

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Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

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A U.S. law that governs the disposal of solid and hazardous waste.

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Infectious disease

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Diseases caused by pathogens that can be transmitted from one individual to another.

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Thermal shock

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A sudden change in temperature that can cause stress or damage to organisms or materials.