APES - Unit 8 Key Terms
Toxins/Diseases/Pollutants
Allergens - ✅✅-usually initiate an immune response; inflammation and body
system fatigue
Arsenic - ✅✅ -naturally occurring element in rocks underground that can
dissolve into drinking water, source: formerly in pesticides, carcinogenic to
lungs, bladder, kidneys, endocrine disruptor, can be removed w filters
Asbestos - ✅✅ -A mineral once used in insulation and other materials that
can cause respiratory diseases, carcinogen lung cancer, solution: caution
when renovating old buildings
Atrazine -✅✅ -broad-spectrum herbicide used to control weeds & prevent
crop loss, neurotoxin, solution: avoid being where its applied
Cadmium - ✅✅ -toxic metal from breathing tobacco smoke, carcinogen to
lungs, solution: don't smoke
Carcinogens - ✅✅-chemicals, forms of radiation, or viruses that increase the
risk of cancer.
Cholera - ✅✅ -Bacterial (pathogen) infection [Vomiting, muscle cramps],
spread by drinking infected water, Africa, Southeast Asia
Coal ash - ✅✅ -ash created in the burning and chemical extraction of coal,
can be a source of mercury, lead, and arsenic, carried by wind deposited in
ecosystems far away or waste pond leaches into groundwater
Cyanide - ✅✅ -rapidly acting, potentially deadly chemical that can exist in
various forms, very lethal poison (no specific toxin type), solution: avoid
smoking/vehicle exhausts
Dysentery - ✅✅ -Bacterial infection caused by food or water being
contaminated with feces (often from sewage release into rivers & streams
used for drinking water), treated with antibiotics
Toxins/Diseases/Pollutants
Allergens - ✅✅-usually initiate an immune response; inflammation and body
system fatigue
Arsenic - ✅✅ -naturally occurring element in rocks underground that can
dissolve into drinking water, source: formerly in pesticides, carcinogenic to
lungs, bladder, kidneys, endocrine disruptor, can be removed w filters
Asbestos - ✅✅ -A mineral once used in insulation and other materials that
can cause respiratory diseases, carcinogen lung cancer, solution: caution
when renovating old buildings
Atrazine -✅✅ -broad-spectrum herbicide used to control weeds & prevent
crop loss, neurotoxin, solution: avoid being where its applied
Cadmium - ✅✅ -toxic metal from breathing tobacco smoke, carcinogen to
lungs, solution: don't smoke
Carcinogens - ✅✅-chemicals, forms of radiation, or viruses that increase the
risk of cancer.
Cholera - ✅✅ -Bacterial (pathogen) infection [Vomiting, muscle cramps],
spread by drinking infected water, Africa, Southeast Asia
Coal ash - ✅✅ -ash created in the burning and chemical extraction of coal,
can be a source of mercury, lead, and arsenic, carried by wind deposited in
ecosystems far away or waste pond leaches into groundwater
Cyanide - ✅✅ -rapidly acting, potentially deadly chemical that can exist in
various forms, very lethal poison (no specific toxin type), solution: avoid
smoking/vehicle exhausts
Dysentery - ✅✅ -Bacterial infection caused by food or water being
contaminated with feces (often from sewage release into rivers & streams
used for drinking water), treated with antibiotics
