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Health Journalism Glossary

Environmental Health Glossary

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  • 100-year floodplain – A 100-year floodplain, as defined by FEMA, is an area that has a 1 in 100 chance of flooding in any given year.
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  • Acaricide – Acaricide pesticides are used to kill mites and ticks. For example, fipronil is the main ingredient in Frontline and is…
  • Acid rain – Acid rain occurs when sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) react in the atmosphere with water. When the mix…
  • Activated Carbon Filters – Activated carbon filters, also known as activated charcoal filters, are systems used to remove impurities from air, water, and more.
  • Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) – The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is a federal health agency in Atlanta that addresses hazardous substance and…
  • Algal bloom – Algae are microscopic organisms that live in bodies of water and use photosynthesis to produce energy from sunlight. Some algae…
  • Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) – Animal Feeding Operations are lots where animals are confined for at least 45 days in a 12-month period and there…
  • Asthma – Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and may produce extra mucus.
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  • Biosecurity – Biosecurity refers to prevention measures taken to protect animals or people from diseases or other biological agents.
  • Bisphenol-A – A chemical most commonly found in plastic that can leach through containers, receipts and other plastic items. It impacts human…
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  • Cancer Alley – Cancer Alley is a nickname given to a stretch of land along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New…
  • Carbon dioxide – A naturally occurring gas that is also a byproduct of burning fossil fuels and biomass.
  • Carbon emissions – Carbon emissions are the release of certain greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2), into the atmosphere.
  • Carbon neutral – The idea of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by balancing them so they’re equal or less than those removed naturally.
  • Carbon offsets – Carbon offsets are tradable “rights” or certificates linked to activities that lower the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
  • CAS registry number – A unique number assigned to a substance or mixture by the American Chemical Society. The registry is updated daily and…
  • Cascading disaster – A term in disaster research that describes when one shock leads to another. For example, in the Los Angeles fires…
  • Certified Organic – The organic label that the USDA certifies indicates that a product meets their organic standards. In order to receive the…
  • Chemical pollution – This refers to any chemicals that negatively interact with human health and are found in everyday products such as lotions,…
  • Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – CFCs were once a common chemical compound used in refrigerants and aerosols until it was discovered how damaging they were…
  • Chronic kidney disease – A condition characterized by the gradual loss of function of the kidneys, such that waste products accumulate in the blood…
  • Chronic kidney disease of unknown cause – A loss of kidney function that is not due to known causes, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or autoimmune…
  • Clean Water Act (CWA) – The Clean Water Act (CWA) started with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act which was enacted in 1948. In 1972,…
  • Climate change – Climate change means long-term changes in the Earth’s weather, such as rising average temperatures, shifting seasons and more intense storms and droughts.
  • Climate-health nexus – The climate-health nexus refers to the interconnected relationship between climate change and human health, where shifts in the Earth’s climate affect physical, mental and social well-being.
  • Cluster investigation – A cluster investigation is a review of an anomalous number of real or perceived health events. An example of this…
  • Cohort study – A type of observational study design, in which a group sharing a particular characteristic (exposure to a specific factor, for…
  • Community Assistance Panel (CAP) – A group of people from the community and health and environmental agencies who work together on issues and problems at…
  • Compounding disaster – A term in disaster research that describes the simultaneous occurrence of more than one disaster, with a result that is…
  • Concealed carry laws  – “Concealed carry” has a lot of meanings under different types of state law. It generally means that a person can…
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  • Disaster vs. hazard – In hazard and disaster research, the terms hazard and disaster are not interchangeable.
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  • Eco-anxiety – The chronic fear of environmental cataclysm that comes from observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change.
  • Emerging disease – A term in epidemiology that indicates that a disease has new or increasing occurrences within a geographic area or population.…
  • Environmental health – This is a part of Public Health that considers the relationship between the environment and human health. It includes both…
  • Environmental justice – Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
  • Environmental Justice Index – The Environmental Justice Index uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rank the cumulative impacts of environmental injustice on health for every census tract.
  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – The Environmental Protection Agency is an independent government program that manages environmental health risks, sponsors and conducts research, and develops…
  • Environmental racism – The term was defined by Robert Bullard in his book “Dumping in Dixie.” Bullard described it as “any policy, practice…
  • Erythema – Unusual redness on the skin or mucus membranes caused by inflammation. Further descriptors can be used in diagnoses; for example,…
  • Ethylene oxide – Ethylene oxide is a chemical used to produce other chemicals, like antifreeze, and is used as a pesticide and a…
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  • Flood zone – A flood zone is a geographic area that has been mapped and classified according to its risk of flooding.
  • Flood zone – In the U.S., a flood zone is a geographically defined area with a specific level of flood risk, as designated by FEMA.
  • Food sovereignty – Food sovereignty is the right for people to have access to healthy, culturally appropriate food that is affordable and ethically…
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  • Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) – GMO, short for genetically modified organism, is an organism which has had changes made to their genetic makeup. These changes…
  • Greenhouse effect – The trapping and build-up of heat in the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface that has led to climate change over the last century.
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  • H5N1 Avian Influenza – A subtype of the influenza A virus that primarily affects birds. Subtypes are further divided into variants, which can vary…
  • Heat index – A heat index is a measure that combines air temperature and relative humidity to estimate how hot it feels to the human body.
  • Heat island – An urbanized area characterized by temperatures higher than those of outlying areas.
  • Heat stroke – Heat stroke is a life-threatening condition in which the body’s core temperature rises above 104°F and its thermoregulatory systems fail.
  • Heat survivability threshold – The heat survivability threshold refers to the point at which the human body can no longer cool itself effectively through sweating.
  • Heat wave – A heat wave is a prolonged period of abnormally high temperatures that poses risks to human health, ecosystems or infrastructure.
  • Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) – Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is a category of influenza A viruses that infect birds, causing severe illness and mortality…
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  • Influenza A subtypes – There are four types of influenza: A, B, C, and D, with A and B a focus among virologists and…
  • Ion exchange filters – Ion exchange filters are water treatment systems designed to remove dissolved ions, such as minerals or heavy metals, from water by replacing them with other, less harmful ions.
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  • Methane – Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the…
  • Microplastics – Microplastics are small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to humans, wildlife and plantlife.
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  • Nephrotoxin – A substance that harms the kidneys, such as heavy metals or certain pesticides.
  • Net zero emissions – Net zero means cutting carbon emissions to a smaller amount of emissions that can be absorbed and durably stored by…
  • Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – Nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air from the exhaust of motor vehicles and the burning of…
  • Nitrogen fixation – Nitrogen fixation is the natural or industrial process that causes free nitrogen (N2).
  • Nitrogen leaching – Nitrogen leaching happens when soil reaches a point where it cannot hold any more water and the air spaces between soil particles become filled with water.
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  • Ozone (O3) – Ozone (O₃) is a gas composed of three oxygen atoms that occurs in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and absorbs radiation…
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  • Parts per million (ppm) – Parts per million (ppm) is the number of units of mass of a contaminant per million units of total mass.…
  • Pathogen emergence – Pathogen emergence is the appearance of a new infectious disease or the notable increase in prevalence of an existing one…
  • Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals that do not fully break down in the environment or human body,…
  • PFAS – These are per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemical substances that are made up of chemicals that accumulate over time in people, animals…
  • Pluvial flooding – Pluvial flooding occurs when rainfall is so intense that the ground, drainage systems or urban infrastructure cannot absorb or channel the water away quickly enough, leading to water pooling or flowing over land.
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  • Reverse osmosis (RO) – Reverse osmosis (RO) systems are advanced water filtration systems that use a semi-permeable membrane to remove contaminants from water.
  • Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) – Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) is a geographically-based, interactive model that helps policy makers, researchers, and communities quickly analyze large amounts…
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  • Scrubber – A scrubber is a device or process for removing pollutants from industrial exhaust streams.
  • Sea level rise – Sea level rise brought on by human caused climate change will displace millions of people and ravage coast lines around…
  • Silent transmission – Silent transmission is when someone who is infected with a pathogen does not have any symptoms and passes the pathogen…
  • Social Vulnerability Index – This uses 16 U.S. census variables to help local officials identify communities that may need support before, during or after disasters. 
  • Solastalgia – Solastalgia is a feeling of emotional or existential distress caused by climate and environmental change.
  • Superfund – The Superfund is a U.S. federal government program designed to fund the cleanup of toxic wastes. Established in 1980, the…
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  • Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) – The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) compiles data on the quantities of chemicals deemed toxic that are released into the environment…
  • Tropospheric ozone – Tropospheric (ground-level) ozone is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). Whether in…
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  • Volatile organic compound (VOC) – Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are gasses emitted into the air from a variety of products or processes. Some are…
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  • Watershed – A watershed is an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas. The…
  • Wet-bulb temperature – The wet-bulb temperature measures heat and humidity. People often describe how “dry heat” is much more tolerable than “humid heat,”…

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