# Pollution vocabulary — C2

https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/pollution-c2

- Title: Pollution Expert
- CEFR: C2 (Proficient)
- Theme: Nature & Environment
- Words: 25

Specialist environment vocabulary for pollution, from eutrophication, bioaccumulation and tailings to point-source pollution, cap and trade and greenwashing.

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## Word list

* **tailings** /ˈteɪlɪŋz/: The waste material left after valuable minerals have been taken out of rock during mining. — “A dam holding back the **tailings** burst after the heavy rain.”
* **eutrophication**: Too many nutrients in a lake or river, usually from farm chemicals, which makes plants grow wildly and use up the oxygen. — “Fertiliser run-off is the main cause of **eutrophication** in the bay.”
* **bioaccumulation**: The slow build-up of a harmful chemical inside one living thing because it takes in more than it can lose. — “Because of **bioaccumulation**, old tuna can contain a lot of mercury.”
* **biomagnification**: The increase in the amount of a poison at each higher step of a food chain, so top predators carry the most. — “**Biomagnification** explains why eagles were hit hardest by the pesticide.”
* **persistent organic pollutant**: A toxic chemical made by people that breaks down very slowly and can travel far from where it was used. — “Traces of a **persistent organic pollutant** were found in Arctic seals.”
* **dead zone**: An area of sea or lake with so little oxygen that most fish and other animals cannot live there. — “A huge **dead zone** appears off the coast every summer.”
* **bioremediation**: Using bacteria, fungi or plants to break down or soak up harmful substances and clean soil or water. — “They used **bioremediation** to clean the oil-soaked beach without any chemicals.”
* **point-source pollution**: Harm to water or air that can be traced to one single place, such as a factory pipe. — “Fining the plant is easier because it is **point-source pollution**.”
* **non-point-source pollution**: Harm to water that comes from many scattered places at once, such as fertiliser washing off farmland, and cannot be traced to one pipe. — “Rain washing off farms and roads is the main **non-point-source pollution** here.”
* **thermal pollution**: Harm done to a river or lake when a power station or factory pours hot water into it and the water becomes too warm for fish. — “**Thermal pollution** from the power plant has killed off the local trout.”
* **brownfield site**: Land that was once used for industry and may be dirty, but could be cleaned and built on again. — “The new flats will be built on a former **brownfield site** by the canal.”
* **endocrine disruptor**: A chemical that interferes with the body's hormones, found in some plastics and pesticides. — “Researchers linked the **endocrine disruptor** in the plastic to fertility problems in fish.”
* **flue gas**: The mixture of waste air and smoke that leaves a chimney or furnace after fuel has been burned. — “Engineers test the **flue gas** daily to check what it contains.”
* **desulphurisation**: The process of taking a polluting chemical element out of fuel or smoke so that it does not form acid rain. — “**Desulphurisation** equipment cut the plant's sulphur output by ninety percent.”
* **environmental impact assessment**: An official study of how a planned project, such as a road or mine, would affect nature, done before work is allowed to begin. — “The mine cannot open until an **environmental impact assessment** is complete.”
* **cap and trade**: A system that sets a limit on total pollution and lets companies buy and sell permits to release it. — “Under **cap and trade**, a clean firm can sell its spare permits.”
* **airshed**: An area of land where mountains or weather keep the air in one place, so its dirty air is managed as one unit. — “The valley is a single **airshed**, so one town's smoke affects all of them.”
* **legacy pollution**: Damage left in soil or water by past industry, long after the factory has closed. — “Residents still suffer from **legacy pollution** left by the old tannery.”
* **greenwashing**: Making a product or company seem more friendly to nature than it really is, usually in advertising. — “Critics call the oil company's new advert pure **greenwashing**.”
* **externality**: A cost, such as dirty air, that is carried by other people or society and not paid by the business that causes it. — “Pollution is a classic **externality**, since neighbours pay with their health.”
* **abatement** /əˈbeɪtmənt/: The reduction or stopping of something harmful, such as noise or dirty emissions. — “The city spent millions on noise **abatement** near the airport.”
* **plume** /plum/: A long cloud of smoke, gas or polluted water that spreads out from its source. — “A thick **plume** of ash drifted across the city.”
* **precautionary principle**: The idea that if an action might seriously harm people or nature, it should be avoided even if scientists are not yet sure. — “Banning the chemical was a case of the **precautionary principle** in action.”
* **anthropogenic** /ˌænθrəpəˈdʒɛnɪk/: Caused by human activity rather than by natural processes. — “Most of the lead in the soil is **anthropogenic**, not natural.”
* **xenobiotic**: A chemical found in a living thing that does not belong there naturally, such as a drug or pesticide. — “The liver breaks down each **xenobiotic** before it can do harm.”

## Other levels

- [Pollution · A1](https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/pollution-a1) — markdown: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/pollution-a1.md
- [Pollution · A2](https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/pollution-a2) — markdown: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/pollution-a2.md
- [Pollution · B1](https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/pollution-b1) — markdown: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/pollution-b1.md
- [Pollution · B2](https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/pollution-b2) — markdown: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/pollution-b2.md
- [Pollution · C1](https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/pollution-c1) — markdown: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/pollution-c1.md

## Related

- All Nature & Environment sets: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary#nature-environment
- Vocabulary library: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary
- Section guide: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/llms.txt