Given below are two statements:

Statement I: All potential pollutants are synthetic chemicals.

Statement II: Many of the emerging contaminants have been observed to bioaccumulate in wildlife and humans.

In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Question

Question

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UGC NET Paper 1: Held on 29 Sep 2022 Shift 2

Answer 1

A pollutant is a substance that is present in concentrations that could be harmful to organisms and the environment.

Key PointsStatement I: All potential pollutants are synthetic chemicals.

The majority of these pollutants are released by human activity, including burning fossil fuels, driving, and emissions from industry and agriculture.
These may arise naturally or may have human-caused origins.
Some of the important ones are Nitrogen oxides, Sulfur oxides, Particulate matter, Ground level ozone, Volatile organic compounds, and Greenhouse gases.

So, Statement I is false.

Statement II: Many of the emerging contaminants have been observed to bioaccumulate in wildlife and humans.

Bioaccumulation is the gradual increase of substances in an organism.
In a simple world, how contaminants get into the food chain.
Some contaminants have bioaccumulated in people and animals worldwide as a result of drinking water and aquatic contamination.

Thus, Statement II is true.

Therefore, Statement I is false but Statement II is true.