[Mission 2023] STATIC QUIZ, 27 October 2022 – Environment

Solution: d)

Microplastics are tiny plastic particles with an upper size limit of 5mm in diameter. The term ‘microplastics’ was introduced in the mid-2000s. They occur in the environment as a consequence of plastic pollution.

Microplastics are divided into two categories:

Primary microplastics

• Primary microplastics which enter the environment directly, are tiny particles designed for commercial use, as well as microfibers shed from clothing and other textiles, such as fishing nets.
• Examples of primary microplastics include microbeads found in personal care products, plastic pellets used in industrial manufacturing, and plastic fibres used in synthetic textiles.

Secondary microplastics

• Secondary microplastics form from the breakdown of larger plastics such as water bottles.
• This typically happens when larger plastics undergo weathering, through exposure to conditions like wave action, wind abrasion, and ultraviolet radiation from sunlight.

Solution: d)

Exposure to POPs can lead to cancer, damage to central & peripheral nervous systems, diseases of immune system, reproductive disorders and interference with normal infant and child development.

Uniqueness of POPs:

POPs are lipophilic, which means that they accumulate in the fatty tissue of living animals and human beings.

In fatty tissue, the concentrations can become magnified by up to 70 000 times higher than the background levels.

As you move up the food chain, concentrations of POPs tend to increase so that animals at the top of the food chain such as fish, predatory birds, mammals, and humans tend to have the greatest concentrations of these chemicals.

Solution: a)

Nitrates not only affect surface water but also pollute groundwater sources.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) gas should not be confused with nitric oxide (NO) or nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Neither nitric oxide nor nitrogen dioxide are greenhouse gases. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas.

Nitrogen particles make up the largest fraction of PM2.5, the class of pollutants closely linked to cardiovascular and respiratory illness

Though agriculture remains the largest contributor to nitrogen emissions, the non-agricultural emissions of nitrogen oxides and nitrous oxide are growing rapidly, with sewage and fossil-fuel burning — for power, transport and industry — leading the trend.

Solution: d)

Smog can be caused by:

• Large amounts of coal-burning in an area
• Slash-and-burning of crops (a major source in Delhi)

Smog-forming pollutants generate from automobile exhausts, power plants, fireworks, even paint, hairspray, charcoal starter fluid, and plastic popcorn packaging.

Solution: b)

The Formation of Smog

• Photochemical smog (smog) is a term used to describe air pollution that is a result of the interaction of sunlight with certain chemicals in the atmosphere.
• One of the primary components of photochemical smog is ozone.
• While ozone in the stratosphere protects earth from harmful UV radiation, ozone on the ground is hazardous to human health.
• Ground-level ozone is formed when vehicle emissions containing nitrogen oxides (primarily from vehicle exhaust) and volatile organic compounds (from paints, solvents, printing inks, petroleum products, vehicles, etc.) interact in the presence of sunlight.