Which Indian law deals specifically with the prevention and control of air pollution?
- A.The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
- B.The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
- C.The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
- D.The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. This Act is the specific law on air pollution. It empowers the Central and State Pollution Control Boards to lay down emission standards for industry and for vehicles, to declare air pollution control areas and to require consent before a polluting plant is set up or operated. Option B is wrong because the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, passed after the Bhopal gas tragedy, is the umbrella law covering all media of the environment rather than air alone. Option C is wrong because the Water Act of 1974 concerns water pollution, though it is the Act under which the Central Pollution Control Board was first created. Option D is wrong because the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 protects species and habitats.
Read the full article: Air Pollution and Air Quality: Pollutants, AQI and Laws
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following is a secondary air pollutant?
- A.Sulphur dioxide
- B.Carbon monoxide
- C.Peroxyacetyl nitrate
- D.Particulate matter
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A secondary pollutant is never emitted from a source; it is manufactured in the atmosphere itself when primary pollutants react with one another or with sunlight.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is the chief component of photochemical smog?
- A.Sulphur dioxide
- B.Ozone
- C.Methane
- D.Carbon dioxide
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Photochemical smog, also called Los Angeles smog, forms in warm, dry, sunny weather when oxides of nitrogen from vehicle exhaust and unburnt hydrocarbons react under ultraviolet light.
Read the full explanation →Carbon monoxide is dangerous to human beings mainly because it:
- A.Combines with haemoglobin to form carboxyhaemoglobin
- B.Dissolves in water to form a strong acid
- C.Destroys the ozone layer of the stratosphere
- D.Settles in the alveoli as fine dust
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Carbon monoxide binds to the haemoglobin of the blood roughly two hundred times more readily than oxygen does, and the carboxyhaemoglobin so formed cannot carry oxygen.
Read the full explanation →Along with the oxides of nitrogen, which gas is chiefly responsible for acid rain?
- A.Carbon monoxide
- B.Methane
- C.Sulphur dioxide
- D.Argon
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Sulphur dioxide, released when coal and oil containing sulphur are burnt, is oxidised in the atmosphere to sulphur trioxide, which dissolves in water droplets to give sulphuric acid.
Read the full explanation →The damage to the marble of the Taj Mahal, popularly called 'marble cancer', is caused chiefly by:
- A.Carbon dioxide
- B.Sulphur dioxide
- C.Chlorofluorocarbons
- D.Ground-level ozone
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Sulphur dioxide from industry and traffic around Agra is oxidised in the air and comes down as sulphuric acid, which attacks the calcium carbonate of marble.
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