Which of the following diseases are caused by the consumption of water contaminated by mercury and nitrate ?
- A.Minamata disease and Osteoporosis
- B.Osteoporosis and Blue Baby Syndrome
- C.Minamata disease and Blue Baby Syndrome
- D.Osteoporosis and Minamata disease
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Minamata disease and Blue Baby Syndrome. Mercury in water causes Minamata disease, and excess nitrate causes blue baby syndrome.
Minamata disease is named after Minamata Bay in Japan, where a chemical factory released mercury waste in the 1950s. Bacteria turned it into methylmercury, which built up in fish and shellfish and poisoned the people who ate them, damaging the nervous system and causing numbness, tremors and birth defects. Blue baby syndrome, or methaemoglobinaemia, affects infants who drink water with too much nitrate, usually from fertiliser run-off or sewage. Nitrate is changed to nitrite, which stops haemoglobin from carrying oxygen, so the baby's skin turns bluish.
A is wrong: osteoporosis, the thinning of bones, is not caused by nitrate.
B is wrong: osteoporosis is not caused by mercury; it is linked to age and low calcium.
D is wrong: it pairs Minamata disease with osteoporosis instead of blue baby syndrome.
Exam tip: Mercury = Minamata; cadmium = itai-itai; nitrate = blue baby syndrome; excess fluoride = fluorosis; arsenic = black foot disease.
Practice Questions
View allWhich one of the following tiger reserves of India has "Bhoorsingh the Barasingha" as its official mascot ?
- A.Nameri tiger reserve
- B.Ranthambhore tiger reserve
- C.Panna tiger reserve
- D.Kanha tiger reserve
Show answer
In 2017 Kanha in Madhya Pradesh became the first tiger reserve in India to adopt an official mascot, a cartoon barasingha named Bhoorsingh.
Read the full explanation →Leakage of which one of the following gases had caused Bhopal Gas Tragedy in the year 1984 ?
- A.Methyl isocyanate
- B.Hexamethylene diisocyanate
- C.Isophorone diisocyanate
- D.Isothiocyanate
Show answer
On the night of 2-3 December 1984, methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal.
Read the full explanation →Where is Asan Conservation Reserve located?
- A.Himachal Pradesh
- B.Uttarakhand
- C.Sikkim
- D.Arunachal Pradesh
Show answer
The Asan Conservation Reserve lies in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand. The reserve is a stretch of the Asan river near its meeting with the Yamuna, where a barrage built in 1967 created a wetland.
Read the full explanation →Excessive use of which of the following fertilizers may be responsible for the presence of a toxic substance in groundwater?
- A.Nitrogen
- B.Phosphate only
- C.Potassium only
- D.Phosphate and potassium
Show answer
Excess nitrogen fertilizer turns into nitrate, which dissolves easily, seeps down through the soil and contaminates groundwater. Urea and other nitrogen fertilizers are converted by soil bacteria into nitrate ions.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is the main reason of acid rains ?
- A.Dissolution of sulphur and nitrogen oxides in rain
- B.Dissolution of minerals in rain
- C.Dissolution of dust particles in rain
- D.Dissolution of soil solution in rain
Show answer
These gases react with water in the air to form sulphuric and nitric acids, which fall as acid rain. Sulphur dioxide comes mainly from burning coal and oil in power plants and smelters, and nitrogen oxides from vehicle engines and high-temperature furnaces.
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