- 2071 Bhadra · 1+2+2 marks
Water pollution, pollutants and adverse effects
Short answer
Water pollution is contamination making water unfit for use. Major pollutants include organic sewage, inorganic heavy metals and nitrates, biological pathogens, and suspended solids. Adverse effects are waterborne diseases, Minamata disease (Hg), arsenicosis, eutrophication causing oxygen depletion and fish kills, and biomagnification.
What do you mean by water pollution? What are the major water pollutants, mention their adverse effects.
Water pollution is the contamination of water by harmful substances so that it becomes unfit for drinking, agriculture, industry or aquatic life.
Major water pollutants
| Type | Pollutants | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Organic | Sewage, detergents, pesticides, oil, phenols, food waste | Households, farms, industries |
| Inorganic | Heavy metals (Pb, Hg, Cd, As), nitrates, phosphates, acids, alkalis, salts | Industries, mines, fertilisers |
| Biological | Bacteria, viruses, protozoa, worms | Sewage, animal waste |
| Physical | Suspended solids, heat, radioactive material | Erosion, power plants |
Adverse effects
- Health: waterborne diseases (cholera, typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis, diarrhoea); Hg causes Minamata disease, Cd causes itai-itai disease, As causes arsenicosis (found in groundwater of the Terai), Pb damages the brain; nitrate in water causes blue-baby syndrome.
- Eutrophication: excess nitrate and phosphate cause algal blooms; when the algae die, their decay uses up dissolved oxygen (high BOD, low DO) and fish die.
- Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of pesticides and metals in the food chain.
- Bad taste, smell and colour; water is unfit for drinking, irrigation and industry.
- Thermal pollution reduces oxygen solubility and disturbs aquatic life.
✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)
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