Soil Pollution Questions and Answers

Q: Which are the sources for Selenium contamination in India among the following?(i) Industrial sources(ii) Agricultural Practices(iii) Ground water

The sources are (i) and (ii), so the answer is Only (i) and (ii).Selenium contamination comes from industrial sources such as coal combustion and fly ash, mining and metal processing, and from agricultural practices such as the use of phosphate fertilisers and irrigation that mobilises selenium from seleniferous soils, as seen in parts of Punjab.Groundwater, in the key's reading, is the medium that carries selenium into crops and drinking water rather than a source of it; the selenium in it comes from the rocks, soils and human activities above. That rules out the options naming groundwater, alone or with other items.

Q: The element which is generally absorbed by plants along with Zn and causes "Ouch Ouch" disease in human beings is

The element is Cadmium (Cd).Itai-itai disease (Japanese for 'ouch ouch') broke out in the Jinzu river basin of Toyama, Japan, where mining waste carrying cadmium contaminated paddy fields. Cadmium occurs in nature with zinc ores, behaves chemically like zinc and is taken up by rice plants along with it. In people it damages the kidneys and softens the bones, causing severe bone pain and fractures, which gave the disease its name.Mercury poisoning is Minamata disease, not itai-itai. Tin is of low toxicity in its inorganic forms, and chromium (especially hexavalent chromium) is known for skin ulcers and cancer risk, not for this bone disease.

Q: What is meant by the term "Oilzapper" that we frequently hear in the news ?

Oilzapper is an eco-friendly technology for the remediation of oily sludge and oil spills.It was developed by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) together with Indian Oil Corporation. It is a consortium of oil-eating bacteria, grown and supplied on a carrier, that break the hydrocarbons in oily sludge and spilled crude down into harmless carbon dioxide and water. It has been used at refineries and at oil spill sites to clean contaminated soil.It is a bioremediation agent, so it is neither an exploration technology nor a crop variety, and it has nothing to do with putting out fires at oil wells.

Q: Which phytoremediation approach involves reduced mobility of contaminants through sorption onto plant root surfaces ?

The approach is Phytostabilization.Phytostabilization uses plants to immobilise contaminants in the soil rather than remove them. Metals and other pollutants are adsorbed onto roots, absorbed and held in them, or precipitated in the rhizosphere, so they are less likely to leach into groundwater or spread as dust. It is used on mine tailings and metal-contaminated land.Rhizofiltration uses roots to absorb or adsorb contaminants from water flowing past them, so the aim is removal from water rather than reduced mobility in soil. Phytovolatilization takes contaminants up and releases them to the air (for example selenium or mercury). Rhizodegradation is the breakdown of organic pollutants by microbes in the root zone.

Q: Among the different types of phytoremediation .............. is the process in which plants limit contaminated soil movement and migration.

The process is phytostabilization.In phytostabilization, plants immobilise contaminants in the soil: roots hold the soil against erosion, reduce water movement through it, and adsorb, precipitate or accumulate metals in the root zone. The contaminants stay in place but cannot spread to groundwater or neighbouring land.Phytoextraction takes contaminants up into harvestable shoots to remove them. Phytodegradation and phytotransformation break down organic pollutants inside the plant. None of these is about limiting the movement of soil.

Q: Which bioremediation process incorporate essential nutrients (Viz.N, P, etc.) and electron acceptor to contaminated area (aquatic, soil) in order to promote the activity of native microbes for degradation of hydrocarbons ?

The process is biostimulation.Biostimulation speeds up degradation by stimulating the microbes already present at a polluted site: nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus and electron acceptors such as oxygen are added, so the native hydrocarbon-degrading populations grow and work faster.Bioaugmentation instead adds new microbial cultures to the site. Biosparging injects air under pressure below the water table, chiefly to supply oxygen and strip volatile compounds. 'Preferential biodegradation' is not the name of a remediation technique.

Q: The process in which living organisms are used to remove contaminants, pollution or other unwanted substances from soil or water is known as

The process is bioremediation.Bioremediation uses living organisms, mainly bacteria, fungi and plants, to break down or remove pollutants such as oil spills, pesticides and heavy metals from soil and water. Oil-eating bacteria spread on a spill and plants that absorb metals from soil (phytoremediation) are examples.Biodegradation is the natural breakdown of material by microbes, which bioremediation makes use of, but the word does not describe the deliberate clean-up. Biotechnology is the whole field of using organisms for products and processes, and biomagnification is the increase of a toxin's concentration up a food chain, the problem rather than the cure.

Q: Which of the following is a harmful effect of excessive use of pesticides ?

The harmful effect is soil and water pollution leading to health hazards.Excess pesticides persist in the soil, wash into rivers and groundwater, and accumulate in food chains (bioaccumulation and biomagnification). They harm soil organisms, fish and birds, and in people they are linked to poisoning and long-term illness.The other options describe benefits that pesticides do not deliver. They do not improve crop nutrition, they reduce rather than increase biodiversity by killing non-target species, and by harming soil microbes they tend to slow, not speed, the decomposition of organic matter.

Which are the sources for Selenium contamination in India among the following?

(i) Industrial sources
(ii) Agricultural Practices
(iii) Ground water

A.Only (i) and (ii)
B.Only (iii)
C.Only (ii) and (iii)
D.All the above ((i), (ii) and (iii))

Exam Year(s)

Kerala PSC KAS - 2025,

Answer: A

The sources are (i) and (ii), so the answer is Only (i) and (ii).

Selenium contamination comes from industrial sources such as coal combustion and fly ash, mining and metal processing, and from agricultural practices such as the use of phosphate fertilisers and irrigation that mobilises selenium from seleniferous soils, as seen in parts of Punjab.

Groundwater, in the key's reading, is the medium that carries selenium into crops and drinking water rather than a source of it; the selenium in it comes from the rocks, soils and human activities above. That rules out the options naming groundwater, alone or with other items.

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The element which is generally absorbed by plants along with Zn and causes "Ouch Ouch" disease in human beings is

A.Tin (Sn)
B.Cadmium (Cd)
C.Mercury (Hg)
D.Chromium (Cr)

Exam Year(s)

Punjab Civil Service - 2018,

Answer: B

The element is Cadmium (Cd).

Itai-itai disease (Japanese for 'ouch ouch') broke out in the Jinzu river basin of Toyama, Japan, where mining waste carrying cadmium contaminated paddy fields. Cadmium occurs in nature with zinc ores, behaves chemically like zinc and is taken up by rice plants along with it. In people it damages the kidneys and softens the bones, causing severe bone pain and fractures, which gave the disease its name.

Mercury poisoning is Minamata disease, not itai-itai. Tin is of low toxicity in its inorganic forms, and chromium (especially hexavalent chromium) is known for skin ulcers and cancer risk, not for this bone disease.

Discuss in Forum

What is meant by the term "Oilzapper" that we frequently hear in the news ?

A.It is an eco-friendly technology for the remediation of oily sludge and oil spills.
B.It is the latest technology developed for under-sea oil exploration.
C.It is a genetically engineered high biofuel-yielding maize variety.
D.It is the latest technology to control the accidentally caused flames from oil wells.

Exam Year(s)

Punjab Civil Service - 2018,

Answer: A

Oilzapper is an eco-friendly technology for the remediation of oily sludge and oil spills.

It was developed by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) together with Indian Oil Corporation. It is a consortium of oil-eating bacteria, grown and supplied on a carrier, that break the hydrocarbons in oily sludge and spilled crude down into harmless carbon dioxide and water. It has been used at refineries and at oil spill sites to clean contaminated soil.

It is a bioremediation agent, so it is neither an exploration technology nor a crop variety, and it has nothing to do with putting out fires at oil wells.

Discuss in Forum

Which phytoremediation approach involves reduced mobility of contaminants through sorption onto plant root surfaces ?

A.Phytostabilization
B.Rhizofiltration
C.Phytovolatilization
D.Rhizodegradation

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2023, SET Exam - 2023,

Answer: A

The approach is Phytostabilization.

Phytostabilization uses plants to immobilise contaminants in the soil rather than remove them. Metals and other pollutants are adsorbed onto roots, absorbed and held in them, or precipitated in the rhizosphere, so they are less likely to leach into groundwater or spread as dust. It is used on mine tailings and metal-contaminated land.

Rhizofiltration uses roots to absorb or adsorb contaminants from water flowing past them, so the aim is removal from water rather than reduced mobility in soil. Phytovolatilization takes contaminants up and releases them to the air (for example selenium or mercury). Rhizodegradation is the breakdown of organic pollutants by microbes in the root zone.

Discuss in Forum

Among the different types of phytoremediation .............. is the process in which plants limit contaminated soil movement and migration.

A.Phytostabilization
B.Phytotransformation
C.Phytodegradation
D.Phytoextraction

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: A

The process is phytostabilization.

In phytostabilization, plants immobilise contaminants in the soil: roots hold the soil against erosion, reduce water movement through it, and adsorb, precipitate or accumulate metals in the root zone. The contaminants stay in place but cannot spread to groundwater or neighbouring land.

Phytoextraction takes contaminants up into harvestable shoots to remove them. Phytodegradation and phytotransformation break down organic pollutants inside the plant. None of these is about limiting the movement of soil.

Discuss in Forum

Which bioremediation process incorporate essential nutrients (Viz.N, P, etc.) and electron acceptor to contaminated area (aquatic, soil) in order to promote the activity of native microbes for degradation of hydrocarbons ?

A.Preferential biodegradation
B.Bioaugmentation
C.Biostimulation
D.Biosparging

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2025, SET Exam - 2025,

Answer: C

The process is biostimulation.

Biostimulation speeds up degradation by stimulating the microbes already present at a polluted site: nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus and electron acceptors such as oxygen are added, so the native hydrocarbon-degrading populations grow and work faster.

Bioaugmentation instead adds new microbial cultures to the site. Biosparging injects air under pressure below the water table, chiefly to supply oxygen and strip volatile compounds. 'Preferential biodegradation' is not the name of a remediation technique.

Discuss in Forum

The process in which living organisms are used to remove contaminants, pollution or other unwanted substances from soil or water is known as

A.Biotechnology
B.Bioremediation
C.Biodegradation
D.Biomagnification

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2019,

Answer: B

The process is bioremediation.

Bioremediation uses living organisms, mainly bacteria, fungi and plants, to break down or remove pollutants such as oil spills, pesticides and heavy metals from soil and water. Oil-eating bacteria spread on a spill and plants that absorb metals from soil (phytoremediation) are examples.

Biodegradation is the natural breakdown of material by microbes, which bioremediation makes use of, but the word does not describe the deliberate clean-up. Biotechnology is the whole field of using organisms for products and processes, and biomagnification is the increase of a toxin's concentration up a food chain, the problem rather than the cure.

Discuss in Forum

Which of the following is a harmful effect of excessive use of pesticides ?

A.Improved crop nutrition
B.Increased bio-diversity
C.Soil and water pollution leading to health hazards
D.Faster decomposition of organic matters

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2026,

Answer: C

The harmful effect is soil and water pollution leading to health hazards.

Excess pesticides persist in the soil, wash into rivers and groundwater, and accumulate in food chains (bioaccumulation and biomagnification). They harm soil organisms, fish and birds, and in people they are linked to poisoning and long-term illness.

The other options describe benefits that pesticides do not deliver. They do not improve crop nutrition, they reduce rather than increase biodiversity by killing non-target species, and by harming soil microbes they tend to slow, not speed, the decomposition of organic matter.

Discuss in Forum

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