Question

Explain the difference between contaminant and pollutant?

Answer 1

Hint: Pollutant and the contaminants are both waste products. Contaminants and the pollutants are both the substances that are not needed and their presence disturbs either the important chemical reactions or is harmful to the living beings.

Complete answer:
As we know that both the contaminant and the pollutant are not the desirable material and we need to get rid of these. But the effect or concentration determines the level by which they harm or disturb the process.
So, contaminants are the undesirable part of the matter. Contaminants can be defined as the specific part of the matter that is not needed or undesirable and its presence causes contamination of that product or of a chemical reaction.
Whereas, pollutants that can be defined as the component or the ingredient of any product. Its concentration is harmful to living organisms.
Contaminant is any substance that is not present naturally in the environment but is introduced in the system through human activities.
Whereas, on the other hand Pollutant works in both the ways i.e. pollutants can be present naturally in the environment or it is produced by the human activities that are unfit. For example excessive burning of fossil fuels like coal.

Note:
One more important point to keep in mind is that the contamination is not as harmful to the living being but the high concentration of pollutants is very harmful for the living beings, for example gases like sulphur dioxide and carbon-dioxide. Pollutants are also known to cause many diseases in humans and birds. Also pollutants and pollution is one of the upcoming major problems.