Question

The important water pollutants are:
A) Inorganic compounds B) Organic compounds C) Fluorides
A.A and B
B.B and C
C.A and C
D.A, B and C

Answer 1

Hint: Water pollutants include impurities due to domestic wastes, insecticides and herbicides, food processing waste, pollutants from livestock operations, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), heavy metals, chemical waste and nutrient pollution (nitrogen, phosphates, etc.)

Complete step by step answer:
There are different types of organic pollutants, examples are:
- Hydrocarbons.
- PCB's are stable and unreactive fluids that are used as hydraulic fluids, coolant/ insulation fluids in transformers.
- Insecticides such as DDT's are very dangerous because they don’t degrade and accumulate in fat tissues of lower animals and then enter the food chain.
- Detergents.
Inorganic pollutants include fertilizers, which have nitrates and phosphates. Nitrates and phosphates cause algal blooms in surface water. Algal blooms cover the water surface and pervert sunlight and oxygen to enter the water body and hence causes the oxygen level of the water to decline. Arsenic and fluoride are recognized as the most serious inorganic contaminants in drinking water.
All the three water pollutants i.e. organic, inorganic, and fluoride are harmful to the environment.

Option D is correct.

Additional information:
 Water pollution is due to releasing untreated waste into water bodies. Polluted water causes the destruction of plants and organisms living in or around the aquatic ecosystem. It also harms the people, plants and animals who consume it. The four main reasons of water pollution includes pathogens, inorganic compounds, organic material and macroscopic pollutants.
Inorganic materials including heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, copper, chromium, zinc and barium( though harmless in very small concentrations), are pollutants when they are present in high concentration in water. This can be due to leaching from disposal of untreated waste , increased human activity or industrial activities. This water pollution, especially in higher concentrations, can cause severe health problems in humans and other organisms, up to and including death.

Note: Organic Material like Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a frequently detected volatile organic chemical. Earlier MTBE was used as an air-cleaning gas additive. But it is now banned as it takes years before MBTE is thoroughly removed from contaminated water systems. Water contaminated with MTBE can cause leukemia( a type of cancer), lymphoma( another type of cancer) and tumors in the testicles, thyroid glands and kidneys.