Civil Services Prep

Prelims 2019 · Environment · Question 70

Why is there a great concern about the 'microbeads' that are released into environment?

  1. They are considered harmful to marine ecosystems.
  2. They are considered to cause skin cancer in children.
  3. They are small enough to be absorbed by crop plants in irrigated fields.
  4. They are often found to be used as food adulterants.

Answer

They are considered harmful to marine ecosystems.

  • (a) Correct. Microbeads are tiny plastic particles used in products like cosmetics; they pass through wastewater treatment and enter rivers/oceans, where they are ingested by marine organisms and harm marine ecosystems.
  • (b) Incorrect. There is no standard finding that environmental microbeads specifically cause skin cancer in children.
  • (c) Incorrect. Microplastics in soil are a concern, but the specific UPSC-relevant concern about microbeads is their impact on aquatic/marine life, not established absorption by crop plants as the main issue.
  • (d) Incorrect. Microbeads are not known as food adulterants; the major concern is plastic pollution in water bodies.

Therefore, the correct answer is (a).

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