Question

Minamata disease was caused due to the consumption of
A. Seafood containing a lot of cadmium
B. Fish contaminated with mercury
C. Oysters with a lot of pesticides
D. Seafood contaminated with selenium

Answer 1

Minamata disease is the result of the bioaccumulation of Mercury. Bioaccumulation is a biological phenomenon where certain elements are accumulated in the body of the organism. If the concentration of these elements increases it causes severe disease.

Complete answer: A chemical factory when it uses mercury as the catalyst in a chemical reaction, releases harmful by-products like methyl mercury. Methyl mercury is released in wastewater. Many chemical factories release their wastewater in the river and ultimately that waste is released in seawater. So, the methyl mercury present in wastewater is released into the sea.
Now mercury is taken up by plankton and here harmful chemicals (methyl mercury) are introduced into the aquatic food chain. Planktons are prey for many small fishes and thus, methyl mercury is the transfer from several planktons into small fishes,
Many large size fishes feed on these small fishes and here again the concentration of mercury is magnified. Humans when consuming such mercury-containing fish food and a large concentration of mercury is accumulated in the human body. When the concentration exceeds 191ppm of Hg it causes Minamata diseases.
This mercury has many side effects on the body of humans like degeneration of the nervous system, harmful effects on digestive and immune systems, lungs and kidneys, and may be fatal.
Hence, the correct answer for the given question is option B. Fish contaminated with mercury.

Note: Minamata is a river in Japan and people living around this river have suffered from mercury poisoning. To control Minamata disease for several years the Japanese government had banned the consumption of seafood from this region.