Question

What are ‘anthropogenic’ sources of CO ?
A) Industries , Motor vehicles
B) Forest fires
C) Volcanic Eruption
D) Deforestation

Answer 1

CO carbon monoxide is an air pollutant which has a very adverse effect on human health . Anthropogenic stands for artificial or man made activities.Anthropogenic actions have been the major cause of air pollution .

Complete answer:

Air pollution is the major concern in urban areas and metro cities which has an adverse effect on not only humans but the entire earth.It is the main reason behind climate change and other harmful effects.
Any undesirable change in physical chemical or biological characteristics of air , land , soil or water is called pollution and the agents which bring this undesirable change are called pollutants.
To protect the environment and to improve the quality of air , land , water and soil , the government of India passed the Environment (protection) act in the year 1986.This was done to control environmental pollution.
Automobiles are the cause of air pollution in cities.To reduce this , there is a need for the proper maintenance of automobiles and the use of lead free petrol should be encouraged. Automobiles should be fitted with catalytic converters.
Platinum , palladium and rhodium are some of the expensive metals which are used in catalytic converters . They reduce the emission of poisonous gases in the atmosphere .
When the exhaust passes through the metals , unburnt hydrocarbons are converted to $CO_2$ and water.Gases like nitric oxide and carbon monoxide are converted to nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide which are less harmful.
The petrol used should be lead free because lead in the petrol inactivates the catalyst and then the emission of poisonous gases occur like carbon monoxide and nitric oxide.
Noise is also included in the air pollution , therefore in the year 1981 , the Air (Prevention and Control of pollution )act came and it was amended in the year 1987.Major steps were taken in Delhi to ensure the improvement in the quality of air.
In Delhi , a PIL (public interest litigation ) was filed in the supreme court to take action on air pollution.All public transport was made to run on CNG rather than petrol or diesel because CNG burns more efficiently than other fuels and it is less polluting.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘A’.

Note: During respiration , carbon dioxide is bound to haemoglobin , but when the surrounding air is filled with carbon monoxide , it binds to the haemoglobin to form carbaminohemoglobin which is more stable , since the affinity of carbon monoxide is more than carbon dioxide . It can prove more dangerous to the person and can be fatal too.