Question

Assertion (A): Biomedical waste contaminates the soil in which it is dumped.

Reason (R): The food grown in the polluted soil gets contaminated with pathogens.

Options

• Both A and R are true, and R is the correct reason for A.

• Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct reason for А.

• A is true, and R is false.

• A is false, and R is true.

Answer 1

Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct reason for А.

Explanation:

A is true, biomedical wastes (needles, blood‑stained dressings, medicines, plastics, etc.) dumped on land contaminate the soil with pathogens and hazardous materials. R is also true, crops grown on polluted soil can pick up pathogens and toxic residues and thus become contaminated. However, R describes a consequence of soil contamination (what happens to food grown there), not the cause of why biomedical waste contaminates soil; the direct reason A is true is that biomedical waste itself contains the pathogens and hazardous substances that contaminate the soil.