1995 General Studies, all questions

UPSC Prelims 1995 · General Studies

Question 128: Environment and Ecology

“The final Agent Orange raid in Vietnam took place in 1970…. areas have begun to bloom again. But 19 years after the war’s end, it seems plain that Agent Orange is killing and maiming human beings, something it never intended to do. The apparent toxic fall-out from those clouds ... is a crop of human miseries including cancers, miscarriages and birth defects — that may persist for decades.” The offensive substance referred to in the above quotation is

aDDT used as insecticide
ba complex mixture of herbicides and weedicides used to increase agricultural output in the then South Vietnam under the US aid programme
ca complex mixture of DDT and other insecticides used as aerial sprays for protection against malaria and other tropical diseases
ddioxin used as defoliants

AnswerThe answer is (d).

Agent Orange was a herbicide mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T that US forces sprayed from the air in Vietnam to strip leaves from forests and crops. It was contaminated with dioxin, a highly toxic by-product, which is blamed for cancers, miscarriages and birth defects. Remember: Agent Orange, defoliant, dioxin contamination.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) DDT was not the substance in Agent Orange.
  • (b) Agent Orange was sprayed as a military defoliant, not to raise farm output.
  • (c) It was a herbicide, not a mix of insecticides against malaria.
  • (d) Right per the key: dioxin, the toxic contaminant.

Worth knowing: Strictly, dioxin was a contaminant of the herbicides, not the defoliant itself, but (d) is the nearest of the options.

Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 1995, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.