Which pollutant is NOT listed as conventional?

• A. BOD
• B. Fecal Coliform
• C. Nitrogen
• D. pH

Answer: (C)

Conventional pollutants are the classic set historically used to gauge basic wastewater treatment performance. They include indicators that are routinely monitored because they directly relate to oxygen demand and sanitary quality, such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), fecal coliform bacteria, and the pH of the water. Nitrogen, on the other hand, is a nutrient pollutant that falls outside this traditional group and is treated as a nonconventional pollutant; addressing it typically requires different, more advanced nutrient-removal processes. So nitrogen is the pollutant not listed as conventional, while BOD, fecal coliform, and pH are part of that conventional set.