As soil pollution has become a greater concern, both state and federal government have become involved in designing programs to limit the introduction of pollutants into the soil, as well as introducing legislation to help reduce overall soil pollution. Legislation such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 have helped legally enforce the prevention of soil pollution through taxing industries largely responsible for soil pollution problems, and authorizing government response actions to prevent and clean up large-scale soil contamination.
5. Soil pollution is characterised as a state in which the soil becomes polluted with
pollutants and its quality deteriorates. It happens when the contaminants that
cause pollution degrade the quality of the soil and make it uninhabitable for
microorganisms and macroorganisms that live there.
Soil contamination or pollution may occur as a result of either human activity
or natural processes. However, it is mostly due to human activity. Pesticides,
herbicides, ammonia, petroleum hydrocarbons, lead, nitrate, mercury,
naphthalene, and other chemicals in excessive amounts can cause soil
pollution.
7. Causes
There are various ways through which soil pollution occurs every day.
We can broadly divide them into two parts i.e. natural and man-made
causes.
Man-made pollutants
Anthropogenic or man-made pollution is due to many factors like
industrial or accidental factors, eg. mining, throwing untreated
garbage, leaking of chemicals and many more.
Natural pollutants
In very rare cases natural phenomenon leads to release of toxic
chemicals which leads to soil pollution. They interact with man-made
toxins and hazardous substances which leads to sometimes increase
or decrease in overall toxicity of the soil pollution.
9. Effects of Soil Pollution
Effect on Ecosystem and Biodiversity - Soil pollution can lead to a loss of biodiversity in an ecosystem.
Pollution may have an effect on the lives of soil-dwelling birds, insects, mammals, and reptiles. The soil is
a critical environment, and pollution-induced changes force wildlife to search out new habitats.
Effect on Human Health - Since we depend on the land for our food, contamination from the soil finds its
way to us in this way. Toxic bioaccumulation happens in our bodies, resulting in chronic poisoning and a
range of diseases.
Effect on Plant Growth - Pollution of the soil has a negative impact on the ecological balance of any
climate. Many plants are unable to adjust when the chemistry of the soil changes drastically in a short
period of time. The fungi and bacteria that keep the soil together begin to deteriorate, resulting in soil
erosion.
11. Recycling and reusing: Wastes must be reused to reduce soil
pollution, some of the waste that must be reused could be paper,
plastics petroleum products, glasses, and many more.
Understanding the quality of soil environment: To prevent and
control soil erosion it is very important that we understand the
quality of the soil environment, which can be done by surveying
the soil pollution. It is very important and necessary that we
strengthen the information about the management of soil
frequently.
Management of agricultural lands and performing organic
farming: Improper maintenance and poor use of agricultural
lands are one of the important reasons for soil pollution. Loss of
fertility is caused in agricultural land. Crop rotation, protector
belt, strip cropping, crop residue, and many other activities can
be performed on the land to prevent soil pollution.
12. CONTROL MEASURES
Treating solid waste properly: One of the essential steps is to
dispose of the solid waste properly by treating it before being
dumped into the land. Neutralization processes must be performed
on acid and basic waste as they both are equally harmful to the soil.
Investigation on reclaimed land: The land on which construction of
houses or schools or any industrial process like mining, soil
investigation must be carried out. This result will help to take
necessary precautions and measures to control any sort of defect
which might lead to soil pollution.
Sustainable Practices: Overgrazing by animals must be checked
and prevented so the particular area of land can regrow the plants.
Manure obtained from animal waste must be utilized to regain
nutrients of the soil. More and more plants and trees must be grown
frequently.
14. Unlike air or even water pollution, which are visible through
phenomenon such as smog or discolored water, soil
pollution is largely invisible. Unfortunately, even unseen,
soil pollution still has devastating effects on the
environment. To make matters worse, soil pollution is
contributed to on a daily basis on both a large scale, through
the waste products of corporations, and on a smaller scale
with the improper use and disposal of chemicals in and
around the home. Luckily, by employing certain measures,
soil pollution can be reduced to help protect the
environment for the future.
15. Household Chemical Disposal
The chemicals you use to clean your home can contain
toxic chemicals that eventually can make their way into
the soil if not disposed of appropriately. To prevent
contamination from these products the Environmental
Protection Agency recommends purchasing cleaning
products that are labeled as non-toxic whenever possible.
You should also dispose of toxic chemicals and their
containers through designated hazardous-waste
collection centers instead of pouring them down the drain
or outside.
17. Earlier, India had perfectly normal pH levels of soil and water, but with constant soil and water
pollution, these values have all crashed down. Here are some of those values and observations
that we have recorded.
Soils are critical environment where rock, air and water interface. Consequently, they are
subjected to a number of pollutants due to different anthropogenic activities (Industrial,
agricultural, transport etc.) (Facchinelli et al., 2001; Jonathan et al., 2004). The chemical
composition of soil, particularly its metal content is environmentally important, because toxic
metals concentration can reduce soil fertility, can increase input to food chain, which leads to
accumulate toxic metals in food stuffs, and ultimately can endanger human health. Because of its
environmental significance, many studies to determine risk caused by metal levels in soil on
human health and forest ecosystem have attracted attention in recent years (Denti et al., 1998;
Sandaa et al., 1999; Arantzazu et al., 2000; Krzyztof Losk et al., 2004).
18. In India, many urban and dense cities with significant industrial waste generation have been
found to have contaminated soil. Many studies have been done in this field.
Govil et al (2001) carried out a geochemical investigation in and around the Patancheru
industrial development area of Andhra Pradesh, just north of Hyderabad city, to determine the
extent if chemical pollution in the soil. Their data revealed significant contamination, showing
two to three times higher levels of toxic elements than normal. Heavy metals like Cr, V, Fe, As,
Cd, Se, Ba, Zn, Sr, Mo and Cu were found to be present above normal distribution in the soil.
Krishna and Govil in 2004 collected soil samples from the Pali Industrial area, present in the
western state of Rajasthan. Their data revealed that the soil in the study area is significantly
contaminated with high concentrations of heavy elements like Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, Sr and V.
19. Krishna and Govil also did a similar study in 2007 and collected soil samples from the industrial
area of Surat city, present in the western state of Gujarat. Their data revealed that the soil in the
study area is significantly contaminated with high concentrations of heavy elements like Ba, Cu,
Cr, Co, Ni, Sr, V and Zn.
Similar studies have been done in area around Varanasi (Sharma et al. 2007). In this study, soil
samples of major irrigation sites in sub-urban areas of Varanasi were taken and analyzed for
heavy metal contamination. Samples of irrigation water and portion of vegetables being grown
were also collected. Apart from concentration of Cd, rest of the heavy metals was present within
the Indian standards.
Lokeshwari and Chandrappa (2006) did a similar study in and around the city of Bangalore, where
they assessed the heavy metal contamination of vegetation and soil due to irrigation with
sewage-fed lake water on the agricultural land. The results showed significant amount of heavy
metals, above the Indian Standard limits in both the soil as well as the vegetation samples.
20. Government Programs and Regulation
As soil pollution has become a greater concern, both state and federal
government have become involved in designing programs to limit the
introduction of pollutants into the soil, as well as introducing legislation to help
reduce overall soil pollution. Legislation such as the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 have helped
legally enforce the prevention of soil pollution through taxing industries largely
responsible for soil pollution problems, and authorizing government response
actions to prevent and clean up large-scale soil contamination.
