Hazards of soil pollution
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Contents
• What is soil pollution?
• Sources of soil pollution
• Control of soil pollution
• Diseases caused by soil pollution
• References
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What is soil pollution?
• Soil pollution or soil contamination is caused
by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made)
chemicals or other alteration in the natural
soil environment.
• Some contaminants can occur naturally in
soils as components of minerals and can be
toxic at high concentrations.
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Sources of soil pollution
• NATURAL, GEOGENIC SOURCES
• ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES
➢Industrial activities
➢Domestic wastes
➢Urban and transport infrastructure
➢Waste and sewage generation and disposal
➢Agricultural and livestock activities
➢Radio active materials
http://www.fao.org/3/i9183en/i9183en.pdf
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NATURAL SOURCES
• Several soil parent materials are natural
sources of certain heavy metals and
radionuclides.
• Which pose a risk to the environment and
human health at elevated concentration.
• Arsenic(As) contamination is a major
environmental problem.
• Soils and rocks are also natural sources of
radioactive gas Radon (Rn).
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• E.g. Naturally occurring asbestos (NOC): its
natural presence in soils poses a negligible risk
to environment.
• But when it is released from the soil near to
urban areas then it will cause risk to human
health.
• Cz Asbestos is carcinogenic substance.
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ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES
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Industrial activites
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• Gaseous pollutants and radionuclides are
released to the atmosphere and can enter the
soil directly through acid rain.
• Industrial land can be polluted by incorrect
chemical storage or direct discharge of waste
into the soil.
• Salinization also affects many soils.
• heavily contaminated soils associated with
mining activities.
• Metal smelting to separate minerals has
introduced many pollutants into the soil.
•
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Domestic wastes
• Domestic wastes include polythene bags,
plastics, broken packaging box, bottles, food
packaging, remnants of food and beverages.
• Broken pieces of furniture, cardboard, toys
causes soil pollution.
• Some are biodegradable and many are non
biodegradable.
• Polymers like nylon and plastic are major
sources.
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Urban and transport infrastructure
• Activities linked to transportation in and
around urban centers constitute one of the
main sources of soil pollution.
• Source of soil pollution associated with
transport is lead contamination of soils from
leaded gasoline.
• over 10 million tonnes of lead was transferred
via the motor vehicle fleet, about 5.9 million
tonnes in the United States of America
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Waste and sewage generation and
disposal
• Municipal waste disposal in landfills and
incineration are the two most common ways to
manage waste.
• Many pollutants and their derivative products
accumulate in the soil and polluting it.
• Baderna discovered a complex mixture of
pollutants in a landfill leachate that alters
groundwater quality and in turn affects the food
chain.
• Recycle of lead batteries is the major sources of
soil contamination around the world.
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Agricultural and livestock activities
• The different agricultural sources of soil
pollutants include agrochemical sources, such
as fertilizers and animal manure, and
pesticides.
• Trace metals such as, Cu, Cd, Pb and Hg, are
also considered soil pollutants as they can
impair plant metabolism and decrease crop
productivity.
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• Many medical substances are lipolytic and are
retained in the sludge or the manure, which in
turn may be used as fertilizer.
• If retained can greatly affect microorganisms
and other beneficial organisms in the soil.
• Inefficient use of the main nutrients (N and P)
in fertilizers.
• Negative effects on soil organisms have been
widely studied due to exposure of pesticides.
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Radio active materials
• Fallouts from the nuclear explosion causes
pollution to soil.
• Radioactive pollutants accumulated in soil
include:
Rhodium- 106
Barium- 140
Lanthanum- 140
Promethium- 144
Strontium & caesium- 90
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• These materials deposited on the soil through
rain water where they are held by electrostatic
forces.
• Emits gamma rays which adversely affect the
living.
• Heavy dose of radiation may cause cancer to
animals.
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From book: Soil pollution- An Emerging Threat to Agriculture
Chp: Status of pollution in India. www.DuloMix.com 17
Control of soil pollution
• Collection of wastes from various places and
dumping them in some distant places.
• But its costly so transfer stations are built up
in different centres.
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• Land-filling is another method.
• Incineration: reduces volume of garbage and
reduces toxicity. But its reduces only 30% of its
original volume.
• Recycling of wastes: recycle plastics, glass and
metallic products.
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Diseases caused by soil pollution
• Soil pollution may enter our bodies directly –
through the inhalation of soil dust or soil
particles, or through skin contact or,
• indirectly – through the consumption of food,
especially vegetables grown in contaminated
soil.
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Short Term
• The most common symptoms that appear
after direct exposure to soil contaminants are
the following:
• headache
• nausea and vomiting
• chest pain
• coughing and lung problems
• fatigue
• skin rash
• eye irritations
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Long term diseases
• The inhalation of soil particulate matter and the
ingestion of contaminated food can potentially result in
serious conditions:
• Cancer, including leukemia – caused by the contact
with soils contaminated with chemicals (e.g. gasoline,
benzene)
• Nervous system damage – caused especially by the
presence of lead (Pb) in soil, and affecting especially
children
• Neuromuscular blockage and depression of the central
nervous system
• Kidney and liver damage – caused by chemicals such as
mercury (Hg)
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References
• https://www.environmentalpollutioncenters.o
rg/soil/diseases/
• http://www.fao.org/3/i9183en/i9183en.pdf
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