Ecology-and-environment / Environmental Pollution / Soil Pollution
Soil Pollution
- Addition of substances that change the quality of soil by making it less fertile and unable to support life is called soil pollution. Main contributors to soil pollution are the huge quantities of solid wastes and chemicals. Industrial wastes like chemicals, fly ash and cinder (mainly from coal based power plants and other industrial sectors), garbage, crop residues (from agro-processing units), paper, plastics and other packaging materials, discarded manufactured products or machines, etc all contribute towards soil pollution. Many fertilizers, pesticides / insecticides and pharmaceutical industries release chemicals directly into the soil or aerosols that ultimately settle down as soil pollutants. These chemicals may have serious implications on species composition of plants and animals. These pollutants may inhibit the process of soil formation and may reduce the fertility of soil.
Sources, Types and Effects of Soil Pollutants
| Source and Type of Soil Pollutants | Effects |
| Smelting and mining complexes release metals like cadmium, zinc, lead, copper, arsenic and nickel into the soil. |
These are phytotoxic and make plants unsafe for human and animal consumption |
| Power plants, chemical and fertilizer manufacturing units, iron & steel plants may release huge amounts of fly ash into the environments. |
Fly ash if not controlled properly may be drifted away by wind to several kilometers & may settle on crops and reduce soil fertility and Effect crop production. It is also responsible for respiratory problems. |
| Many modern agricultural practices release chemical fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and fumigants. | These stable chemical may remain in the soil for long periods wihtout degradation and have a cumulative effect on plant and animal species. |
| Many agro-based industries accumulate huge quantities of bio-degradable wastes which when not managed properly create unhygienic conditions. |
These when dumped carelessly often become dwelling place for rats, flies, bacteria, viruses and other vectors, resulting in the spread of diseases. |
| Some of the mroe toxic compounds released into the air as emissions from industries may settle down ultimately on the soil. |
These chemicals may be carcinogenic or teratogenic in nature and may persist in soil for a long time. Leaching from soil into the water bodies and ultimately into the biotic system produce genetic disorders. |
