Environmental-pollution / 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.