Reasons for Soil Contamination
Land is being extensively used for various purposes such as agriculture, industrial facilities and residential development ,. Growing technology has introduced various chemicals in the market that are been used in the field of agriculture and in the construction and maintenance of buildings, industrial and agricultural sites. These man made chemicals have resulted insoil contamination. These chemicals are the pollutants which if they exceed the normal levels can reduce the effective functioning of soil. In addition toman made substances there are certain natural factors that result in contamination of soil. Thus, there are many reasons for contamination of soil. These are:
- A build up of pesticides and insecticides which are used in the agricultural field in order to protect the crops from harmful pest and insects. These chemicals above certain levels are not only harmfulto the pests but also for the soil.
- Penetration of impure surface water within the soil layers can give rise to soil contamination.
- Today lots of industrial sectors make use of chemicals which are toxic and hazardous. The unwanted toxic chemicals are sometimes discarded on to open land. When these chemicals are deposited onto the soil they affect the soil and it results in soil contamination.
- Oil and fuel discharge and waste leakage from landfills may result in soil contamination. Also human discharge like plastic and other non-degradable waste leads to incidence of soil contamination. The more the usages of chemicals like petroleum hydrocarbon, lead, solvents, pesticides, insecticides, heavy metals, etc. the more would be the incidence of soil contamination.
- Naturally occurring heavy metals such as zine, nickel and arsenic potentially cause soil contamination if they occur in high concentrations.
The contamination of soil, due to the hazardous and harmful discharge, has an adverse affect on the health and human life. The chemical contact may result in many chronic diseases among people. Not only human health, but soil contamination also affects the ecosystem including plant life and animals. Therefore it is necessary to clean up the soil or remediate it, as soon as possible. Thermal remediation, bioremediation by the use of microbes or aeration of soil are the best methods for remediating the contaminated soil. Since, soil contamination is not only the result of legal authority but also because of human masses as whole. It isthe responsibility of both the government to enforce control and the landowners to reduce or control the incidence that result in soil contamination.
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