Soil pollution

 

Human activitie are the primary case of the soil pollution and land degradation. By the end of this topic. You will know how different form of human activities are responsible for the majority of different Type of soil pollution 

1.what is soil pollution ?

soil pollution is defined as the presence of toxic chemical in the soil pollution in very high concentration to pose a risk to human health and the ecosystem or in simple word alteration in the natural soil due to the human activites is termed soil pollution. for example exposure to soil containing high concentration of  benzene can increase the risk of soil pollution.all soil contain compounds that are harmful to human being and other living organisms. the concentration of such substances in unpolluted soil is low that they do not pose any threat to surrounding but when the concentration such substances becomes high enough to cases damage to living organissm the soil is sad to be contaminated. Soil Contamination can occur because of human activities or because of natural processes. mostly it is due to human activities. It occurs due to the different activities such as overuse of pesticide the soil will lose its fertility and the presence of excess chemicals will increase the acidity and  alkalinity of soil and hence degrading the qualitys of the soil.

Impact of Soil Pollution

In addition to direct health effect, soil pollution also harms plants that feed Americans. Chemicals can sometime absorb into food like lettuce and be ingested. Other times the pollutants simply kill the plant, which has created wide spread crops destruction and famine in other parts of the world. The entire ecosystem changes when new materials are added to the soil as microorganism die of or move away from contaminants.

                                               types to soil pollution

• Agriculture soil pollution is caused due to the excessive uses of parsticides and insecticides.
• soil pollution by industrial discharge of   chemical form mining and manufacturing of good.
• soil waste soil pollution poor management or inefficient disposal of wastes.
• soil pollution due to urban activitie.

  agricultural activites :

 the uses of insecticides and pesticides for a long period can cause soil pollution repetitive use can causes insects and pests to become resistant to it. instead of killing pests and insect's it chemical that are not produced in nature and cannot be broken down by them. as a result thay seep into the ground after they mix with water and slowly reduce the fertility of soli . Plant absorb many of these pesticide and after decomposition cases soil pollution.

Water disposal

Disposal of plastic and other solid water is a serious issue that causes soli pollution disposal of electrical effect on the soil due to the presence of harmful chemicals. 

Acid rain

It is caused when pollution present in the air mix the rain and fall back on the ground .the pollution water could dissolve away some of the essential nutrients found in soil and change the structure of soil this making it unsuitable for agriculture.

Heavy metals

The presence of heavy metals in very High concentration present in soils can cause them to become highly toxic for human being.

 • Soil is the than layer of organic and inorganic materials that covers the Earth rocky surface.

• The organic portion, which is derived from the decayed remains of plant and animals, is concentrated in the dark upper most top soil.

• The inorganic portion made up of rock fragments was formed over thousands of year by physical and chemical weatherings of bedrock.

• Productive soil are necessary for agriculture to supply the world with sufficient food.

The recurring ever-rising utilization of chemical such as pesticides, herbicides or insecticides and fertilizers is one of the main reasons for advent of soil pollution by increasing its salinity making it un suitable for crop bearing and unfavourably affecting the micro organism existent in the soil leading the soil to gradually lose its fertility and the subsequent loss of minerals present in the soil, this causing soil pollution and damaging or eradicating more than just the targeted pest. Other types of soil pollution usually arise from radioactive fallout, the breach of under ground storages tanks, percolation of contaminated surface water to sub surface layer, leaching of wastes from land fill or direct release of industrial wastes to the soil poor and detrimental irrigation practices inappropriate septic system and management and main tenancel from sanitary sewage acid rains falling onto the soil fuel leakages from automobiles, that get lapped away due to rain and percolate into the nearby soil and harmful waste management methods, which are marked by discharge of sewage into the big dumping grounds and near by stream or rivers.

Effects of Soil Pollution on Humans

Soil pollution can have a cascade of destructive effects on Ecosystem and human, plants and animals health. The harmful out comes of soil pollution may comes from direct interaction with polluted soil or from interactions with other resources such as water or food which has been developed on or has come in direct contact with the contaminated soil.Many sources of soil pollutant are carcinogenic causing humans who are exposed to these pollutants to be far more susceptible to develop cancer and being effected from it than those who are not. For example, consistent exposure to benzene is known to have caused leukaemia in both children and adult and contact with polychlorinated biphenyls  is associated to liver cancer. Soil pollution can also results in neuromuscular obstruction as well as depression of the central nervous system, headaches,fatigue, eye irritation and skin rash. Soil doesn't need to be extremely contaminated to be harmful to human. Soil that is not considerably contaminated may still hurt humans directly through bioaccumulation, which according to Pollution Issues, happens when plant are grown in lightly polluted soil, which constantly absorb molecules of the pollutant.  the plants can not  get purged of these molecules they amass in the plant causing greater amounts of pollution to occur in the plants than in the soil. Animals who consume many of these polluted plants in their turn take on all the pollution those plant have stored. Larger predatory animal's who then eat the herb take on all the pollution from these particular animal. Humans who eat plan's or animal meat that have amassed copious amount of soil pollutants may be infected, even if the soil as of such it self does not encompass adequate pollutions to harm human health directly. Additionally the existence of heavy metals in soil in lethal amounts can cause permanent developmental damage in children.All though lead and mercury can be present naturally in soil greater concentration of either metal may cause mutilation to the develop brains of young children which in turn may cause neurological disorders. Human in any time of life may also suffer from kidney or liver damage due to exposure from extreme mercury in soil. In addition to threatening human health soil pollution can also cause economic loss.

We are already starting to see the longer-term tendencies and effects of our industrial heritage and previous action. Studies on historically polluted sites show's us that we can never be to careful when making a conclusion on where to establish modern day industries, because some contaminants can still be identified at potentially toxic level decades after they were first released. Levels of mercury in the environment are intensifying due to earlier waves of industrial activitys. Levels of some are decreasing several years after they have been phased out. More contemporary industrial activity in area such as China, is showing us new means of exposure via soils as in the case of contact from a rice diet grown in polluted areas.To accomplish a clear indications of how soil contamination disturbs our health necessitate interdisciplinary teams and good communication between scientists from different field. In addition to the scientific tests, fostering positive interdisciplinary co-operation is also vital if we are to fill the lacunae in our understanding of how the state of the soil effects human health.

Negative Health Effects

Heavy Metals

heavy metal through soil contact is a major humans health concern. Arsenic is a metalloid, but it is commonly group with the heavy metals. The heavy metals of greatest concern for humans health include As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni . Heavy metals enter soils naturally through the weathering of rock's but they have also been introduced into soils through humans activity. Heavy metals are the by-products of mining ores and they are present in mine spoils and in the immediate surroundings of metal processing plant. Heavy metals are released into soils from land fill's that contain industrial and house hold wasted and from sewage sludge that comes from wastewater treatment plants. E-wastes, or wastes associated with electronic appliances, are an increasing source of Pb, Sb, Cd, and Ni in the soil. Urban soils are particularly susceptible to significant accumulations of heavy metals from automobile exhaust coal burning, erosion of metal structured, and refuse incineration. In agricultural settings the use of fertilizer, manures, and pesticides has also contributes to the accumulation of heavy metals in soils . Arsenic has been used in pesticides and the build-up of arsenic in orchard soils is problematic since it may persist for deceased. The heavy metals with the most toxi city in humans including Cd,  Hg, and As, are those with no biological function that disrupt enzymatic activitie commonly affecting the brain and kidney.