SOIL POLLUTION

CONTENTS
• What is Soil?
• What is soil pollution ?
• How is it caused ?
• Types of soil pollution
• What are the effects of soil pollution ?
• How can we control soil pollution ?
 What is Soil..??
• Soil is the thin layer of organic and inorganic

materials that covers the Earth's rocky surface.

• Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have

been altered by chemical and mechanical processes

that include weathering and erosion.

 SOIL POLLUTION
• It is defined as the build-up in soils of persistent toxic
compounds, chemicals, salts, radioactive materials, or
disease causing agents, which have adverse effects on
plant growth and animal health.
• Soil pollution is also caused by means other than the
direct addition of xenobiotic (man-made) chemicals
such as agricultural runoff waters, industrial waste
materials, acidic precipitates, and radioactive fallout.
 Causes of Soil Pollution
• Seepage from a landfill

• Discharge of industrial waste into the soil

• Percolation of contaminated water into the soil

• Rupture of underground storage tanks

• Excess application of pesticides, herbicides or fertilizer

• Solid waste seepage

• Deforestation and Soil erosion

  Industrial seepage

 Solid waste seepage

The most common chemicals involved in causing soil
pollution are:

• Petroleum hydrocarbons
• Heavy metals
• Pesticides
• Solvents
 Types of Soil Pollution
• Agricultural Soil Pollution

i) pollution of surface soil

ii) pollution of underground soil

• Soil pollution by industrial effluents and solid wastes

i) pollution of surface soil

ii) disturbances in soil profile

• Pollution due to urban activities

i) pollution of surface soil

ii) pollution of underground soil

 Agricultural Soil Pollution
• Plants on which we depend for food are under attack from
insects, fungi, bacteria, viruses, rodents and other animals,
and must compete with weeds for nutrients.
• To kill unwanted populations living in or on their crops,
farmers use pesticides.
• The remnants of such pesticides used on pests may get
adsorbed by the soil particles and contaminate root crops
grown in that soil.
• The consumption of such crops causes the pesticides
remnants to enter human biological systems, affecting them
adversely.
Agricultural effects:
• Reduced soil fertility

• Reduced nitrogen fixation

• Larger loss of soil and nutrients

• Deposition of silt in tanks and reservoirs

• Reduced crop yield

• Imbalance in soil fauna and flora

Agricultural effects:
 Industrial Soil Pollution
• Large quantity of solid wastes like unused and rejected
chemicals (like sludge, press mud, saw dust, bottles, plastic
materials etc.), unwanted industrial wastes generated during
manufacturing processes are dumped over on the surface of
soil by almost all industries with difference in the degree.
• Larger the production base, larger is the generation of wastes.

• Traditionally, these materials have been dumped around the

factory site or around the entire city. Rarely, they are put to
recycling or safe conversion.
Industrial Soil Pollution
Industrial effects:
• Dangerous chemicals entering underground water.

• Ecological imbalance.

• Release of pollutant gases.

• Increased salinity.

• Reduced vegetation.
 Industrial Effects:

Soil pollution due to industrial waste

Polluted land with dangerous chemicals

 Soil Pollution due to Urbanization
• Urban activities generate large quantities of city wastes including
several Biodegradable materials (like vegetables, animal wastes,
papers, wooden pieces, carcasses, plant twigs, leaves, cloth
wastes as well as sweepings) and many non-biodegradable
materials (such as plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic wastes,
glass bottles, glass pieces, stone / cement pieces).
• On a rough estimate Indian cities are producing solid city wastes
to the tune of 50,000 - 80,000 metric tons every day.
• If left uncollected and decomposed, they are a cause of several
problems.
Urbanization effects:
• Clogging of drains
• flooding of areas
• Public health problems
• Pollution of drinking water sources
• Foul smell and release of gases
• Waste management problems
 Some more effects of soil pollution:
• Pollution runs off into rivers and kills the fish, plants and other aquatic
life.

• Crops and fodder grown on polluted soil may pass the pollutants on to
the consumers.
• Polluted soil may no longer grow crops and fodder

• Soil structure is damaged (clay ionic structure impaired.)

• Corrosion of foundations and pipelines

• May release vapours and hydrocarbon into buildings and cellars

• May create toxic dusts

• May poison children playing in the area

 Methods to control Soil Pollution
• Reducing chemical fertilizer and pesticide use.

• Recycling Recycling paper, plastics and other

materials.
• Reusing of materials

• Re-forestation, the cutting down of trees, causes

erosion, pollution and the loss of fertility in the
topsoil. Planting trees--or re-forestation--helps
prevent soil erosion and pollution.
 Methods to control Soil Pollution
• Designated pits should be used for the dumping of soil wastes. These
wastes should be treated chemically and biologically to make them
less toxic and hazardous.
• Crop rotation and mixed crops.

• Improved drainage facility to prevent salinity.

• Biodegradable wastes may be used for biogas and non-biodegradable

wastes may be recycled.
• Disposal of hazardous radioactive wastes into soil should be
prohibited.
• The following measures should be taken to prevent soil pollution.

• Arrangements for collection, and disposal of garbage should be tightened.

• The deposition of wastes should be done in a proper manner and the sewage

sludge from the factories should be treated before reaching the ground.

• The use of chemical fertilizers should not be promoted.

• The use of insecticides, fungicides, and herbivorous etc. should be minimized.

• General public should be given information about the ill effects of soil pollution.

• The public should be motivated to put the garbage in bins in the house and the

villagers should throw it in the fertilizer pits.

• To prevent soil erosion, plantations, dam-bands etc. should be made.

• Increasing use of organic manure and milder pesticides should be

ensured in agricultural activities. Soil erosion should be prevented by

planting more green grass.

• Appropriate arrangements should be made to place the wastes emitted

from the industrial units

• New techniques (rain water harvesting variety) should be used to

increase the ground water level.

• Integrated Plant Nutrient Management should be used in the place of

chemical fertilizers.

• Chemical soil reformers like gypsum and pyrites as suggested by

scientists should be used for the improvement of salinity-rich soil.

• In order to overcome the water logging in agriculture farms,

arrangements for drainage are very essential.

• Soil preservation systems to be adopted by banning forest

erosion to conserve and protect soil nutrients.

• The formulation and implementation of the schemes required to

protect the land which is destroyed by floods is essential.

• It is absolutely essential to focus on land utilization and crop

management.

• Plant more trees, greenery; and prevent the flow of garbage in

rivers.
 SOIL CONSERVATION
• Soil conservation is a process under which efforts are made not only
to maintain the quality of soil, but also to prevent soil pollution.
• Pollution leads to the loss of soil fertility as a result of loss of topsoil
and nutrients, loss of organic matter and clay and the consequent
loss of the soil’s capacity to retain nutrients and water. There are two
methods of soil conservation –
• a) Biological method

• b) Mechanical method.
 Biological method
• (i) Crop related

• Crop rotation – It implies frequent succession of crop on the same portion of land

in a given time-frame. Crop mixes can be grown. Thus, after a harvest of one crop

there is another growing up or covering the soil so that the soil is never bare or

exposed.

• Planting along the contours – Leguminous plants, cowpea and cereal crops can be

grown in a particular way to check soil erosion. This helps farmers get maximum

profit with least investment and increases the fertility of the soil.

• Strip cropping – This reduces the velocity of water flow and prevents erosion.

• Steep farming – This prevents erosion by reducing sludge. This leads to the use of

hilly land for cultivation.

• Crop Residues – By laying a thin layer of 10-15 cm of crop

residues in farming, erosion and vaporization can be prevented.

With this method, Rabi crop can be increased up to 30 percent.

After a crop we should leave the stubble in the field. Then

untimely rains and wind don’t destroy much.

• Protector Belt – By planting trees and bush in the right angle,

depending on the direction of wind along the fields, the erosion

caused by wind can be stopped.

• Use of fertilizers – Use of dung manure, clarinet or compost,

green manure and other organic composts reduce soil erosion.

 Forest implantation method
• Forests are very helpful in preventing soil erosion.
There are two functions -
• First, develop forests in new areas for increasing the
soil fertility and formation. This reduces the erosion
of rain water and air.
• Second, new forestry should be adopted where there
is excessive pollution of forests, excessive animal feed
and surface degradation.
 Mechanical method
• This method is relatively expensive but effective too.
• Contour holding system – In this, the fields are planted in
the right direction of the sloping direction, so that the
water flowing through the slopes cannot erode the soil.
• Making bunds – Bunds across the slopes prevent erosion
in excessive sloping place.
• Gully control – (i) By stopping the flooding water (ii) by
increasing the vegetative cover and (iii) creating new
pathways for runoff.
 Organic Farming
• Organic farming is a good option for reducing soil pollution.

• Today, in most industrial agriculture, there is excessive use of chemical

fertilizer and insecticides. Though many types of pollutants are responsible

for destroying the fertility of the land, excessive use of chemical fertilizers is

one of the main reasons.

• In chemical fertilizers, phosphate, nitrogen and other chemicals are polluting

the environment and groundwater resources of land.

• The most dangerous pollutants are bioactive chemicals, due to which the

micro-organisms of climate and soil are being destroyed resulting in

decreased quality of soil.

• The best way to reduce the use of these chemicals and

reduce soil pollution is by organic farming.

• In organic farming in place of chemical fertilizers,

insecticides and weeds, bacterial fertilizer nutrients such

as compost, green manure, bacterial culture, organic

manure, bio-pesticides and bio-agents are used. The

fertility of the land remains for a long time and the

environment is also not polluted and farmers also

benefit from the increase in the quality of the crop.

 Solid Waste Treatment
• Proper methods should be adopted for management of solid waste disposal.

Industrial wastes can be treated physically, chemically and biologically until they

are less hazardous. Acidic and alkaline wastes should be first neutralized; the

insoluble material if biodegradable should be allowed to degrade under

controlled conditions before being disposed. As a last resort, new areas for

storage of hazardous waste should be investigated such as deep well injection

and more secure landfills.

• Burying the waste in locations situated away from residential areas is the simplest

and most widely used technique of solid waste management. Environmental and

aesthetic considerations must be taken into consideration before selecting the

dumping sites.
• Incineration of other wastes is expensive and leaves a huge residue and adds

to air pollution. Pyrolysis is a process of combustion in absence of oxygen or

the material burnt under controlled atmosphere of oxygen. It is an

alternative to incineration.

• The gas and liquid thus obtained can be used as fuels. Pyrolysis of

carbonaceous wastes like firewood, coconut, palm waste, corn combs,

cashew shell, rice husk paddy straw and saw dust, yields charcoal along with

products like tar, methyl alcohol, acetic acid, acetone and a fuel gas.

• Anaerobic/aerobic decomposition of biodegradable municipal and domestic

waste is also being done and gives organic manure. Cow dung which

releases methane into the atmosphere, should be processed further in

‘gobar gas plants’ to produce ‘gobar gas’ and good manure.