SOIL POLLUTION

 SOIL POLLUTION

             Soil is the basis of agriculture. All crops for human food and animal feed depends on it.Soil is the ultimate recipient of enormous quantity of man made waste products. Industrial wastes, sewage, sludge and polluted water cause soil pollution.

 

Source of soil pollution:

The sources which may pollute the soil are two fold:

a)Agricultural sources: Animal wastes, pesticides, fertilizers etc.

b)Non-Agricultural sources: Wastes related to modern life activity of human beings.

EFFECT OF SOIL POLLUTANTS ON PLANTS:

    Materials that find their entry into the soil system having long persistence and accumulate in toxic  concentrations are called as soil pollutants. 

 There are four types of soil pollutants.

a.Inorganic toxic compounds:

     Inorganic residues in industrial waste present serious problem of disposal. They contain heavy metals which have potential toxicity.Among heavy metals nickel, cadmium and lead are have high toxic potential, zinc and mercury moderate and chromium low potential. Arsenic compounds are used in insecticidal preparations are  high toxic potential.

b.Organic wastes:

     Organic wastes of various types cause pollution hazards.Domestic garbage, municipal sewage and industrial wastes when left  improperly disposed seriously affect the health of human beings, plants and animals. Sewage contains detergents, water softeners, borates, phosphates and other salts in large amounts.

c.Organic pesticides:

       Pesticide persistence in soil and movement into water streams may also lead to their entry into food and create health problems.Pesticides particularly aromatic organic compounds are not degraded rapidly and therefore have long persistence time.The main method of checking pesticides pollution is to increase the organic matter content of the soil and choose such pesticides which are non-persistent and leave no harmful residue.

d.Radioactive wastes: 

     Wastes from atomic reactors and nuclear power plants containing different kinds of radioactive isotopes which are most dangerous.These wastes affect aquatic plants and animals also. They cause ionization of various body fluids, gene mutations and chromosomal mutations.

MANAGEMENT OF SOIL POLLUTION:

1. Sanitary land fills are to be promoted in place of open dumping.
2. Recycling and reuse of materials like Paper, Metals and Glass is to be encouraged.
3. Organic waste, if treated properly, becomes a good quality compost.