By Sydney Cohen
The soil plays a vital role in the ecosystem and is often overlooked. It provides food, prevents erosion, regulates water flow, and purifies the air. However, when the soil becomes contaminated it can cause serious harm to both humans and animals alike.
More than ever before, people and wildlife are being exposed to various chemicals and toxins in their everyday lives. One of the most common ways this happens is through contact with soil that has been contaminated with toxic substances. When we walk on or touch contaminated soil, these substances may be transferred to our skin and ingested into our bodies more easily than if they were airborne particles.
Soil Contaminants
Most soil is perfectly safe for playing, gardening, and recreation. The biggest threats from soil contamination are in urban areas and former manufacturing installations. Contaminants include radon, radon-containing pesticide, the chemically characterized copper, and creosote. The type of soil also plays a role in how contamination spreads out in an area. Certain substances may reach groundwater sources more easily within sand than in clay. This is due to faster infiltration rates in coarse-grained sandy soils.
Soil Contamination
Pollution occurs after the presence of xenobiotic substances, or human substances resulting from human activities, in the soil environment. Its typical cause is industrial activity, agricultural chemicals, or poorly disposed of materials, and it is a serious issue for public health. Contaminants in soil associated with industrial activity and chemical substance intensity are measured to determine the level of soil pollution.
The concerns over soil contamination mainly stem from the risk to human health from direct contact with the contaminated surface or from vapor from the contaminants in or beneath the soil. Mapping sites and cleanups, that subsequently are cleaned is time-consuming and expensive requiring extensive geological and hydrological resources.
The Main Sources of Soil Contamination
Regulations and standardization made by officials have been enacted progressively in the aim of prevention of soil contamination in the past 30-40 years. Many heavily polluted sites are safer now, while some still exist, that have not yet been cleaned.
The critical issue is the degree of residual risk we are ready to accept in connection with the cost of remediation, according to biologist Dr. Andrew Hammond. Using different technologies, a wide variety of methods are available to help curb the risk of earth contaminants, whether by cleaning the contaminant or condensing its presence in the soil.
There is a wide range of different types of contamination, with varying human and environmental consequences. These include not only metals, but also a variety of organic molecules, as well as pathogens and biologically active materials.
The Main Causes of Soil Contamination
The main causes of soil pollution involve humans. Municipal and industrial waste contribute much to earth contamination (37%); industrial and commercial sectors (333%). Mineral oil, industrial wastes, and heavy metals contribute about 60% to it. In regards to budget, the management of contaminated sites is estimated to cost around 6 billion euros annually. Pollutants such as industrial production of waste disposal or diffusion pollution examples are industrial activities car emissions, chemical applications, and manure containing veterinary drugs and etc.
Agriculture’s Impact on Soil Contamination
For fertilizers, cadmium is an impurity, but there is certainly the occasional addition of cadmium in the soil where these fertilizers are used. Copper is found in areas that have vineyards as it was previously used as an antifungal agent. Once cadmium, copper and other metallic materials are added to soil, there are few real prospects for them being dissipated.
Pesticides are another concern associated with farming. For example, organo-chlorine pesticides, that were banned long ago across Europe, still exist in soils, from their prior use.
Where Does Soil Contamination occur?
Around 2.5 million potentially contaminated sites exist all over Europe, which continues to need thorough investigation. From there it is projected that about 14% is contaminated and will require remediation. Over one-third of these contaminated sites have already been identified and almost half were cleaned up, but that still leaves a lot of contaminated land.
Exposure to Soil Contamination
There are many places people can experience exposure to soil contamination. Some bacteria found in contaminated soils are ingested, particularly when the soil is used for agriculture or in gardens. Contaminated dust can also be detrimental to our human health, and our supply of foods. Not only is contaminated soil harmful to human health, but to plants and animals as well, who also experience negative consequences from the pollutants found at a contaminated site.
Action to Reduce The Harm from Soil Contamination
It is important to wash vegetables well to prevent the accumulation of harmful contaminants in our bodies when their growth occurs. If you have grown food on contaminated soil there is the possibility of accumulation of toxic materials, such as lead, waste, chemicals, and other pollutants that we can gain exposure to through consumption of the grown produce.
It is important to test your soil if you think there might be possible contaminants. Fortunately, there are several ways to “fix” contaminated soil although first it needs to undergo screening in order to assure that your soil doesn’t contain pollutants whose accumulation in our bodies can have detrimental health consequences.
Through a drilling process, geophysicists gather discreet samples of groundwater from the soil, to examine the type of contamination that the soil may contain. Afterward, these samples undergo laboratory tests in the presence of specialized chemical compounds. This process generally follows the EPA standards and guidelines and is included in the category of service “Environmental Site Assessment.” Surface water can also be tested in this process, as often contaminants in the soil are naturally occurring at nearby water sources as well.
Soil Contaminated Sites
An example of a contaminated site is that of Bayview Hunter’s Point, in San Francisco, CA. The neighborhood was previously used as a shipyard for the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory (NRDL) from 1945-1974. During these years, “NRDL activities contaminated soil, dust, sediments, surface water and groundwater with petroleum fuels, pesticides, heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and radionuclides.” This has resulted in the soil at the site containing naturally occurring asbestos and metals, substances that have incredibly detrimental health consequences. Many of the residents have experienced serious and irreversible health issues over the years, and, given the demographic of the neighborhood as a predominantly low-income, neighborhood of color, this environmental issue is not only dangerous to the wildlife in the area, and the human residents, but it is an example of environmental racism as well.
The good news is that we can do something about this problem. Cleaning up contaminated sites and preventing further pollution are relatively easy tasks for humans to accomplish, but they will require a concerted effort on the part of many people in order to be successful. We must work together, as communities, towards cleaning up these toxic areas if we want our planet’s resources, human health, and animal populations to thrive.
Religion and Soil Contamination
Humanity is seen in the Abrahamic faiths and other traditions as coming from the soil. The Hebrew word for human, “Adam,” actually comes from the Hebrew word for soil, “Adamah.”
As Franciscan Priest Richard Rohr wrote: “Being human means acknowledging that we’re made from the earth and will return to the earth.” Let’s make sure we return to earth that is just as clean as we were made from!
* Featured image source
