[April Thematic Report] Soil Pollution

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[April Thematic Report] Soil Pollution
by Pranav Gaba \| 30-04-2022 00:13 0
Soil, which is a constituent of the lithosphere, is a highly important element for the sustenance of life. It is that thin layer of material which covers the Earth's surface and is formed from the weathering of rocks. It consists of both biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) constituents. Soil can be of different types depending upon geography and other geographical factors. At this point of time at this age, however, the plethora of soil is extremely gloomy and depressing - just like other natural resources and natural wonders contaminated by the reckless activities of the homo sapien - the so-called most intelligent creature on Earth. This contamination of soil - adulteration of soil caused by reckless human activities is called soil pollution. Taking a look at the history of soil pollution, some people would assign it to the start of agriculture some 11,000 years ago, while others tie it to the advent of the nuclear era starting from 1945. But still the most accurate idea of the advent of soil pollution can be thought of the time when beginning of the industrial revolution took place - primarily 1780's to 1830's. Soil pollution is actually caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals present in the natural soil environment. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead and other heavy metals which get deposited in the soil by means of industrial activity and improper disposal of waste. Contamination is correlated to the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical substance. Not unexpectedly, soil contaminants can have significant deleterious consequences for ecosystems. Contaminants typically alter plant metabolism, often causing a reduction in crop yields. This has a secondary effect upon soil conservation, since the languishing crops cannot shield the Earth's soil from erosion. Also, heavy metals and other soil contaminants can adversely affect the activity and abundance of soil microorganisms, thereby threatening soil functions such as biochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen. Unsurprisingly, health consequences from exposure to soil contamination can vary greatly and have adverse health hazards. There is an entire spectrum of health effects such as headache, nausea, fatigue and skin problems for the above cited chemicals. Further, the process of cleaning up of contaminated soil is highly difficult and complex so the best bet that is left with the us is to become aware and take protective action. References:- 1. “Soil Contamination.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Apr. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_contamination.

Youth Pranav Gaba

3 Comments

Chelwoon Mentor says :
Hello Pranav, this is your mentor Chelwoon.

As you have mentioned in this article, the health consequences of exposure to soil contamination are quite varied, as the contaminants contained in the soil are also vary. How can we deal with these many types of contaminants? We need to deal with each of them in a way corresponding with the type of the sources, as one soil-remediation method cannot be used with all types of soil contaminants. Various types of soil-remediation methods remove different contaminants. However, it takes mostly a lot of time and money to restore the original quality of the soil. We must keep that in mind.

Thank you for the article!

Regards,
Chelwoon

Posted 04-05-2022 09:03

Joon Mentor says :
Hello Pranav, this is your mentor Joon.

I agree with the point of view that soil pollution mostly started since the beginning of the industrial revolution. Though human civilization developed a lot thanks to the inventions, we did not care about sustainable development. To make it more clear, we did not happen to know about our actions which caused damage to the environment. Yet, since we now all know the consequences of our actions, I believe it is time for us to move on to more mature attitude: to take responsibility in our action.

Well read your article, and let's keep up!

Best,

Joon
Posted 01-05-2022 00:17