The issue I will rise in this article is related to the shrinkage of Aral Sea, located in the Central Asia. This shrinkage has cause big volumes of soil pollution to the air and has caused many problems to humanity as well as animal kingdom. 

First, let me explain what the soil pollution is. It is defined as the presence of toxic chemicals in soil. The high concentrations of pollutants in the soil pose a risk to human health. There are 2 major roots of soil pollution: man-made and natural causes. 

Main-made or anthropogenic pollutants usually due to the improper disposal of waste from industrial or urban sources, and agricultural pesticides. The second type of pollutants are natural. As the name suggests, this cause usually occurs when higher levels of perchlorate in soil is accumulated. There are some rare causes for natural pollutants. For example, in the Atacama Desert in Chile, the accumulation is purely due to processes in arid environments. 

So what?! What happens during soil pollination? Soil pollution may lead to different health problems including headaches, nausea, and eye irrigation. In some serious cases, blockage, kidney, and liver damage are likely to take place. Surely, age and exposure to soil plays a considerable role in toxication. Generally, children are more susceptible to exposure to contaminants, and thus highly likely to get affected. 

Coming back to the Aral Sea problem, the sea has been shrinking since 1960 due to irrigation projects of Soviet Union. By 2009, the sea had literally disappeared in some parts. For more information, you can refer to the famous blogger’s video called “Nas Daily – why did this sea vanish and turn into a desert”. Now, the sea is considered an ecosystem collapse. The main cause to the issue is largely due to drastically higher salinity. Inhabitants living in the neighborhood areas usually suffer from a lack of fresh water and health issues. High rates of some types of cancer and lung disease, as well as respiratory illnesses are common among them. This, in turn, led to an uncommon high fatality rate among vulnerable age groups. Child mortality showed 3 out of 4 children in 2009, while maternity death stood at 12 in every 1000.  Regarding agriculture in the region, its output had decreased by 30-50% owing to soil salinity. 

In conclusion, soil pollution can lead to drastic problems related to our environment, health, vegetation and animal life. We should consider mitigating solutions to the problem and raise awareness about it. 

References:

-       "Aral Sea - Aral Sea". Archived from the original on 16 March 2009.

-       https://wydawnictwo.up.lublin.pl/e-ksiazka

-       https://www.caee.utexas.edu/prof/mckinney/ce385d/papers/atanizaova_wwf3.pdf

-       https://www.environmentalpollutioncenters.org/soil/