Soil pollution and its effects , remedies.

2.  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 consists of
major components – 1.
Minerals matter – 45% ,
Organic Matter 5%, 3. Soil
water -25%, 4. Soil air -
25%.

3.  WHAT IS SOIL
POLLUTION ?
 Decrease in quality of soil
either due to
anthropogenic sources or
natural sources or by both
is called soil pollution or
soil degradation.
 Decreases in the quality of
soil is caused due to
accelerated rate of soil
micro – organisms, excess
or deficit of lack of moisture
content, high fluctuation of
temperature , lack of humus
content and input and
concentration of various
types of pollution.
Source :https://uploads-cironline-org.s3.amazonaws.com/uploaded/images/2014/10/soil-
pollution-photo/max_16_9/AP11081019667.jpg
Soil pollution in China
Source :https://spinningthegreenwheel.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/waste-
management-landfill-water-contamination.jpg
Soil pollution in India

4.  The main factors of soil pollution are
accelerated rate of soil erosion
consequent upon major land use
changes –
 Excessive use of Chemical fertilizers
,pesticides, insecticides and
herbicides.
 Polluted waste water from
industrial and urban areas.
 A few micro organisms.
 Forest fire.
 Dumping of urban and industrial
solid wastes.
 Water logging and related capillary
process.
 Leaching process.
 Drought.

5.  >125 major contaminated sites across the country.
 175 million hectare (out of 329 million ha) are
considered degraded.
 > 40 % of chemical fertilizers leached into soil .
 14 States are affected by Fluoride contamination .
 > 65 per cent of India’s villages are exposed to
residual pesticides risk .
 Heavy metals beyond permissible limits affecting
GW of 40 districts from 13 states .

6.  Soil pollution has been one of the side effects of three decades of breakneck
economic expansion in China, raising concerns over food security and people's
health in the world's most populous nation.
 Soil pollution is not only affecting the health and well-being of Chinese citizens, it
is also putting the nation's food security at risk. A Chinese government report
released in April last year said that 16.1 percent of the country's soil was
polluted.
 The figure for contaminated farmland is even higher, 19.4 percent. The main
contaminants are heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, nickel and arsenic, among
others.
 Hunan rice caused a major scandal in the year 2013. In Guangzhou, a city of 12
million near Hunan, almost half the rice tested was found to be tainted with
cadmium.
 In February 2013, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) finally
admitted that "cancer villages" existed in China. The china dialogue report cites
the estimates of some civil society groups which put the number of such villages
at around 450, and that the figure is on the rise.
 This view is shared by Greenpeace campaigner Miao, who argues that
treating one million hectares of polluted soil will cost at least 140
billion Yuan (22.6 billion USD).

7.  200 years of industrialization have left their marks in Europe.
 More than 2.5 million sites among 38 European countries are
potentially contaminated, and 342,000 sites have been identified as
contaminated sites (European Commission, 2013).
 About 35% of the land area of Poland is acidified (FAO, 2000).
 Local soil contamination as result of waste disposal potentially affects
more than 300 sites in Germany (LABO, 2012). Hazardous waste has
already been found at more than 14 sites, and about 27 sites have been
remediated.
 The management of contaminated sites costs Europeans an estimated 6
billion Euros annually (European Commission, 2013).
 The number of recorded polluted sites across Europe is expected to
increase by 50% by 2025 (European Environment Agency, 2012).

8. Heavy metal content in European soils (Lado et al. 2008).

9. Distribution of
contaminants
affecting soil in
Europe
(BTEX: benzene,
toluene,
ethylbenzene, and
xylenes; CHC:
chlorinated
hydrocarbon; PAH:
polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbon;
European
Commission, 2013).

11. 1. Physical Agents / Sources .
2. Biological Agents / Sources .
3. Air Born Sources .
4. Biocides And Chemical Fertilizers .
5. Urban And Industrial Sources .
6. Oil Pollution.
7. Heavy Metal Pollution.
8. Petroleum And Its Derivatives.

12.  Physical source of
soil pollution is
related to soil erosion
and consequent soil
degradation caused
by natural and
anthropogenic factors
( Rapid rate of
deforestation, and
Agricultural practice
).

13.  Biological sources of soil
pollution include those micro –
organisms and unwanted plants
which degrade the quality and
therefore fertility of the soil also
decrease.
 The biological agents of soil
pollution are grouped in 4 major
categories –
 Pathogenic micro - organisms
excreted by human beings.
 Pathogenic micro - organisms
excreted by domestic animals.
 Pathogenic micro - organisms
already present in the soil .
 Enteric bacteria and protozoa.

14.  Air – born of soil pollutants are air
pollutants which are released into the
atmosphere by the “human
volcanoes“, auto mobiles , thermal
power plants , vehicles.
 EFFECTS :
 Sulphur emitted from factories causes
ASID RAIN increases the acidity of the
soil.
 Sulphur dioxide emitted from the
factories of U.K and Germany has
been responsible for widespread acid
rain in Scandinavian countries
(Norway, Sweden, Finland) which
decreases the soil pH and damages the
forests.
 Chlorine nitrogen oxide emitted from
the factories combine with the water
and pollute the soils by altering the
chemical composition.
 Numerous mica chips may be seen
strewn all over the agricultural fields
in the vincity of Kodarma mica belt of
Jharkhand .
 Magnetite dusts when mixed with soil
causes marked rise in the soil pH.

15.  Excessive use of
agricultural fertilizers and
pesticides, antibiotics and
hormones in livestock and
irrigating farms to boost
agricultural production
causes alteration in the
chemical fertilizers act as
inorganic plant nutrients.
This contaminated soil and
waste waters are
agricultural factors
affecting soil pollution.

17. Source : http://news.agropages.com/
UserFiles/FCKFile/zkc_2013-09-30_11-31-03_585.jpg

19. Source
:http://krishijagran.com/media(MediaArchive:70ac
4c1c-a490-4f2e-a215-8f334de41332)

22.  Biocides reach the food chain in toxin
forms .
 Toxins are not decomposed easily
and will remain in soil for many
years.
 Cancer, nervous, respiratory and skin
diseases are of the long-term effects of
pesticides on human.
 Chemical fertilizers harden soils.
Chemical pesticides create soil
pollution as well.
 A Number of pests especially insects
are strengthened against consumable
pesticides.
 Organic phosphate compounds
malathoins.
 Chlorinated hydrocarbones like DDT,
Dieldrin, Aldrin all this pesticides
may persists in the soil for 20 to 25
years and thus reach the food chain
through the plants.
•Arsenic containing pestisides reach the soil and are
transported to plants and thus to food grains this
causes gastric and digestive problem humans.
•Sodium Fluoroaccetates also enter in the food chain
by this process.

24. Source :
http://www.apnapatiala.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/04/cancer.jpg
The news reports claimed the uranium levels were more than 60 times the maximum
safe limit. In 2012, the Government of India confirmed that the ground water in Malwa
belt of Punjab has uranium metal that is 50% above the trace limits set by the United
Nations' World Health Organization.

25. Source :http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100326/ind3.jpg
Indian `Cancer Express' Carries
Toxic Water and Soil Victims from

26.  Industrial Wastes: Indiscriminate
dumping of untreated or inadequately
treated domestic, mining and industrial
wastes on and is an important source of
soil pollution.
 Plastics : Plastics form a major part of
global domestic and industrial waste.
Photodegradable plastic contains an
element sensitive to UV rays. Under the
effect of solar rays the element is activated
and breaks the polymeric chain of the
photodegradable plastic. It results in small
fragments that are easily digested by
microbes.
 Urban Wastes : The inadequately treated
or untreated sewage sludge not only poses
serious health hazards but also pollutes
soil and decreases its fertility and
productivity. Other waste materials such
as rubbish, used plastic bag, garbage
sludge, dead animals, hospital wastes,
skins, types shoes etc. cause land and soil
pollution. Suspended matter present in
sewage can act as a blanket on the soil and
interfere with its productivity.

27.  Pollution of Underground Soil
 Underground soil in cities is likely to be polluted by -
 Chemicals released by industrial wastes and industrial wastes.
 Decomposed and partially decomposed materials of sanitary wastes.
 EFFECTS:
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.

28.  It is for a long time that oil materials and its derivatives
cause soil pollution as a result of transportation or
storage.
 soil pollution can be observed by oil hydrocarbon
materials vastly around exploration and refining.
 installations typically via transfer of these materials.
 If more oil materials are penetrated into the more depth
of soil, removing its pollution is a difficult task and will
cost dearly.
 Pollutions caused by oil leakage from oil transmission
pipelines in southern Tehran have been reported as
one of the soil pollutants in Tehran.

29.  Heavy metals include all metals
with atomic numbers greater than
23 (with few exceptions) or more
than 5 gm per ml. (eg. Hg, 70 gm
ml-1). Heavy metals are
hazardous, not acceptable to
biological system. They are toxic
to man and other life forms. Most
of them are slow poisons as they
accumulate in the body and cause
serious disorders.
 The unique physical, chemical
and toxic properties of heavy
metals have promoted their wide
use in industrial processes and as
biocides (fungicide and
herbicide).
 Soil is a living resource, but once
contamination exceeds a certain
threshold, the soil may be
considered ‘functionally dead’.
Pollution by heavy metals and
many organic contaminants is
practically irreversible (European
Commission, 2012).

30.  Cadmium, took place in Romania where two tailings dam failures
(January and March 2000) resulted in the release of 200,000 m3 of
contaminated water and 40,000 tonnes of tailings into tributaries of the
Tisa River.
 A study by the British Geological Survey in 2005 on garden soils near a
mine in the neighboring county of Devon did find that growing certain
vegetables posed a health risk because of soil contamination of soil by
arsenic . In particular, beetroot, celery, tomato and lettuce accumulated
higher levels of arsenic (Klinck et al, 2005).
 Recent research (Bellanger et al, 2013) has estimated that 1.5 to 2 million
children in the EU are born with methylmercury exposures far above
the safe limit of 0.58 μg/g, and further 200,000 above the WHO
recommended maximum of 2.5 μg/g. However, not every child in Europe
is equally at risk.
 Reducing mercury pollution and cutting prenatal exposure to
methylmercury could save the EU between €8 billion and €9 billion per
year, the study suggests.

31. S.No. Heavy metal
(forms)
Source Effect
1. Mercury: Methyl mercury fungicides, electrical and electronic
industries, PVC, plastics, paints.
Irreversible neurological
damage in man,
Minamoto disease .
2. Lead Automobile exhaust of leaded petrol (50%), Batteries,
Pipes, Soldiering.
Cause mutation in algae
and bacteria, blackening
in fish, gradual paralysis
in man.
3. Arsenic Herbicide, fungicide, wood
preservative – Agro chemicals (70%), industrial
chemicals – paints, bullets (20%), glass and glass
wares (5%).
Accumulate in hair, nail,
skin lesions, act as
oxidative uncoupler,
cause damage to kidney,
respiratory tract and
nervous disorders.

32. S.No. Heavy metal
(forms)
Source Effect
4. Chromium Tanneries, electroplating and metal finishing
processes, Khaki dyeing in textiles.
Toxic to aquatic organisms,
absorbed through intestinal
tract in man.
5. Cadmium Pigment and stabilizer for PVC, plastics, tires,
rechargeable cells, electroplating, coal, oil and
phosphate rocks.
Bones become brittle – Itai itai
disease in Japan, gastro enteric
distress and pain.
6. Dioxin Human exposure to dioxin and
dioxin-like substances occurs
mainly through consumption
of contaminated food. More
than 90% of human exposure is
through food, mainly meat and
dairy products, fish and shellfish
Dioxins are highly toxic and
can cause reproductive
and developmental problems,
damage the immune
system, interfere with
hormones and also cause
cancer.

33.  It is expected the production of 95 million barrels of petroleum per day in
order to meet the growing worldwide demand of this resource. Crude
petroleum is a complex mixture constituted, mainly, by hydrocarbons,
organic sulphur compounds, nitrogen and oxygen . Among the petroleum
derivatives, the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) have a
prominent role.
 Effects :
 Studies on the toxicity of petroleum have shown that some species present
higher sensitivity to these contaminants. Survival of earthworms (Eisenia
andrei and E. fetida) and enchytraeids (Enchytraeus crypticus) can be reduced
in soil containing crude petroleum while the abundance of Isopoda and
Hymenoptera in areas contaminated with complex mixtures derived from
refineries can be higher in relation to uncontaminated areas .
 It is known that terrestrial invertebrates do not have the ability to metabolize
aromatic compounds, with exception of some species that have
microorganisms associated to the intestine, which implies in a broader
problem, since it generates the bioaccumulation in the organism, enhancing
the possibility of contaminating their predators via the food chain.

36.  Bureau to Study Water and Soil Pollution of the Department of the
Environment (DoE), removal of soil pollution is usually carried out by
two methods:
1.Inside the site-
a) Air sparing .
b) Biopile treatment.
c) Land Farming .
d) Phytoremediation .
e) Bioremediation .
2.Outside the site –
a) Soil washing .
 Other methods for controlling soil pollution- Soil conservation
(Biological methods ,Mechanical methods ), Amelioration of Saline and
Alkali Soil , Sustainable Agriculture , Controlling Pollutions Caused by
Waste in soil, Controlling Pollution Caused by Industrial Activities in
Soil, Soil Pollution Control Technique Caused by Lead Existing in It,
Application of Genetic Engineering to Improve Phytoremediation.

37.  Air sparging is an in situ remedial
technology that reduces concentrations of
volatile constituents in petroleum products.
 It involves the injection of contaminant-free
air into the subsurface saturated zone,
enabling a phase transfer of hydrocarbons
from a dissolved state to a vapor phase. The
air is then vented through the unsaturated
zone.
 Soil washing is a water-based process for
scrubbing soils ex situ to remove
contaminants. The process removes
contaminants from soils in one of the
following two ways:
 • By dissolving or suspending them in
the wash solution (which can be
sustained by chemical manipulation of
pH for a period of time).
 • By concentrating them into a smaller
volume of soil through particle size
separation, gravity .

38.  Biopile treatment is a technology in
which excavated soils are mixed with soil
amendments and placed on a treatment
area that includes leach ate collection
systems and some form of aeration. It is
used to reduce concentrations of
petroleum constituents in excavated soils
through the use of biodegradation.
Moisture, heat, nutrients, oxygen, and
pH can be controlled to enhance
biodegradation.
 Land Farming is a bioremediation
treatment process that is performed in
the upper soil zone or in biotreatment
cells. Contaminated soils, sediments, or
sludges are incorporated into the soil
surface and periodically turned over
(tilled) to aerate the mixture. This
technique has been successfully used for
years in the management and disposal of
oily sludge and other petroleum refinery
wastes.

39.  Phytoremediation is a cost-effective, environmental and scientific
technique which is suitable for developing countries and is considered as
a valuable business.. Through the use of Green Plants Engineering like
herbaceous and woody species, phytoremediation is used for removing
pollutants from water and soil or decreasing risks of environmental
pollutants like heavy metals, rare elements, organic compounds and
radioactive materials.
 This method is applied especially for industrial wastewater treatment
plants, agricultural runoff and/or wastewater of acid mines and is
suitable for the metals like lead, cadmium, copper, nickel, zinc and
chrome. The plants like Indian mustard, sunflower, tobacco, rye and
corn enjoy this capability. These plants enjoy high capability of
absorbing lead from the sewage system, based on which, sunflower
has the highest capability of absorbing lead from the sewage than
other plants.

41.  Bioremediation is a waste
management technique that
involves the use of organisms to
remove or neutralize pollutants
from a contaminated
site. According to the EPA,
bioremediation is a “treatment
that uses naturally occurring
organisms to break down
hazardous substances into less
toxic or non toxic substances”.
Technologies can be generally
classified as in situ or ex situ. In
situ bioremediation involves
treating the contaminated
material at the site, while ex
situ involves the removal of the
contaminated material to be
treated elsewhere. Some examples
of bioremediation related
technologies are -
 Phytoremediation, bioventing, bi
oleaching, landfarming,bioreactor
, composting, bioaugmentation, r
hizofiltration, and biostimulation.

42. Before bioremediation of oily
sludge
After two months of bioremediation of
oily sludge

43. TECHNOLOGY ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Solidification/ stabilizatio - The
process of
solidification/stabilization, also
known as immobilization, modifies
the physico-chemical
characteristics of the residue to
contain the contaminants. Metals
are commonly remediated by
solidification ex situ by
encapsulation and sometimes
complexationn .
• Simple design
• Cost-effective
• Large soil volume can be treated
• Very recommended for metals
• Does not promote the treatment
of the contaminant, promotes only
immobilization
• Short-lived
• Dependent on the soil
characteristics and homogeneity of
the mixture
• Process hindered by the depth of
the contaminant
Advanced Oxidative Processes
(AOP) The oxidizing power of
Fenton’s reagent (H2O2/Fe2+) is
attributed to the hydroxyl radicals
resulted from the catalytic
decomposition of hydrogen
peroxide in acid medium, whose
general reaction is represented by:
Fe2++ H2O2-> Fe3++ OH-
+ *OHFe2++ H2O2-> Fe3++ OH-
+ *OH.
• Cost-effective
• Mineralization capacity
• Recommended for soils with
high permeability
• Different reagents may be
employed
• Mass transfer of the adsorbed
phase to the aqueous phase
• Risk of aquifer contamination by
not recovered solvent
• Limitations for large-scale
application (ex-situtreatment)
• The use of strong acids causes
destruction of the basic structure
of the soil

44. TECHNOLOGY ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Thermal desorption or extraction
with supercritical CO2
• High efficiency for volatile
compounds
• Soil aeration can facilitate the
bioremediation process
• Rapid process
• Low environmental impact
• Low efficiency for soils with low
permeability
• Not recommended in saturated
areas
• Treatment of the released vapors
is required
Incineration
• High efficiency
• Rapid process
• Compounds mineralization
• May be used where other
processes are not effective
• High cost
• Release of secondary
compounds to the atmosphere
• Periodic and rigorous
monitoring are required
• In situ treatment is not possible
Adsorption with
(clayaluminium oxide)
• Cost-effective
• Simple design
• Can be combined with other
techniques
• Soil exchange is required
• Limited by buffer capacity of the
soil
• Selectivity for specific ions
Electro kinetic
• High efficiency
• In situ treatment
• May be combined with
bioremediation techniques
• Treatment time depends on the
distance between the electrodes
• pH change in areas near the
electrode
• Cost depends on the
contaminant concentration and
soil
• Lower efficiency in soils with
low permeability

45.  To control soil pollution caused by the Waste, the following
techniques are recommended:
 1. Application of effective technology for dumping waste like
compressing and covering of openings and holes.
 2. Dumping waste higher than the highest underground water levels.
 3. Creating impenetrable layers in building of land fields.
 4. Creating drainage system for the collection of leachates.
 5. Using the gases produced in land fields.
 There are three main methods for soil decontamination from Industrial
Wastes as follows:
 1. Soil can be excavated up to the specified depth and the excavated soil
can be taken away from the region and then it can be restored.
 2.The soil can be restored at the same area.
 3.Keeping soil in the area is the other method. Under such
circumstances, auxiliaries are added to the soil to prevent spread of
infection to the plants, animals and human.

46.  Soil Pollution Control Technique Caused by Lead Existing
in It -
 Fungi are used to fight lead existing in soil, because,
satisfactory and good reports have been received both in
coexistence among plants and fungi like ARBASCULAR –
MYCORRIZA FUNGI (AMF) in absorption of the lead.
Creating colony of this fungus on the root of plants will
cause increase of root level for absorption of the lead which
results in more absorption of the lead element to the host
plant. These reports indicate that these fungi help plants
survive and tolerate pollution better. The researchers
consider this tolerance as a result of protection of their roots
by the fungi in soil.