Causes of Soil Contamination

Introduction

Soil pollution or the soil contamination is caused by human made chemical or natural disaster, where it damages natural spoil environment. It is mainly caused by the human made pollution for chemicals contamination which destroys the quality soil. Contamination land is defined as the land with hazardous substances which have diverse impacts on the environment and the human health as soil contamination leads to poor quality ground water and agricultural products. The aim of the study is to analyse and develop critical evaluation of ground pollution where solid contamination is harmful for the social communities across the globe. The study provides a scope to understand the causes of soil contamination as well as review the impacts of soil contamination on the environment and human health. The study is also effective to evaluate the strategies of the government and policies documents to tackle the issue of ground pollution so that it would be possible for the government and the social communities to manage the quality of soil and reduce the percentage of contaminated land.

Soil pollution

Soil contamination is mainly destruction of land due to natural disaster and human activities which deteriorates the quality of ground. This is a serious concern of the government and the policy maker across the international countries where it is necessary to develop proper strategic planning to tackle the issue of ground pollution. Due to presence of lead and arsenic and other chemicals, the human health is hampered where it affects the wellbeing of the individuals negatively. The main process of triggering the natural release of arsenic is ground water, reductive desertion, alkali dissolution and sulphide oxidation and geothermal activity (Shakoor et al., 2016).

As per the findings, there is increasing parentage of land contaminated across the globe were approximately 140 million individuals at least 70 countries are affected due to arsenic in water (Cycoń, Mrozik and Piotrowska-Seget, 2017). The numbers of people, drinking arsenic through consumption of ground water is also increasing where it is a serious risk factor for the human health as arsenic has adverse impacts on the health. The risk is increasing with arsenic concentration and earlier age of exposure of potential and contaminations of solid and affects the environment negatively (Cycoń, Mrozik and Piotrowska-Seget, 2017). The data shows that the soil contaminations are rising rapidly, but the tactics of soil remediation is less for which there is high percentage of soil which are contaminated. Arsenic can be found in soil and water, from which it can be found in the food chain which hampers the health condition of the human being (Ettler, 2016). In the recent era of globalisation, there are many people, who are suffering from consuming arsenic through ground water and this has harmful impacts on the people (Ettler, 2016). It is increasing over the international counties and needs to be managed well, so that soil pollution can be mitigated and it would be possible to protect the human being. Hence ground pollution is defined as building up in solid of persistent toxic compound, chemicals, salt and radioactive materials which have adverse effects on plant growth and animal health. Direct addition of manmade or xenobiotic chemicals such as industrial waste, agricultural runoff waste and acidic precipitates cause ground pollution. There are different types of ground pollution which are agricultural, soil pollution through industrial effluents and solid waste and pollution due to urban activities as well as there are natural disaster for which the soil can be contaminated such as acid rain and others.

Causes of ground pollution

There are several causes of soil pollution which are seepage from a landfill, solid waste seepage, deforestation, soil erosion, and excess application of pesticides, herbicides and fertiliser, rupture of underground storage tanks, percolation of contamination water into the soil, discharge of industrial waste into the soil, oil spill and micro plastics, acid rain, underground storage tanks and mining, industrial accidents and chemical agents, surface water and ground water and electronic waste and illegal dumping. The above mentioned causes are the major activities for which soil contamination is increasing across the international countries. The most common chemical involved are solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, lead, pesticides and arsenic as well as other heavy materials. In this regard, the presence of arsenic in ground water is one of the risky factors that hamper the health condition of the human being (Cachada, Rocha-Santos and Duarte, 2018). Soil degradation including erosion and compaction as well as coal ashes, ore smelting and industrial discharges affect soil adversely which in turn deteriorate the quality of ground and break the ecological chain. Pesticides and fertiliser are also common cause of ground contamination where the farmers use heavy chemicals which soil the quality of land. Fungicides are the first insecticides used in the ninetieth century which is inorganic such as compounds of arsenic and Paris green.

Effects of ground pollution on public health

There are several negative impacts of ground contamination which break the ecological chain as well as affect the human heath negatively (Sarwar et al., 2017). It is necessary to identify the effects of soil contamination and develop further strategic planning for reducing the percentage of contaminated land across the international countries around the globe. The major effects are such as physical injury, gastrointestinal disturbances, respiratory tract effects, cardio-vascular effects, central nervous system effects, skin ailments as well as effects on organs and deteriorating the functions of liver or kidneys. There are adverse impacts of soil contamination, where due to such contaminated land and the physical health can be deteriorated. The liver and kidney functions may be disrupted. Respiratory tract has been affected for such land pollution as well as it also affects the central nervous system, skin, gastrointestinal disturbances and affects other organs. There is a high percentage of people consuming ground water across the globe, where they break the food chain and consumer arsenic through water, which raise the health issues as soil contamination affects the ground water and crops negatively. Rice crop and baby food are also contaminated though soil pollution and it decreases the food security and increase the change of toxic crop (Bolisetty et al., 2017). Over 70 million people across the globe consume ground water, where they are affected for consumption of arsenic through water and this further has serious health issues which may deteriorate the wellbeing of the individuals as ground water is contaminated due to soil pollution. The major causes of ground water pollution are such as landfills leach ate, hydraulic fracturing, commercial and industrial leaks, fertilisers and pesticides, sewage sledges and natural occurring. The major impacts on the human health are due to the presence of arsenic in the ground water as soil pollution affects the ground water. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), arsenic contamination is the most serious issue worldwide mainly for consuming arsenic through groundwater. There are also other impacts of soil contamination as it affects the ecosystem. It raises consequences of managing ecosystem due to soil contamination and for which it further deteriorates the mortality rate of the human being.

The major sources of soil contamination are material waste, industrial activities, acid rain and contaminated water. The pathways are air, water, soil and food chain and the receptors are human being, infrastructure, ecosystem, animals and plants, which are affected for such soil pollution. Oil pollution and misuse of natural resources break the ecosystem where the individuals and animals are suffering from soil contamination. The food chain is also damaged and its quality has been deteriorated for the issue of soil contamination. Due to soil contamination, the major issue is related to arsenic contamination, where across the globe, the arsenic patients are subject to discrimination, where the children are excluded from education, marriage or forced divorce and the mortality rate of the children is decreasing due to such issue as well as it hampers the cognitive development of the children (Khan et al., 2017). From the ground water as well as high usage of agricultural field and chemicals, further raise the issue of soil contamination in the society for which the percentage of land pollution is increasing year by year.

Strategies and policies to tackle ground pollution

Quick follow up testing and rapid survey is essential across the social communities to mitigate the consumption of water having arsenic which will improve the public health. In addition to this, the practice of blanket testing and marking the safe water points enable the people to improve their health condition by safe consumption of water, leading to long term investment in developing national water surveillance system. Hereby, the health promotional activities are advantageous for the society to improve the practice of managing quality soil and raise awareness among the communities for safe drinking water for maximising people’s wellbeing. It is the responsibility of the health professionals and the health care organisations such as WHO and PHE to raise awareness and contribute positively to protect the individuals from the harmful effects of arsenic and soil contamination (Podgorski et al., 2017). Continuous survey and cooperation with the people is also mandatory to take care of the issue of soil contamination. The health promotional campaign is effective to project the environment and maintain the natural resources of earth (Shakoor et al., 2016). The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in the UK take effective measures to mange soil contamination where toxic chemicals disposal is managed well to manage the quality of land. On the other hand, the Environment Agency (EA) in March 2002 introduced CLEA model to protect land from contamination as well as rise testing of ground water for providing arsenic free safe drinking water (Barbieri, 2016).

There are different strategic practice and the legislations through which the government and the environmental agenise aim at managing soil contamination for better management of ecosystem, and protect the human being from arsenic diseases and other health issues. Soil contamination management is mandatory where the agencies try to manage pollution and take corrective actions for managing soil pollution (Shakoor et al., 2016). The Public Health England (PHE) and WHO according with the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR) are cooperating with each other to control soil pollution and mitigate the harmful impacts of arsenic in soil and water. Though the Environmental Protection Act 1990, it is possible to manage soil pollution and secure the natural resources for long run where the individuals try to follow the rules and reduce misuse of environmental natural resources (Redovniković et al., 2017). The human made activities need to be protected by the authority of environment so that the individuals become concern about misuse of soil and protect its quality. PHE took initiatives to protect the wellbeing of the individuals by providing equal opportunity to access the treatment and quality care to mitigate their health problems and lead a normal life like others. On the other hand, the EPR is also efficient to manage the ecological chain and improve the sustainable activities in the environment so that the quality of land can be managed well. In this regard, the legislations such as Environmental Protection Act 1990 are also beneficial for investigating the contaminated land and providing effective solutions for the individuals to reduce the contaminated land in the society (Cachada, Rocha-Santos and Duarte, 2018). Additionally, Drinking Water Directive 2020 in the UK is also effective legislations for regulating the water consumption and improves the wellbeing of the human being across the country by suggesting them to consume arsenic free water.

There are certain method, through which EPR another agencies try to reduce the contaminated land and the presence of chemicals in soil and ground water. Reducing chemical fertiliser and pesticides is one of the effective initiatives to protect natural ecological chain. Recycling is also another way to control and reduce soil contamination and manage wastage further, recycling the papers, plastics and other materials are useful for reducing the percentage of contaminated land and it further helps to improve environmental sustainability. In addition to his, refusing the martial for landfills and managing waste as well as reforestation is mandatory to protect the quality of land (Więcław and Sadlik, 2019). The chemicals for fertiliser should be minimised as well as the disposable chemicals must be managed properly by the industrialist to avoid ground pollution. People must be educated about the ground pollution and managing the environmental sustainability which raise awareness among the individuals to protect the natural resources as well as improve the ecological chain for further improvement of their wellbeing. It is the responsibility of the individual to plant more trees across the globe to protect the natural resources and improve environmental sustainability (Unicef, 2018).

Health promotional activities are playing crucial role in this regard to manage the ground pollution by raising concern among the individuals around the globe to improve public health. PHE develops health promotional campaign to aware the people in the earth and influence them to provide positive environmental footprint by acting sustainably in the society. Food Standard Agency (FSA) takes active role for managing the quality of the vegetables and fruits through reducing the activities of chemical fertilisers and pesticides which further influence the people to stay safe and consume healthy food (Barbafieri et al., 2017). In addition to this, guidelines of WHO to drink safe water is an effective initiative to protect the individuals in the society. The people must follow the guidelines and stay healthy life further. On the other hand, National framework for safe drinking water can be considered as arsenic mitigation campaign. Arsenic mitigating campaign is also another crucial health promotional campaign, where the individuals can understand the effects of arsenic water on their health, and it further influence the people to consume arsenic fee water and safe their livelihood (Ayangbenro and Babalola, 2017). On the other hand, the EPR and other environmental protection agencies try to be collaborative and develop the practice of field testing and laboratory testing which are also beneficial to reduce the soil pollution across the globe and protect the people (Vinogradov, Bryukhan and Kuchmin, 2018).

Conclusion

As per the above discussion, the children are the most vulnerable of this issue of soil contamination and ground water consumption, where they are suffering a lot due to soil pollution, dirt, and consumption of ground water, mainly in village areas around the globe. It is essential for the government and the authority of environmental protection to take corrective initiative immediately for successful soil test and investigation through survey and interview, so that it would be possible to reduce the issue of soil contamination. It becomes a challenge for the social communities to manage ground pollution, where use of chemicals in the land, mining, industrialisation, agricultural use of land and oil spill further raise the issue of ground pollution and it has adverse effects on the health and wellbeing of the people across the social communities and also break the ecological system on the earth.

It is hereby necessary to implement the legislations of soil pollution and develop proper strategy so that EPR can intervene properly and raise awareness about soil protection and reforestation. Moreover, through reducing the consumption of waiter having arsenic and raising awareness among the social communities through safe drinking water campaign are also essential to manage the issue and reduce the soil contamination. Communicating with local authorities is also mandatory for tackling the issue during the construction sites. Continuous testing of soil as well as intra cellular transformation, maintaining hygienic factors, growing vegetables through utilising imported soil, removal of arsenic from the water are major steps, which would be effective to mitigate the issue of soil contamination and improve public health. Apart from that, the practice of organic firming and the effective management of agricultural land are also important to reduce ground pollution and ensure public safety. It is also essential to take corrective actions for agriculture, so that the land can be utilised fairly. The government implements the land legislations and rules for pesticides and fertiliser so that the soil pollution can be mitigated well.

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