According to enviromentalists, the major reasons for soil pollution include untreated domestic, industrial, commercial and hospital waste disposal, the careless use of chemical fertilizers, deforestation, unplanned urbanization and volcanism etc.
What do you do with your milk carton, water bottle or soda can when you’re finished with it? Do you toss it on the ground, throw it in the trash bin or recycle it? Trash is one of many ways that soil gets polluted here on Earth. Soil pollution is when there are changes in soil caused by the adding or dumping of harmful, unwanted materials, which are called pollutants.
In the case of contaminants, which occur naturally in soil, even when their levels are not high enough to pose a risk, soil pollution is still said to occur if the levels of the contaminants in soil exceed the levels that should naturally be present.
Some examples of pollutants include:
Trash, including plastic bags and bottles
Debris like cement and bricks
Metal from old cars or building materials
Hospital trash such as needles and bandages
Toxic chemicals like batteries, paints, insecticides, fertilizers and other chemicals
How Pollutants Get Into the Soil
Leakages in sewage systems, underground storage tanks and leaching of soluble substances from landfills can also result in contamination. Rainwater or floods from other polluted lands and water bodies spread contaminants to soils in other locations.
Farmers often use fertilizers that have chemicals in them to make food grow bigger and faster.
Improper disposal of paint, chemicals in batteries, household cleaners, car oils, gasoline and so forth can cause soil pollution.
Oil spills can put oil directly in the soil and in water that seeps into the soil.
Car accidents can cause oils and gasses to seep into the ground.
Causes of Soil Pollution
There are two main causes through which soil pollution is generated: anthropogenic (man-made) causes and natural causes.
Natural Causes: Natural processes can lead to an accumulation of toxic chemicals in the soil. This type of contamination has only been recorded in a few cases, such as the accumulation of higher levels of perchlorate in soil from the Atacama Desert in Chile, a type of accumulation that is purely due to natural processes in arid environments.
One example of natural causes leading to soil pollution is Acid Rains. This phenomenon occurs when the pollutants present in the air interact with the rain water and fall on land. The polluted water from such rainfall mixes with the groundwater thus making it unfit for human consumption.