Soil Pollution and Soil Remediation Techniques
In a general sense, soil pollution definition is the presence of toxic chemicals (pollutants or contaminants) in soil in high enough concentrations to be of risk to human health and/or ecosystem. Additionally, even when the levels of contaminants in soil are not of risk, soil pollution may occur simply due to the fact that the levels of the contaminants in soil exceed the levels that are naturally present in soil (in the case of contaminants which occur naturally in soil). Soil pollutants include a large variety of contaminants or chemicals (organic and inorganic), which could be both naturally occurring in soil and man-made. In both cases, the main soil pollution causes are the human activities (i.e., the accumulation of those chemicals in soil at levels of health risk is due to human activities such as accidental leaks and spills, dumping, manufacturing processes, etc.) 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 percent of India’s villages are exposed to residual pesticides risk Heavy metals beyond permissible limits affecting GW of 40 districts from 13 states. This is possible due to the complex soil environment involving the presence of other chemicals and natural conditions which may interact with the released pollutants Various causes for soil pollution are detailed below. Of these cases, sites are important causes of soil pollution in the urban area due to their almost ubiquitous nature. In general, any chemical handled at construction sites may pollute the soil. However, the higher risk comes from those chemicals that may travel easier through the air (as fine particulate matter) and which are resistant to degradation and bioaccumulate in living organisms. Enhancing functional capacities of various tiers Strategic interventions in critical areas Innovating funding mechanisms and PPP Building synergies for expediting decision making Community mobilization: awareness and education. While in situ remediation is more cost effective, the thoroughness of this method is less effective than the ex situ remediation. Ex situ remediation is less cost effective but is a more thorough remediation method. This paper will evaluate the benefits and costs of each technique
Published by: Md. Jalal Uddin, G. Aditya sagar, J. Jagdeeshwar
Author: Md. Jalal Uddin
Paper ID: V3I1-1312
Paper Status: published
Published: February 3, 2017
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