LAND POLLUTION

What is land pollution? Land pollution is the destruction of the

earth’s land surface, often directly or

indirectly as a result of man’s activities

and their misuse of land resources

It occurs when waste is not disposed off

properly, or can occur when humans

throw chemicals into the soil in the form

of pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers

during agricultural practices.

Exploitation of minerals (mining

activities) has also contributed to the

destruction of the earth’s surface.

CAUSES OF LAND

POLLUTION

Solid Waste: These include all the various kinds of

rubbish we make at home, school,

hospitals, market and work places.

Things like paper, plastic containers,

bottles, cans, food and even used cars

and broken electronic goods, broken

furniture and hospital waste are all

examples of solid waste. Some of these

are biodegradable

Because these do not easily decay,

they pile up in landfills (a place where

all the city’s rubbish are sent), where

they stay for thousands of years.

These bring great harm to the land and

people around it.

Agricultural sources:

These include waste matter produced by crop, animal manure, and farm

residues. They also include the chemical left over of all pesticides, fertilisers

and insecticides used for agricultural activities.

Many farming activities engage in the application of fertilizers, pesticides

and insecticides for higher crop yield.

This is good because we get more food, but can you think of what happens

to the chemicals that end up on the crops and soils? Sometimes, insects

and small animals are killed and bigger animals that eat tiny animals (as in

food chains) are also harmed.

Finally, the chemicals may be washed down as it rains and over time, they

end up in the water table.

Chemicals:

Chemical and nuclear power plants produce waste materials that

have to be stored somewhere.

Fertilizer, insecticides, pesticides, pharmaceuticals manufacturers

also produce lots of solid and liquid waste.

In many cases they are stored in an environmentally safe way, but

there are some that find their way into landfills and other less safe

storage facilities.

Sometimes they also find their way into leaking pipes and gutters.

They end up polluting soils and making crops harmful to our

health.

Deforestation: This is when trees are cut down for economic purposes, mining, farming

and construction. In forests areas, trees absorb and reflect about 20% of

the intense heat from the sun, protecting and preserving its surface soils.

Cutting down trees mean that the land is exposed to direct sunlight and

rain, resulting in soil erosions, desertification and land degradation

Trees absorb carbon dioxide (a green house gas) from the air and enrich

the air with Oxygen, which is needed for life.

Trees also, help replenish soils and help retain nutrients being washed

away.

This is a major cause of land pollution.

MINING & INDUSTRIES:

Mining and forestry activities that clear the land surfaces (clear-cutting)

and use 'skid trails' often leave the land unrestored.

The surface is exposed to erosion which destroys the quality of the land.

Additionally, iron and other chemicals such as copper, mercury and lead

from mining practices leach into the soil, polluting it and leaving it exposed

to water bodies as well.

These also include paints, chemicals, metals and aluminium, plastics and so

on that are produced in the process of manufacturing goods.

Effects of land pollution.

Contaminated lands and

environments can:

Cause problems in the human respiratory system.

Cause problems on the skin.

Cause various kinds of cancers.

There can be catastrophic consequences of land pollution in relation to humans, animals, water and soils. The effects are even worse if the garbage is not separated into organic, re-usable and recyclable waste.

The toxic materials that pollute the soil can

get into the human body directly by:

Coming into contact with the skin.

Being washed into water sources like reservoirs and rivers.

Eating fruits and vegetables that have been grown in polluted soil.

Breathing in polluted dust or particles.

Dump sites and landfills also come with

serious problems like

Very bad smell and odour in the town.

Landfills breed rodents like rats, mice and insects, who in-turn

transmit diseases.

Landfills in towns do not attract tourists to the town. The town will loose revenue.

Many landfills are always burning and they cause further air

pollution.

SOIL CONTAMINATION

What is soil contamination?

Soil contamination, degradation and pollution mean different things even

though we often use these terms to mean one thing. Here is the difference:

Soil pollution is when humans introduce harmful objects, chemicals or

substances, directly or indirectly into the soil in a way that causes harm to

other living things or destroys soil or water ecosystems.

Soil contamination is when the concentration of chemicals, nutrients or

elements in the soil becomes more than it normally or naturally is, as a

result of human action. If this contamination goes on to harm living

organisms, we can call it pollution.

Soil degradation is when the soil looses its value (in terms of nutrients,

chemical make-up etc. ) as a result of over-farming, over-grazing or

erosion. For example, if a bush fire wipes out the vegetation on a piece of

land thereby exposing the soils, and nutrients in the soil gets dissolved by

rain water run-off, the ability of the soil to support plant life is reduced. We

can call this soil degradation.

What causes contamination?

Pesticides and herbicides (and other farming chemicals) often end up

contamination soils.

Direct discharge of wastewater by industries can also cause that.

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.

The effects of soils contamination

Soil contamination can result in soil and land pollution, and affect the health

of plants that depend on them.

It can also harm living organisms in the soils and humans that come into

contact with them by touching, breathing or eating crops from

contaminated soils.

Contaminants in soils can also get infiltrated into ground water and pollute

them.

Depending on the extent and volume of soil contamination, it can be

remedied by

1. Digging out the soils for treatment and disposal

2. Containing it to prevent it from spreading, by placing large plastic

materials over the affected area.

3. Treating the soils with some safe chemicals to neutralize the contaminant.

PREVENTION / SOLUTIONS

How to prevent land pollution Like many other challenges, the best way to solve problems is to

understand it. This means learning about it (like what you are doing now) is

the greatest step forward.

Here are a few other tips on how you can help reduce land pollution:

1. People should be educated and made aware about the harmful effects of

littering. Discuss with friends and family and talk about it.

2. Buy biodegradable products.

3. Store all liquid chemicals and waste in spill-proof containers.

4. Eat organic foods that are grown without pesticides. Look out for fertilizer or

pesticide free products when you go to the market.

5. Don’t use pesticides if you can.

Cont. Reuse any items that you can. Items like clothing,

bottles, wrapping paper and shopping bags can be

used over and over again, rather than buying new

things.

The greatest prevention to land pollution is in the three

‘R's’ …

Reduce Waste, Re-use things and

Recycle things. This is true even for governments. They

can also use the three ‘R’ rule to minimize the amount

of waste that ends up in landfills. After the three 'R's,

remember to turn the rest of the garbage into compost.

Cont. Personal litter should be disposed properly. We can separate

household waste at home for recycling.

More than half of our household waste could be recycled or

re-used but once it is mixed up, it becomes more difficult to

separate different components for recycling.

This is also true for waste we make at school or hospitals.

Use a drip tray to collect engine oil.

Buy products that have little packaging.

Don’t dump motor oil on the ground.

Governments can also ensure that there are incentives for

people to recycle and re-use things.

SOURCES:

WWW.GRINNINGPLANET.COM

WWW.GREENLIVING.COM

WWW.NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM

NATIONAL TOXICOLOGY PROGRAM.