2. Soil pollution
▪ Soil pollution is the contamination of the
soil with pollutants, toxic chemicals or any
contaminant in such a quantity that reduces
soil quality and makes it inhabitable to
organisms such as insects and other
microbes.
▪ It can be referred to as the addition of
chemicals to the soil in quantities that are
toxic to the environment and its residents.
3. ❑ Soil Components
1. Inorganic materials:- They constitute the bulk of the soil. They are
materials that result from the disintegration of the various rocks that make
up the earth's crust, such as igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks
by chemical and mechanical factors.
• Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, manganese, lead, copper, zinc, iron,
aluminum, sodium and potassium salts are the necessary elements for plants
that determine the quality of the soil whether it is calcareous, saline, iron, or
neutral.
4. 2. Organic materials:- These materials consist of plant and animal wastes
such as animal excrement (such as remains of plants, leaves, stems, dead animals,
etc.) They are broken down and transformed over time into humus.
• Humus is one of the main fertilizers of soil. Soil is a mobile world that contains
Large and microscopic organisms. They are part of the biosphere and contribute
to the aeration of the soil and change its chemical composition.
• Bacteria absorb nitrogen and fix it in the soil to absorb it by the plant because
plants are unable to absorb it from the air directly.
5. Soil composition of volume basis
Air-25% Mineral 45 %
50 % 50 %
Water-25% O.C 5 %
Total volume-100 %
6. Causes of soil pollution
▪ Industrial effluents like harmful gases and chemicals.
▪ Use of chemicals in agriculture like pesticides, fertilizers and insecticides.
▪ Unfavorable irrigation practices.
▪ Dumping of solid wastes.
▪ Sewage discharged in to rivers instead of being treated properly.
▪ Toxic fumes from industries get mixed with rains causing acid rains.
7. ▪ Use of pesticides in agriculture retains chemicals in the environment for a
long time.
▪ These chemicals also effect beneficial organisms like earthworm in the soil
and lead to poor soil quality.
▪ Chemical fertilizer runoff from farms and crops.
▪ Septic tank seepage.
9. ❑ Agricultural Pollution
▪ Excess use of Fertilizers cause pollution
that impacts soil quality.
▪ Excess use of agrochemicals (Pesticides,
insecticides, fungicides and herbicides)
also harm by contaminating the soil.
▪ These chemicals get deep inside the soil
and poison the ground water system.
10. ❑ Urban Activities
• Urban activities generate large quantities of city
wastes including several non-biodegradable
materials (such as plastic bags, plastic bottles,
plastic wastes, glass bottles, glass pieces, stone /
cement preces).
• The emission of toxic and foul gases from
landfills pollutes the environment and causes
serious effects on the health of some people.
11. ❑ Household Hazardous Waste
▪ Common household items such as
(Paints, cleaners, oils, batteries).
▪ Look for labels
(Danger, warning, toxic corrosive,
flammable or poison).
▪ Disposal
(Deliver to your local HHW collection
facility for proper disposal) .
12. ❑ Nuclear waste
• Effected in soil physical, chemical and
biological propriety.
• Decreasing soil fertility.
• Effected in soil flora and fauna.
Ivana Smičiklas and Marija Šljivić-Ivanović (2016)
13. ❑ Deforestation and soil erosion
• Deforestation reduces the content of water
in the soil and groundwater as well as
atmospheric moisture.
• The dry soil leads to lower water intake for
the trees to extract.
• Deforestation reduces soil cohesion, so that
erosion, flooding and landslides ensue.
14. ❑ Industrialization
• About 90% of oil pollution is caused by
industrial waste products.
• Improper disposal of waste contaminates the
soil with harmful chemicals.
• These pollutants affect plant and animal
species and local water supplies and drinking
water. Toxic fumes from the regulated landfills
contain chemicals that can fall.
15. ❑ Acid rain
• Acid rain causes by due to NO2 and SO2 gas.
• Mostly responsible SO2 gas acid rain water pH <5.2.
• Acid rain damages soil biology (flora and fauna) and
soil chemistry (pH, EC, and SAR).
• Microbes not able to tolerate low pH and die.
• Upper fertile layer of soil is affect as essential
nutrients are leached away from soil. https://www.reneworegon.org
16. ❑ Discharge of Sewage
• Wastewater, if released back into
the environment untreated, can
cause contaminants to leech into
the soil. If these contaminants
infiltrate water sources, water-
borne diseases can arise ( Chung et
al., 2020).
17. ❑ Microplastics
• Microplastics are extremely small
pieces of plastic that are less than 5
mm in length. Plastics do not easily
decompose – it may take between
10 to 500 years to decompose.
Hence, microplastics can cause soil
pollution (He et al., 2018).
https://lombricolturabellafarnia.com
18. ❑ Oil Spills
▪ Oil spills typically occur in a marine
environment. However, it can also
occur on land. Such a situation can
affect soil chemistry and also disrupt
plant and animal life (e.g., Apiratikul et
al., 2020).
19. ❑ Waste Disposal
• Improper waste disposal methods can
cause soil pollution. For instance,
chemicals from various waste products
could leech into the soil,
contaminating it (e.g., Zhou et al.,
2021).
20. ❑ Municipal solid wastes
▪ Discharging of untreated municipal solid
wastes (MSWs) onto land is very widespread
in developing countries. MSW cause a
harmful effect to human and environment the
pollution they cause. this study aimed at
evaluating the effects of discharge of solid
wastes on soil quality. increasing heavy
metal content (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr)
21. ❑ Effects of soil pollution
It causes harmful effect on the soil and the environment. Contamination of
soil will decreases the agricultural output. Major soil pollution effects.
1. Inferior Crop Quality: Due to soil pollution,
the production and quality of crops decrease.
Regular use of excess fertilizers, inorganic
fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides diminishes
soil fertility at a rapidly and change soil
structure, resulting in poor crop quality
(Abdel and Mansour, 2017).
https://www.sundaytimes.lk
22. 2. Harmful Effect on Human Health
• It will increase the exposure to toxic and
harmful chemicals thus increasing health
threats to people living nearby on the
degraded land. Living, working or
playing in the contaminated soil can lead
to respiratory diseases, skin diseases,
and other diseases.
23. 3. Water Sources Contamination
• The surface run-off after raining will
carry the polluted soil and enter into
different water resource.
• Thus, it can cause underground water
contamination thereby causing water
pollution.
24. 4. Negative Impact on Ecosystem and Biodiversity
• Soil contamination may distort the soil
environment. The soil is a major source of
food and the homes of animals, reptiles,
mammals, birds, insects, and various types
of microorganisms (Allende and Monaghan,
2015). Soil emissions may have a harmful
effect on living organisms slow deaths. It
can cause health threats to animals.
25. 5. Soil contamination and plant uptake of heavy metals at polluted
▪ Heavy metal contamination in soils and
plants at polluted with heavy industries,
metal mining, smelting and untreated
wastewater irrigation areas. The heavy
metals, including pb, Cd and Zn, in the soils
at the investigated sites were above. The
reducing plant's ability to take up nutrients
and undergo photosynthesis.
https://www.fao.org
26. ❑ MEASURES TO PREVENT SOIL POLUUTION:-
▪ Strict regulations need to be enforced to reduce and avoid soil
contamination. So, effective laws and regulations are very important,
considering the far-reaching consequences of soil contamination.
▪ The existence of the animals and plants fully depends on the soil. Usually,
the soil is considered as the wealth of farmers (Alam, 2009).
▪ Land deficiency is not only a loss to farmers but also the economy, human
health, organisms of the country. In India, therefore, there is a need to adopt
rules and regulations to contain soil pollution
27. • Recycling of waste before disposal and Proper disposal method of
household and industrial waste.
• Proper maintenance of sewage system.
• Use of organic manures.
• Encouraging the integrated application of inorganic fertilizers, organic
manures and bio-fertilizers.
• Suitable and safe disposal of including nuclear wastes.
28. 1. Domestic Waste Control of Soil
▪ The level of soil pollution is
continuously increasing due to the
dumping of household waste
indiscriminately. So, deliberate and
specific strategies are needed to
combat the soil pollution. The greater
part of household waste is organic
waste (Khan and Siddique, 2000).
http://repository.pertanian.go.id
29. 2. Recycling and Reuse
• To reduce the pollutants in soil, the focus
should be on recycling and re-use of the
household and other items. Household waste
that was dumped in landfills increases the
amount of carbon in the soil, which is a major
cause of soil pollution (Alam, 2009). So, to
protect the soil from pollution, it is very
important to recycle and re-use of household
equipment and waste
30. Two main reasons play a critical role in increasing the waste quantity during the
COVID-19 pandemic:
firstly, waste production due to disease prevention or treatment activities such as
face masks and diagnostic kits.
secondly, waste production rising due to disease effects on lifestyles such as
increasing in-home cooking and online shopping.
▪ Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic outcomes cause that the waste
management process requires changes to reduce the risk of disease
transmission to employees, citizens, and the environment.
Yousefi, M., Oskoei, V., Jafari, A. J., Farzadkia, M., Firooz, M. H., Abdollahinejad, B., &
Torkashvand, J. (2021). Municipal solid waste management during COVID-19 pandemic:
effects and repercussions. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-10.
31. ▪ The most critical consequences of COVID-19 on waste management can be listed
as follows: increasing the amount of household waste, the rise in the proportion of
plastic waste generation, littered waste reduction versus the increase in the health
and environmental threats of this waste type.
▪ The change in attitude includes separate household waste management when
patient care at home, changing attitudes from common waste to infectious waste
regarding disposable food containers, more use of disposable plastic bags, and
managing all medical waste in the form of infectious waste precaution.
32. 3. Other Measures
• Fundamental properties of soil should be strengthened by adopting
Integrated Plant Nutrient Management to limit the use of chemicals in life.
• To improve the salinity-rich soil, different chemicals like gypsum and
pyrites can be used as per the prescription of scientists.
• To reduce waterlogging in farms, the drainage system is very essential.
• Avoiding deforestation and promoting forestation.
• Plantation by social and agroforestry programmes.
33. • Soil erosion can be prevented through stopping deforestation and forest
erosion and implementing a soil-conservation process to conserve its
nutrients.
• It’s also necessary to build and enforce the schemes required to protect the
land which is devastated by floods
• The organic farming method is one of the most important technological
methods.
• It aims to protect soil and agricultural production from the dangers of
pollution arising from the use of chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides).
34. ❑ REFERENCES:-
• Abdel, S. H. I. and Mansour, M. S. M. 2016. A review on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: source,
environmental impact, effect on human health and remediation. Egyptian Journal of Petroleum. 25(1):
107–123.
• Alam, G. J. 2009. Environmental pollution of India it’s effect and control. Pulp Paper. 51(1) : 13–17.
• Allende, A. and Monaghan, J. 2015. Irrigation Water Quality for leafy crops: A perspective of risks and
potential solutions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(7): 7457–
7477.
• Badran A 1988 Environmental Pollution, Its Sources and Types. Journal of Science and Technology. 4 P.7.
• Chitara, M. K., Chauhan, S., & Singh, R. P. (2021). Utilization of Agricultural Waste in Agri-Based
Biogas Production and Sustainable Development. In Agri-Based Bioeconomy (pp. 263-272). CRC Press.
35. • He, D., Luo, Y., Lu, S., Liu, M., Song, Y. and Lei, L. (2018): Microplastics in soils: Analytical methods, pollution
characteristics and ecological risks. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry; 109: 163-172.
• Smičiklas, I., & Šljivić-Ivanović, M. (2016). Radioactive contamination of the soil: assessments of pollutants mobility
with implication to remediation strategies. Soil Contamination–Current Consequences and Further Solutions. Rijeka:
InTech [Internet], 253-276.
• Khan, R.K. and Siddique, I. 2000. Urban Water Management Problems in Developing Countries with Particular
Reference to Bangladesh, International Journal of Water Resources Development. 16 (1) : 21-33.
• Shaltami, Osama & Hamed, Namat & Fares, Fares & Errishi, Hwedi & El Oshebi, Farag & Maceda, Elena. (2020). Soil
pollution – A review.
• Suaad Hadi Hassan Al-Taai, 2021. Soil Pollution - Causes and Effects. Suaad Hadi Hassan Al-Taai Conf. Ser.: Earth
Environ. Sci. 790 012009.
• Yousefi, M., Oskoei, V., Jafari, A. J., Farzadkia, M., Firooz, M. H., Abdollahinejad, B., & Torkashvand, J. (2021).
Municipal solid waste management during COVID-19 pandemic: effects and repercussions. Environmental Science and
Pollution Research, 1-10.
36. ❑ CONCLUSION:-
• Soil pollution occurs as a result of the entry of elements that change the chemical composition and
organism of the soil, and reduce its fertility, making it more vulnerable to drought, and unsuitable
for agriculture. The most important source of agricultural soil pollution is the use of pesticides,
herbicides and inorganic fertilizers in large quantities, industrial waste, domestic waste .
Pesticides contain large amounts of chemical toxin that contribute to soil quality loss. Some of
them contain arsenic, which causes the pollution of agricultural crops and eliminates the role of
beneficial insect. Most prominent preventive methods to protect the soil agricultural lands is the
adoption of organic farming and use of bio agrochemicals, organic manures, biofertilizer such as
beneficial bacteria and fungi beneficial, use of quality irrigation water. Recycling of waste before
disposal and Proper disposal method of household and industrial waste. Proper maintenance of
sewage systems. Suitable and safe disposal of including nuclear wastes
