TheHazard of Soil Pollution
Posted in Uncategorized on February 17th, 2012 by adminThere’s a good deal of discussion concerning air pollution and how it is hurting our planet, but not a lot of talk about soil pollution. Soil pollution is a problem that is just as critical as air pollution. Since soil pollution is in the ground, it’s not that obvious to detect. Soil can be analyzed for toxins and to what degree are the pollutants present.
When water has been tainted, its run off can cause pollution of the soil. If this takes place, plants are not going to grow well at all and you may not get any flowers or fruit production. Many of the foods we consume have been impacted by pollution in the soil and are not very healthy to eat. With the shortage of healthy plants to extract the carbon monoxide from the air, the quality of our air will continue to become worse. Human error and neglect are the main causes to the soil pollution we have right now. What has happened is leaky storage tanks filled with various chemicals are buried in the ground thus leaking dangerous chemicals into the soil. Quite often, anything able to grow is destroyed, and nothing is grown there for a long period.
Other pollutants seep into the ground from many sources including landfill. For many years, waste would be dumped with wild abandon and no concern for the possible health implications. With rainwater or snowfall, the water could flush any number of chemicals in to the ground. This would be bad enough if it remained there, but underground the water can flow anywhere, taking the nasty chemicals with it. Nowadays, a lot of modern landfills are built to prevent chemicals from leaking into the ground and restricting certain garbage from being dumped there.
The use of pesticides and the effects on soil and wildlife have been documented. A number of environmental groups are lobbying the government to safeguard the soil from hazardous chemicals. But recently, a lot of farmers are going organic and government has enforced tough guidelines for selected pesticides. Companies have had to make changes, including using more things that are naturally degradable. The US has the biggest soil pollution trouble in the world. Breakthroughs in technology and disregard for the environment are the reasons of the polluted soil.
With more education, folks are starting to be more aware of soil pollution, and several things are being done about it. Many programs in the United States are trying to find ways to minimize the soil pollution. It’s great that most people are now into organic gardening, and being more mindful about their health.