Soil is the natural and main environment for the life of all living things on the planet. Any type of accident that disrupts the features of this natural environment and negatively affects its quality,
. It is considered as soil contamination. Soil contamination, directly or indirectly, affects any type of organism.
Soil pollution is a worrying threat to agricultural productivity, food safety and human health, but little is known about the scale and severity of the threat, according to new FAO reports. Industrialization, war, mining, and the intensification of agriculture have left a legacy of soil pollution across the globe, while the growth of cities has led to the use of soil as a sinkhole for greater amounts of municipal waste.
“Soil pollution affects the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe and the health of our ecosystems,” said Maria Helen Samado, FAO Deputy Director-General at the beginning of the symposium. He added that the potential of the soil to deal with pollution is limited; Preventing soil contamination should be a top priority worldwide.
A new FAO report notes that even if the intensification of agriculture, industrial production, and urbanization continues at a rapid pace, no systematic assessment of soil pollution has been conducted globally. Studies so far have been mainly limited to developed economies, so according to the FAO review of the existing scientific literature, there is a great deal of information about the full nature and extent of the problem
What we know little about is worrying:
In Australia, for example, it is now estimated that around 80,000 places suffer from soil pollution. China has classified 16 percent of its total soil – and 19 percent of its agricultural soil – as contaminated. There are approximately 3 million potentially infected sites in the European Economic Area and the Western Balkans. In the United States, there are 1,300 sites on the Superfund National Priority List for contaminated sites. These figures help us understand the dangers of soil contamination, but do not reflect the full extent of soil contamination worldwide, highlighting inadequate information available and differences in the registration of contaminated sites in geographical areas. The report was released today at the start of a three-day symposium at FAO headquarters, during which experts and policymakers discuss the threat of soil pollution and begin a more coherent plan of an international response.
Danger to food and health:
Soil pollution often cannot be visually perceived or directly assessed, and it hides a danger – with serious consequences. This affects food security by disrupting plant metabolism and thus reducing crop yields, as well as creating insecurity of products for consumption. Pollutants also directly harm organisms that live in the soil and make it more fertile. And of course soil contaminated with hazardous elements (eg, arsenic, lead and cadmium), organic chemicals such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) or medicines such as antibiotics. Or endocrine disruptors are serious risks to human health
What causes soil pollution?
So far, most soil pollution is due to human activities. Industrial activities such as extraction, smelting and production. Household, livestock and municipal waste; Pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers used in agriculture; Petroleum products that are released or decomposed in the environment. Steam generated by transport – all contribute to the problem. The so-called “emerging pollutants” are also of growing concern. These include prescription drugs, endocrine disruptors, hormones and biological contaminants. “E-waste” from old electronics; And plastics, which are used in almost every human work today.
Most of the elements that cause soil pollution are of human origin. These elements are:
Direct dumping of household and industrial waste into nature
Exhaust gases, pesticides and chemical fertilizers
Mixing of air pollutant gases as a result of rain and soil
Soil erosion due to deforestation
Soil contamination disrupts the nutrients in it. Unnatural solids accumulate in the soil and change its physical properties. Chemical pulp negatively affects the biological properties of man-made plants by interfering with them. Metals that accumulate in the soil, gases and other debris impair the growth and quality of plants. These negative changes in the soil affect the food chain and are transmitted to plants, animals and humans, respectively.
Ways to prevent natural injuries:
Use pesticides and other fertilizers in a way that does not harm the soil.
Non-recyclable solid waste should be disposed of properly.
Wastewater containing hazardous materials should not be discharged to the soil without treatment.
