Soil contamination 4229946 221842631 2008-06-26T10:04:35Z ClueBot 4928500 Reverting possible vandalism by [[Special:Contributions/59.94.116.133|59.94.116.133]] to version by Alucard 16. False positive? [[User:ClueBot/FalsePositives|Report it]]. Thanks, [[User:ClueBot]]. (425500) (Bot) {{Pollution}} [[Image:Soilcontam.JPG|thumb|280px|Excavation showing soil contamination at a disused gasworks]] '''Soil contamination''' is caused by the presence of man-made chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. This type of contamination typically arises from the rupture of [[underground storage tank]]s, application of [[pesticide]]s, percolation of contaminated surface water to subsurface strata, oil and fuel dumping, leaching of wastes from [[landfills]] or direct discharge of industrial wastes to the soil. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum [[hydrocarbons]], [[solvents]], pesticides, lead and other [[heavy metals]]. This occurrence of this phenomenon is correlated with the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical usage. The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, both of direct contact and from secondary contamination of water supplies<ref>''Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund, Human Health Evaluation Manual'', Office of Emergency and Remedial Response, U.S. [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]], Washington D.C. 20450</ref>. Mapping of contaminated soil sites and the resulting cleanup are time consuming and expensive tasks, requiring extensive amounts of [[geology]], [[hydrology]], [[chemistry]] and [[computer modeling]] skills. It is in [[North America]] and [[Western Europe]] that the extent of contaminated land is most well known, with many of countries in these areas having a legal framework to identify and deal with this environmental problem; this however may well be just the tip of the iceberg with developing countries very likely to be the next generation of new soil contamination cases. The immense and sustained growth of the [[People's Republic of China]] since the 1970s has exacted a price from the land in increased soil pollution. The [[State Environmental Protection Administration]] believes it to be a threat to the environment, to food safety and to sustainable agriculture. According to a scientific sampling, 150 million mi (100,000 square kilometres) of China’s cultivated land have been polluted, with contaminated water being used to irrigate a further 32.5 million mi (21,670 square kilometres) and another 2 million mi (1,300 square kilometres) covered or destroyed by solid waste. In total, the area accounts for one-tenth of China’s cultivatable land, and is mostly in economically developed areas. An estimated 12 million tonnes of grain are contaminated by heavy metals every year, causing direct losses of 20 billion yuan (US$2.57 billion). <ref>[http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/724-Facing-up-to-invisible-pollution- Facing up to “invisible pollution”<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. The United States, while having some of the most widespread soil contamination, has actually been a leader in defining and implementing standards for cleanup<ref>Rainer Stegmann, ''Treatment of Contaminated Soil: Fundamentals, Analysis, Applications'', Springer Verlag, Berlin 2001</ref>. Other industrialized countries have a large number of contaminated sites, but lag the U.S. in executing remediation. Developing countries may be leading in the next generation of new soil contamination cases. Each year in the U.S., thousands of sites complete soil contamination cleanup, some by using [[microbe]]s that “eat up” toxic chemicals in soil<ref>D.A. Crossley, ''Roles of Microflora and fauna in soil systems'', International Symposium on Pesticides in Soils, Feb. 25, 1970, [[University of Michigan]]</ref>, many others by simple [[excavation]] and others by more expensive high-tech soil vapor extraction or [[air stripping]]. At the same time, efforts proceed worldwide in creating and identifying new sites of soil contamination, particularly in industrial countries other than the U.S., and in developing countries which lack the money and the technology to adequately protect soil resources. ==Microanalysis of soil contamination== To understand the fundamental nature of soil contamination, it is necessary to envision the variety of mechanisms for pollutants to become entrained in soil. Soil particulates may be composed of a gamut of [[organic chemistry|organic]] and [[inorganic chemistry|inorganic]] chemicals with variations in [[cation exchange capacity]], [[buffering capacity]], and [[redox]] poise.<ref>{{cite journal|title = Oxidizing Behavior of Soil Manganese: Interactions among Abundance, Oxidation State, and pH |url = http://soil.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/69/1/87|last = Negraa|first = Christine|coauthors = Donald S. Rossa and Antonio Lanzirottib|journal = Soil Science Society of America Journal|issue = 69|volume = 1|pages = 97–95|year = 2005|accessdate = 2006-11-11}}</ref> For example, at the extremes, one has a [[sand]] component, a coarse grained, inert, and totally inorganic substance; whereas [[peat]] soils are dominated by a fine organic material, made of decomposing organic material and highly active. Most soils are mixtures of soil subtypes and thus have quite complex characteristics. There is also a great diversity of soil [[porosity]], ranging from gravels to sands to [[silt]] to [[clay]] (in increasing order of porosity), pore size, and pore [[tortuosity]] (both in decreasing order). Finally there is a wide spectrum of [[chemical bond]]ing or adhesion characteristics: each contaminant has a different interaction or bonding mechanism with a given soil type. On balance, some contaminants may literally drain through soils such as sand and [[gravel]] and move to other soils or deeper [[aquifer]]s, while polar or organic chemicals discharged into a clay soil will have a very high [[adsorption]]. Thus most soil contamination is the result of pollutants adhering to the soil particle surface, or lodging in [[interstice]]s of a soil matrix. Clearly the [[Dynamic equilibrium|equilibrium]] reached is a dynamic one, where new pollutants may lodge on new soil particles and the action of [[groundwater]] movement may over time transport some of the soil contaminants to other locations or depths. Soil contamination results when hazardous substances are either spilled or buried directly in the soil or migrate to the soil from a spill that has occurred elsewhere. For example, soil can become contaminated when small particles containing hazardous substances are released from a smokestack and are deposited on the surrounding soil as they fall out of the air. Another source of soil contamination could be water that washes contamination from an area containing hazardous substances and deposits the contamination in the soil as it flows over or through it. ==Health effects== The major concern is that there are many sensitive land uses where people are in direct contact with soils such as residences, parks, schools and playgrounds. Other contact mechanisms include contamination of drinking water or inhalation of soil contaminants which have vaporized. There is a very large set of health consequences from exposure to soil contamination depending on pollutant type, pathway of attack and vulnerability of the exposed population. Chromium and obsolete [[pesticide]] formulations are carcinogenic to populations. Lead is especially hazardous to young children, in which group there is a high risk of developmental damage to the brain,while to all populations kidney damage is a risk. Chronic exposure to at sufficient concentrations is known to be associated with higher incidence of leukemia. Obsolete [[pesticides]] such as mercury and cyclodienes are known to induce higher incidences of kidney damage, some irreversible; cyclodienes are linked to liver toxicity. Organophosphates and carbamates can induce a chain of responses leading to neuromuscular blockage. Many chlorinated solvents induce liver changes, kidney changes and depression of the central nervous system. There is an entire spectrum of further health effects such as headache,nausea,fatigue(physical),eye irritation and skin rash for the above cited and other chemicals. ==Ecosystem effects== Not unexpectedly, soil contaminants can have significant deleterious consequences for ecosystems<ref>Michael Hogan, Leda Patmore, Gary Latshaw and Harry Seidman ''[[Computer model]]ng of pesticide transport in soil for five instrumented watersheds'', prepared for the U.S. [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] Southeast Water laboratory, Athens, Ga. by ESL Inc., Sunnyvale, California (1973)</ref>. There are radical soil chemistry changes which can arise from the presence of many hazardous chemicals even at low concentration of the contaminant species. These changes can manifest in the alteration of [[metabolism]] of endemic [[microorganism]]s and [[arthropod]]s resident in a given soil environment. The result can be virtual eradication of some of the primary food chain, which in turn have major consequences for [[predator]] or consumer species. Even if the chemical effect on lower life forms is small, the lower pyramid levels of the [[food chain]] may ingest alien chemicals, which normally become more concentrated for each consuming rung of the food chain. Many of these effects are now well known, such as the concentration of persistent DDT materials for avian consumers, leading to weakening of egg shells, increased chick [[death|mortality]] and potentially [[species]] [[extinction]]. Effects occur to [[agricultural]] lands which have certain types of soil contamination. Contaminants typically alter plant metabolism, most commonly to reduce crop yields. This has a secondary effect upon [[soil conservation]], since the languishing crops cannot shield the earth's soil mantle from [[erosion]] phenomena. Some of these chemical contaminants have long [[half-life|half-lives]] and in other cases derivative chemicals are formed from decay of primary soil contaminants. ==Regulatory framework== ===United States of America=== Until about 1970 there was little widespread awareness of the worldwide scope of soil contamination or its health risks. In fact, areas of concern were often viewed as unusual or isolated incidents. Since then, the U.S. has established guidelines for handling hazardous waste and the cleanup of soil pollution. In 1980 the U.S.Superfund/CERCLA established strict rules on legal liability for soil contamination. Not only did CERCLA stimulate identification and cleanup of thousands of sites, but it raised awareness of property buyers and sellers to make soil pollution a focal issue of land use and management practices. While estimates of remaining soil cleanup in the U.S. may exceed 200,000 sites, in other industrialized countries there is a lag of identification and cleanup functions. Even though their use of chemicals is lower than industrialized countries, often their controls and regulatory framework is quite weak. For example, some persistent pesticides that have been banned in the U.S. are in widespread uncontrolled use in developing countries. It is worth noting that the cost of cleaning up a soil contaminated site can range from as little as about $10,000 for a small spill, which can be simply excavated, to millions of dollars for a widespread event, especially for a chemical that is very mobile such as perchloroethylene. ===China=== China, an economy that regularly records double digit annual economic growth, has little or no legislation to protect the environment. Currently, given the amount of land in question (up to one-tenth of China's cultivatable land may be polluted), the degree of the pollution in specific locations is unclear, making both prevention and remedy difficult. There are no laws or environmental standards regarding soil. Funding is limited, too, so there is little advanced scientific study of China’s soil taking place. The severity of the pollution is not known by the public or business population, and the situation is most likely worsening as a result. ===United Kingdom=== Generic guidance commonly used in the UK are the Soil Guideline Values published by DEFRA and the Environment Agency. These are screening values that demonstrate the minimal acceptable level of a substance. Above this there can be no assurances in terms of significant risk of harm to human health. These have been derived using the Contaminated Land Exposure Asseeement Model (CLEA UK). Certain input parameters such as Health Criteria Values, age and land use are fed into CLEA UK to obtain a probablistic output. Guidance by the Inter Departmental Committee for the Redevelopment of Contaminated Land (ICRCL) has been formally withdrawn by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), for use as a prescriptive document to determine the potential need for remediation or further assessment. Therefore, no further reference is made to these former guideline values. Other generic guidance that exists (to put the concentration of a particular contaminant in context), includes the United States EPA Region 9 Preliminary Remediation Goals (US PRGs), the US EPA Region 3 Risk Based Concentrations (US EPA RBCs) and National Environment Protection Council of Australia Guideline on Investigation Levels in Soil and Groundwater. However international guidance should only be used in the UK with clear justification. This is because foreign standards are usually particular to that country due to drivers such as political policy, geology, flood regime and epidemiology. It is generally accepted by UK regulators that only robust scientific methods that relate to the UK should be used. The CLEA model published by DEFRA and the Environment Agency (EA) in March 2002 sets a framework for the appropriate assessment of risks to human health from contaminated land, as required by Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. As part of this framework, generic [[Soil Guideline Values (SGVs)]] have currently been derived for ten contaminants to be used as “intervention values”. These values should not be considered as remedial targets but values above which further detailed assessment should be considered. Three sets of CLEA SGVs have been produced for three different land uses, namely * residential (with and without plant uptake) * allotments * commercial/industrial It is intended that the [[SGVs]] replace the former ICRCL values. It should be noted that the CLEA SGVs relate to assessing chronic (long term) risks to human health and do not apply to the protection of ground workers during construction, or other potential receptors such as groundwater, buildings, plants or other ecosystems. The CLEA SGVs are not directly applicable to a site completely covered in hardstanding, as there is no direct exposure route to contaminated soils. To date, the first ten of fifty-five contaminant SGVs have been published, for the following: arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, inorganic mercury, nickel, selenium ethyl benzene, phenol and toluene. Draft SGVs for benzene, naphthalene and xylene have been produced but their publication is on hold. Toxicological data (Tox) has been published for each of these contaminants as well as for benzo[a]pyrene, benzene, dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs, naphthalene, vinyl chloride, 1,1,2,2 tetrachloroethane and 1,1,1,2 tetrachloroethane, 1,1,1 trichloroethane, tetrachloroethene, carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethene and xylene. The SGVs for ethyl benzene, phenol and toluene are dependent on the soil organic matter (SOM) content (which can be calculated from the total organic carbon (TOC) content). As an initial screen the SGVs for 1% SOM are considered to be appropriate. ==Cleanup options== [[Image:Bacteriarazorback.jpg|thumb|Microbes can be used in soil cleanup]] Cleanup or remediation is analyzed by [[environmental scientist]]s who utilize field measurement of [[soil chemistry|soil chemicals]] and also apply [[computer model]]s for analyzing transport<ref>S.K. Gupta, C.T. Kincaid, P.R. Mayer, C.A. Newbill and C.R. Cole, ‘’A multidimensional finite element code for the analysis of coupled fluid, energy and solute transport’‘, [[Battelle]] Pacific Northwest Laboratory PNL-2939, EPA contract 68-03-3116 (1982)</ref> and fate of soil chemicals. Thousands of soil contamination cases are currently in active cleanup across the U.S. as of 2006. There are several principal strategies for [[remediation]]: * Excavate soil and remove it to a disposal site away from ready pathways for human or sensitive ecosystem contact. This technique also applies to dredging of [[bay mud]]s containing toxins. * Aeration of soils at the contaminated site (with attendant risk of creating [[air pollution]]) * [[Bioremediation]], involving microbial digestion of certain organic chemicals. Techniques used in bioremediation include [[landfarming]], [[biostimulation]] and [[bioaugmentation]] [[soil biology|soil biota]] with commercially available microflora. * Extraction of [[groundwater]] or soil [[vapor]] with an active [[electromechanical]] system, with subsequent stripping of the contaminants from the extract. * Containment of the soil contaminants (such as by capping or paving over in place). ==See also== *[[Land degradation]] *[[Land pollution]] *[[List of waste management companies]] *[[List of waste management topics]] *[[List of solid waste treatment technologies]] *[[List of Superfund sites in the United States]] *[[Pesticide drift]] *[[Pollution]] *[[Contamination control]] *[[Water contamination]] *[[Water pollution]] ==References== <div class="references-small"> <references /> </div> ==External links== * [http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/er/hazsubs/sources.htm Environmental Protection Agency link to health effects of specific pollutants cited in this article] * [http://www.newscientisttech.com/article.ns?id=dn10008&feedId=online-news_rss20 Sound blaster cleans contaminated soil] - High powered ultrasound can clean up soil tainted with organic toxins like PCBs or DDT * [http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/724-Facing-up-to-invisible-pollution-] - Article on soil contamination in China [[Category:Environmental soil science|Contamination, soil]] [[Category:Environmental chemistry]] [[Category:Environmental issues]] [[Category:Health risks|Soil contamination]] [[Category:Pollution]] [[Category:Soil chemistry]] [[cs:Kontaminace půdy]] [[da:Jordforurening]] [[es:Contaminación del suelo]] [[id:Pencemaran tanah]] [[it:Inquinamento del suolo]] [[nl:Bodemverontreiniging]] [[ja:土壌汚染]] [[pt:Poluição do solo]] [[ru:Загрязнение почв]] [[ta:மண் மாசடைதல்]]