As a kid, I made the mistake of playing in the sandbox at my school. I was not aware that there were other chemicals inside the sandbox besides sand. I found out that there were chemicals in the sand only after I got a large, painful rash. Unlike pollution in rivers and the air, soil contamination is not easily detected. A person cannot detect this with the naked eye. And because of this, many people worldwide have suffered complications due to the contamination of soil. Soil contamination is a serious and often overlooked environmental concern that threatens the safety of the environment and those affected by it.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), soil contamination happens when solid or liquid matter that is hazardous enters soil from the earth. These substances can either become physically or chemically attached to soil particles or trapped between soil particles. It is possible for these contaminants to enter the soil in many ways. They can be spilled or buried into the soil. Chemicals from a smokestack can enter the soil or water that is polluted may flow over soil. Chemicals can also seep into the soil from factories, mines, and smelters.
In one instance in the 1960s, chemicals from Japanese mines were discovered to be the culprits of soil contamination. In Jinzu River Basin, a mysterious disease that softened the bones of rural inhabitants was on the rise. The disease was later discovered to be from cadmium from the local mines. This metal leached into soil where rice was being grown and when the inhabitants ate the rice they became sick. While cadmium is good for soldering, making compounds, and creating batteries, it is not good for human consumption because it is a poison.
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... because agencies can be slow to action. In Michael Hawthorne’s article, there were some very good points brought up even if the information was biased because he portrays the EPA in a negative way. He explained how there can be many lots in a neighborhood contaminated with chemicals dating back decades ago and how these chemicals can put people’s health at risks. He also explains some of the cleanup processes for getting rid of tainted soil. While it is difficult to clean every lot of soil that is contaminated, because soil contamination is a worldwide problem, the same amount of attention should be given to soil contamination as air pollution. There could be as many hazardous chemicals in the ground as in air, and just because we do not see it does not mean it is not there. If we do not work harder to clean up contaminated soil now, the problem will only get worse.
On December 22, 2008 in Roane County, Tennessee, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant had a dike rupture releasing more the 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash into the Emory River. There were no recorded deaths or serious injuries , but the surrounding ecosystem was affected severely. The ash slurry contained heavy metals such as arsenic, barium, chromium, mercury, nickel and many more, all of which were released directly into water the ways. Preliminary tests of drinking water showed that the toxins did not affect it, however later individual organizations tests show high amounts of arsenic and other toxins in the water. Officials say that the discrepancy is due to original water test being done before the polluted water had a chance to reach Tennessee Valley Authority, water treatment plant. Authorities claim that the reason for the dam failure was due to the high rain fall and subzero temperatures. However, local residents are saying that they’d observed leakages ever since the plant was opened, as well as...
... in inhabitants living close to smelters and arsenical chemical factories. Citizens who live near waste sites with arsenic may have an increased risk of lung cancer as well.
We used think that toxic pollution was external when chemicals are discharged into the atmosphere or when waste are dumped into water we failed to realize that toxic chemicals are invading our bodies externally and internally through the use of everyday household items. Slow Death by Rubber Duck is a groundbreaking book written by two Canadian Leading Environmentalists Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie and Sarah Dopp who through self-experimentation showed us how dangerous everyday household items are polluting our bodies. These two environmentalists meticulously measured the chemical levels in their body before and after the experiment. Their toxic experiment was to explore chemicals such as phthalates, PFOA and PCBs, Teflon, BPA,
...at over planting can do to the land, the majority of the United States just moved on and continued to treat the land just as poorly as before. John Pursell views chemical fertilizer as a thing that turns soil into “chemical wasteland” and mentions that today’s soil is often not good enough to resist heavy rainfalls.
Blood and soil. This macabre chant haunts the world and represents the distorted ideology that links ethnicity and territory. “Blood and soil” represents a despicable Nazi ideology, an ideology with no place in a civilized society. Yet, these very words continue to be utilized by the neo-Nazis, the alt-right, the Ku Klux Klan, and the white supremacists who, to this day, continue to lurk in the ominous shadows of America. Wielding their torches, chanting these slurs, promoting hate and discrimination against all non-white people, white supremacists collected in defense of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. However, this protest against the removal of a symbol of oppression was regarded as a right. The right to free speech and the right to collective, peaceful, protests-- a right protected by the United States Federal Government. In the 1969 Supreme Court case of
Anthropogenic activities, such as over using of chemical pesticides on agriculture land or directly on water. Heavy metals, such as mercury, emitted to the atmosphere from factories, deposits into rivers and metal pipes, which are connected to rivers, dissolve over time. These pollutants then enter the food chain.
Despite these labels, The Chinese students were concerned about the soon construction of the Molybdenum-copper alloy producing factory. If built, the factory would release various toxic chemicals that are directly related to cancer. In many cities
Farming in LEDC's and MEDC's Can Have a Negative Impact on Soils. Soils are a vital resource to humans as without them there would be no means to feed the world's growing population. However, the global demographic changes are putting increasing pressure on farmers to grow. more and in response to this, more land is being used for farming and The methods used to farm the land are not always beneficial to the soil in the long term.
Humans and the environment in which we live rely on soil for plant growth, provision of water and the storage of carbon. From that point on, we can infer that soil is linked to everything around us and plays many significant roles in sustaining life on earth. Soil is defined as the surface of the earth’s crust. Soil degradation is defined by Environment and Heritage, a conservation body, as the decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastoral, industrial or urban purposes. Soil contains various metals and living organisms.
Also, when soil in and close production ranges turn out to be unclean due to dumping of excess material, such terrestrial cannot be used for farming processes. Pollution is also caused by iron and steel mills; zinc, lead, and copper smelters; municipal incinerators; oil refineries; cement plants; and nitric and sulphuric acid plants. Soil pollution is mostly due to elements in herbicides (wild plant killers) and pesticides (toxins which kill flies and other invertebrate mice). Litter is unused material put in public places such as streets, parks, picnic areas and near shops. The addition of waste intimidates the wellbeing of individuals in housing areas. Waste decays, heartens domestic rascals and goes urban places into unappealing, unclean and unhealthy areas to live in.( (Michael
Our planet is suffering from severe pollution, which ranges from contaminated air, water and soil as well. Humans are doing nothing to reduce the amount of pollution that is harming our earth. To understand how pollution works first you must understand that there are different types of pollution. The most common types of pollution and the ones that I will be focusing on which are the ones doing the most harm to our planet are air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and littering. In order to help out and reduce pollution in our planet people need to be more aware of what these problems are and about the severe damages that they are causing our planet. Before industrialization really jumped into place and had an effect on large cities, nature had its own way of cleaning up its own air and itself. Wind scattered gases, rain washed many substances and the rest dissolved into the ground; while plants absorbed carbon dioxide and made it into oxygen. With big cities growing more every time and with more towns that were becoming more industrialized a lot of more waste began to be released into the environment and the atmosphere and soon this was more than enough for nature to handle. In order to stop and reduce pollution people need to understand the damage that it is causing our environment and our planet as well. People need to be more aware of how they can help out and do their part in reducing these problems that are causing our planet to die slowly with people not even noticing it.
Phytoremediation is a novel, efficient, environmentally friendly, low-cost technology, which uses plants and trees to clean up soil and water contaminated with heavy metals and/or organic contaminants such as solvents, crude oil, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and other toxic compounds from contaminated environments. This technology is useful for soil and water remediation.
In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.
Toxic substances are very harmful to the environment and can lead to many different problems including water pollution which can contaminate water and harm the aquatic life, runoff of toxic pesticides and contamination of soil by radioactive wastes and etc...
People from all over the world go to beautiful beaches that are filled with water as clear as ice or as beautiful as diamonds. But, what will happen if we do not conserve the appealing sites that draw attraction to the public? Contaminated beaches has become a controversial issue to the public because of the causal problem, the harm to the people and marine animals, the government agencies supporting or opposing pollution, and the industries involved in creating such unlawful decisions. To create and find a solution, we must first find the core to the problem.