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Other environmental and human health effects of soil pollution

Soil pollution causes huge disturbances in the ecological balance and health of living organisms at an alarming rate. Some environmental effects of the soil pollution are:

  1. Reduced the soil fertility (and quality) and hence decrease the soil yield. For example, the harmful pesticides (e.g. insecticides) can deteriorate the soil quality making it unfit for later use.
  2. Increase in soil salinity, which makes it unfit for cultivation.
  3. Increased soil erosion/Loss of soil.
  4. Loss of natural nutrients of the soil. Therefore, the soil pollutants disturb the soil natural composition.
  5. Alteration in soil structure can lead to death of organisms in it. As referred above, acid rain can damage the soil profile.
  6. Imbalance in the flora and fauna of the soil. For example, it is known that pesticides or industrial waste pollutants can affect plants and animals species by contaminating the soil.
  7. Reduced the nitrogen fixation.
  8. Creation of toxic dust.
  9. Increased bacteria in the soil due to excess of waste deposition. Decomposition by bacteria generates methane gas, contributing to global warming and poor air quality. It also creates foul odours and can impact the quality of life.
  10. Foul odour due to gases and industrial chemicals.

Furthermore, when environmental pollutants are deposited on land areas, their subsequent behaviour is complicated by a series of simultaneous interactions with organic and inorganic components, existing liquid-gas phases, microscopic organisms, and other soil constituents. Depending on the chemical composition and physical structure, pollutants might remain in one location for varying periods of time, be absorbed into plant tissue (and consequently, can enter in the food chain), or move through the soil profile from random molecular motion. Movement is also affected by mass flow as a result of external forces such as the pollutant being dissolved in or suspended in water or adsorbed onto both inorganic and organic soil components.

The harmful effects of soil pollution on human health may come from direct contact with polluted soil or from contact with other resources, such as water, that have come in direct contact with the polluted soil. Some harmful effects of the soil pollution on human health are:

Organ damage: The presence of heavy metals in soil in toxic amounts can cause irreversible developmental damage in children. Although lead and mercury may be found naturally in soil, high concentrations of either metal may cause damage to the developing brains of young children, which in turn may lead to neurological problems, as referred above. Humans of any age may also suffer kidney or liver damage from exposure to excessive mercury in soil.

Bioaccumulation: Humans who eat plants or animals that have accumulated large amounts of soil pollutants may be poisoned, even if the soil itself does not contain enough pollution to harm human health.

Cancer: Many common soil pollutants are carcinogenic. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, humans who are exposed to these pollutants are far more likely to develop cancer than humans who are not exposed to them. For example, regular exposure to benzene is known to cause leukemia in both children and adults. Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is linked to liver cancer.

In addition to endangering human health, soil pollution can also cause economic damage/losses. For example, in some parts of China, soil that is polluted with heavy metals is nevertheless used to grow grain. The grain grown in these soils is often polluted with heavy metals. An estimated 12 million tons of polluted grain must be disposed of each year, costing much money to the farmers.

For more information about the effects of soil pollution on human health see the document "Soil contamination impacts on human health":


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