Soil contamination is different with soil pollution

Soil contamination is different with soil pollution. Soil contamination is either solid or liquid hazardous substances mixed with the naturally occurring soil. Soil contamination happens related to two aspects which are either spilled or buried directly in the soil or migrate to the soil from a spill that has occurred elsewhere. For example, some hazardous particles are released from a smokestack or water that washes contamination from an area containing hazardous substances and deposits  the contamination in the soil as it flows over or through it. No matter plants animals or humans depend on the soil. Therefore, soil contamination must hurt these lives. Contaminants in the soil can adversely impact the health of animals and humans when they ingest, inhale, or touch contaminated soil, or when they eat plants or animals that have themselves been affected by soil contamination. However, how can we clean it up? The treatment approaches can include: flushing contaminants out of the soil using water, chemical solvents, or air; destroying the contaminants by incineration; encouraging natural organisms in the soil to break them down; or adding material to the soil to encapsulate the contaminants and prevent them from spreading.

By Di Wang
Reference: Soil Contamination. (2011, August 9). Retrieved January 17, 2015, from http://www.epa.gov/superfund/students/wastsite/soilspil.htm