Applied Environmental Health Soil Pollution: Kigongo Eustes Department of Public Health Lira University

APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
SOIL POLLUTION
Kigongo Eustes
Department of Public Health
Lira University
Learning outcomes
 By the end of this lecture, all learners should be able to:
 Define soil pollution
 Discuss the causes and effects of soil pollution
 Explain the measures for control of soil pollution

Introduction
 Soil is a thin layer of organic and inorganic materials that covers the earth's rocky
surface.
 The composition of soil is; organic mineral matter (45%), organic matter (5%), soil
water (25%) and soil air (25%).
 Soil has a lot of functions: Biomass production, filtering and buffering, physical
basis of structures and roads, sources of raw materials, biological habitat and
medium for detritus food chains.
Soil pollution
 Soil (land) pollution is another of the main types of pollution, it occurs worldwide,
and directly results from activities that humans engage in.
 The problem of land pollution is different from water and air as land pollutants
remain in place for long periods.
 With increase in population and use of more and more buildings, the empty land
is diminishing while the amount of pollutants is increasing.
Soil pollution
 Land pollution is mainly about the contamination, and degradation of earth’s land
surfaces.
 Occurs when wastes from various sources are not properly disposed off causing
harmful substances and chemicals to leach in the ground.
 Land pollution is caused by solid and semisolid wastes arising from agricultural
practices and insanitary habits.
Soil pollution
 Soil pollution results when hazardous substances are spilled or buried directly in
the soil, and migrate to the soil from a spill that has occurred elsewhere.
 For instance water that washes contamination from an area containing hazardous
substances and deposits the contamination in the soil as it flows over or through
it.
Types of soil pollution
 Soil pollution can be described under four groups:
1. Industrial wastes
2. Urban wastes
3. Agricultural practices
4. Radioactive materials
5. Biological agents
1. Industrial wastes
 Industrial wastes arise mainly from coal and metal mines and the engineering and
metal processing industries.
 Urban dry wastes include commercial and domestic wastes as also municipal
waste in the form of dried sewage sludge.
 Approximately 50% raw material used in industry is ultimately discarded as

waste, of which 15 percent is toxic or harmful.
2. Urban wastes
 Urban wastes comprise of both commercial and domestic wastes consisting of

dried sludge and sewage.
 All the urban solid wastes are commonly referred to as refuse and are disposed
off by land tipping.
 This refuse consists of garbage and rubbish materials like plastics, glasses,
metallic cans, fibres, paper, rubbers, street sweepings, fuel residues, leaves,
containers, abandoned vehicles and other discarded manufactured products.
Urban wastes
 Urban domestic wastes though disposed off separately from industrial wastes,
can still be dangerous. This happens because they are not easily degraded.
 Garbage dumps constitute breeding ground for vermin and insects. It is estimated
that 70,000 flies can breed in one cubic foot garbage.
3. Agricultural practices
 Modern agricultural practices pollute the soil to a large extent.
 With the advancing agro-technology, huge quantities of fertilizers, pesticides,

herbicides and weedicides are added to increase the crop yield.
 Apart from these farm wastes, manure, slurry, debris, soil erosion containing
mostly inorganic chemicals are reported to cause soil pollution
Agricultural practices
 Fertilizers – when fertilizers are used in excessive quantities, they pollute the soil
where they are applied (e.g. nitrate fertilizers)
 Pesticides – include chlorinated hydrocarbons, organophosphate compounds, etc.

find their way in root crops (lindane in carrots)
 Other soil chemicals – include soil conditioners and fumigants e.g. Mercury, arsenic,
lead, stay in soil permanently and find their way into plant products.
 Farming – cattle farming and poultry produce large amounts of wastes. If this is not
well disposed, cause nuisance of smell and sight in public.
4. Radioactive materials
 Radioactive substances resulting from explosions of nuclear testing laboratories

and industries giving rise to nuclear dust radioactive wastes, penetrate the soil
and accumulate giving rise to land/soil pollution.
 A large number of radioactive substances can pollute soil.
 Examples are strontium-90 and caesium-137.
 Both have half-life around 30 years.

5. Biological agents
 Soil gets a large amount of human, animal and bird excreta which constitute a
major source of land pollution by biological agents.
 Bacteria and parasites in human and animal excreta contaminate the soil when
hygienic excreta disposal facilities are not available. Open defecation in the fields
in rural and slum areas is the single most common source.
 Discharge of untreated or incompletely treated sewage on land and dumping of

sewage sludge also cause soil pollution.
Causes of land pollution
 Increase in urbanization
 Domestic activities
 Agricultural activities
 Industrial activities
 Deforestation
 Mining activities
Causes of soil pollution
 Solid waste disposal
 Construction activities
 Sewage treatment
Soil pollutants
 Heavy metals like lead from leaking paint and incinerators.
 Pharmaceutical wastes like contraceptives and expired drugs, (a report of

contraceptives detected in water – mainly contamination from urine)
 Hydrocarbons like oil wastes
 Pesticides and fertilizers – due to modern farming methods
 Chlorinated compounds from insecticide and pesticide control
 Oxidizing compounds
Soil pollutants
 Hot water from mainly from industries
 Solid materials like plastics and glass due to indiscriminate dumping around major
towns and cities.
 Radiations for example strontium 90 in nuclear explosions

Effects of soil pollution
 The effects can be on:
 Soil, reduced yields due to poor nutrient content
 Wildlife through disruption of nature, killing and damaging wild forms
 Climate due to loss of forest cover
 Health which vary accordingly to the pollutants
 Biodiversity through extinction, and bio-magnification

Effects of soil pollution include:
 Disease – heavy metals in plants
 Water pollution – water sources, fish stocks
 Allergies – soil dust, hazardous waste sites
 Fires – ignitable discharges
 Reduction in food production – poor soils
 Aesthetic values
Effects cont’d
 Presence of pharmaceutically active compounds
 Accidents and cuts
 Affects source of medicinal plants and organisms
 Nuclear radiation (poor land usage)
 Degradation of building materials
 Impairment of soil filtration capacity and permeability

Soil pollution control
 Anti-litter campaigns can educate people against littering
 Reducing chemical fertilizer and pesticide use – use bio fertilizers and biological
methods to control pests
 Reusing of materials – glass containers, plastic bag, papers, at domestic level
 Recycling and recovery of materials – reduces the volume of refuse
 Reforestation and afforestation – control of land loss and erosion

Soil pollution control cont’d
 Production of natural fertilizer, bio-pesticides should be used in place of toxic

chemical pesticides.
 Solid waste disposal – proper methods for unwanted materials like old plastics
should be adopted.
 Legislation – formulation and implementation of relevant policies and laws.
 Public awareness: Informal and formal public awareness programs should be

imparted to educate people on health hazards by environmental education.
Conclusion
 One may say that soil pollution, sometimes referred to the third pollution (after
air and water pollution), is certainly widespread and needs to be curbed.
 Solid wastes constitute the major cause of soil pollution.
 The remedy lies in promoting hygienic habits and use of biodegradable

material.
Thank you for listening

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APPLIED ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

 By the end of this lecture, all learners should be able to:

 Define soil pollution

 Discuss the causes and effects of soil pollution

 Explain the measures for control of soil pollution

 Soil pollution can be described under four groups:

 Approximately 50% raw material used in industry is ultimately discarded as

 Urban wastes comprise of both commercial and domestic wastes consisting of

 Modern agricultural practices pollute the soil to a large extent.

 With the advancing agro-technology, huge quantities of fertilizers, pesticides,

 Pesticides – include chlorinated hydrocarbons, organophosphate compounds, etc.

 Radioactive substances resulting from explosions of nuclear testing laboratories

 A large number of radioactive substances can pollute soil.

 Examples are strontium-90 and caesium-137.

 Both have half-life around 30 years.

 Discharge of untreated or incompletely treated sewage on land and dumping of

 Solid waste disposal

 Pharmaceutical wastes like contraceptives and expired drugs, (a report of

 Hydrocarbons like oil wastes

 Pesticides and fertilizers – due to modern farming methods

 Chlorinated compounds from insecticide and pesticide control

 Hot water from mainly from industries

 Radiations for example strontium 90 in nuclear explosions

 The effects can be on:

 Soil, reduced yields due to poor nutrient content

 Wildlife through disruption of nature, killing and damaging wild forms

 Climate due to loss of forest cover

 Health which vary accordingly to the pollutants

 Biodiversity through extinction, and bio-magnification

 Disease – heavy metals in plants

 Water pollution – water sources, fish stocks

 Allergies – soil dust, hazardous waste sites

 Fires – ignitable discharges

 Reduction in food production – poor soils

 Presence of pharmaceutically active compounds

 Accidents and cuts

 Affects source of medicinal plants and organisms

 Nuclear radiation (poor land usage)

 Degradation of building materials

 Impairment of soil filtration capacity and permeability

 Anti-litter campaigns can educate people against littering

 Reusing of materials – glass containers, plastic bag, papers, at domestic level

 Recycling and recovery of materials – reduces the volume of refuse

 Reforestation and afforestation – control of land loss and erosion

 Production of natural fertilizer, bio-pesticides should be used in place of toxic

 Legislation – formulation and implementation of relevant policies and laws.

 Public awareness: Informal and formal public awareness programs should be

 Solid wastes constitute the major cause of soil pollution.

 The remedy lies in promoting hygienic habits and use of biodegradable

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