Soil Pollution

Ø The liquid waste was thoroughly investigated by environmentalists, but that is not the case with solid wastes. As a matter of fact with greater industrialisation, the production of colourful cartons, boxes and packings for food, beverages, drugs and edible oil, we have an alarming problem of solid waste disposal.

Ø The surplus production is stored by governmental and non-governmental organisations for the lean season. The food loss during the storage also needs special attention. Have you ever seen the damages caused to the crops, food items by insects, rodents, weeds and crop diseases etc.

Pesticides:

ü Pesticide residue is the definite source of pollution of land and soil. A list of such pesticides in use is quite lengthy.

ü The most important ones like DDT, malathion, para-malathion, aldrine, dialdrins, cause a serious problem of land pollution.

ü The characterisation and determination is not simple. Some pesticides have deleterious effect on health.

ü Several of them are carcinogenic and cause long term harmful effects upon health and hence need urgent analysis.

ü Pesticides are basically synthetic toxic chemicals with ecological repercussions. The repeated use of the same or similar pesticides give rise to pests that are resistant to that group of pesticides thus making the pesticides ineffective.

ü Most of the organic toxins are water insoluble and non-biodegradable. These high persistent toxins are, therefore, transferred from lower trophic level to higher trophic level through food chain.

ü Most herbicides are toxic to mammals but are not as persistent as organo-chlorides. These chemicals decompose in a few months. Like organo-chlorides, these too become concentrated in the food web.

ü Some herbicides cause birth defects. Studies show that cornfields sprayed with herbicides are more prone to insect attack and plant disease than fields that are weeded manually.

ü Pesticides and herbicides represent only a very small portion of widespread chemical pollution.

ü A large number of other compounds that are used regularly in chemical and industrial processes for manufacturing activities are finally released in the atmosphere in one or other form.

Industrial Waste:

ü Industrial solid wastes are also sorted out as biodegradable and non-degradable wastes.

ü Biodegradable wastes are generated by cotton mills, food processing units, paper mills, and textile factories.

ü Non-biodegradable wastes are generated by thermal power plants which produce fly ash; integrated iron and steel plants which produce blast furnace slag and steel melting slag. Industries manufacturing aluminium, zinc and copper produce mud and tailings.

ü Fertilizer industries produce gypsum.

ü Hazardous wastes such as inflammables, composite explosives or highly reactive substances are produced by industries dealing in metals, chemicals, drugs, pharmaceuticals, dyes, pesticides, rubber goods etc.

ü The disposal of non-degradable industrial solid wastes, if not done by a proper and suitable method, may cause serious threat to the environment.

ü New innovations have led to different uses of waste material. Nowadays, fly ash and slag from the steel industry are utilised by the cement industry.

ü Large quantities of toxic wastes are usually destroyed by controlled incineration, whereas small quantities are burnt along with factory garbage in open bins.

ü Solid wastes if not managed effectively, affect the components of the environment.