ENVIRONMENTAL

ENGINEERING
ES 423
Mon. & wed.
(7:00 pm – 8:00 pm)
SOIL POLLUTION

PRESENTED BY:
BSME 4-1
GROUP 2
 Contents
Take Note!
• Definition
• Types of Soil Pollution
• Elements of Soil Pollution
• Causes
• Effects
• Countries Involve to the Soil Pollution
• How to Solve the Soil Pollution
 Definition
• Soil pollution is defined as the presence of
toxic chemicals (pollutants or contaminants)
in soil, in high enough concentrations to pose
a risk to human health and/or the ecosystem.
• the presence of xenobiotic (human-made)
chemicals or other alteration in the natural
soil environment. It is typically caused by
industrial activity, agricultural chemicals, or
improper disposal of waste.
 TYPES OF SOIL POLLUTION
• industrial waste
• Agricultural Practices
• Radioactive pollutants
• Urban Activities
• Biological Agents
 Industrial waste

• Steel, pesticides, textiles, drugs, glass,

cement, petroleum, etc. are produced by
paper mills, oil refineries, sugar factories,
petroleum industries and others as such.
 Agricultural Practices
• The soil of the crops is polluted to a large
extent with pesticides, fertilizers,
herbicides, slurry, debris, and manure.
 Radioactive Pollutants
• Radioactive substances such as Radium,
Thorium, Uranium, Nitrogen, etc. can
infiltrate the soil and create toxic effects.
 Biological Agents
• Biological agents work inside the soil to
introduce manures and digested sludge
(coming from the human, bird and animal
excreta) into the soil.
 Urban Wastes
• Urban waste consists of garbage and
rubbish materials, dried sludge and
sewage from domestic and commercial
waste.
Elements of Soil Pollution
• Biological
• Chemical
• Physical
• Biological Elements - represented by
organisms (bacterial, viruses, parasites),
eliminated by human and by animals, most of
them being pathogens. They are part of
various residues ( garbage, animal, industrial );
• Chemical Elements - Chemical elements,
mostly organic. Their importance is
multiple : they serve as nutritional support
for germs, insects and rodents; they suffer
decomposing processes with toxic gas
releases and they can affect water sources
;
• Physical elements, which create an
imbalance of soil composition: floods, acid
rains, deforestation.
 Causes of Soil Pollution
Indiscriminate use of fertilizers

insecticides and herbicides

Dumping of large quantities of solid

waste

Deforestation and soil erosion

 INDISCRIMINATE USE OF FERTILIZERS

 Farmers generally use fertilizers to correct soil deficiencies.

 Fertilizers contaminate the soil with impurities, which come from the raw
materials used for their manufacture.

 Mixed fertilizers often contain (NH4NO3), P2O5, and K2O.

 For instance, As, Pb and Cd present in traces in rock phosphate mineral get
transferred to super phosphate fertilizer.

 reduces the protein content of wheat, maize, grams, etc., grown on that soil.

 The vegetables and fruits grown on over fertilized soil are more prone to
attacks by insects and disease.
INDISCRIMINATE USE OF PESTICIDES,
INSECTICIDES AND HERBICIDES

 Plants on which we depend for food are under attack

from insects, fungi, bacteria, viruses, rodents and other
animals, and must compete with weeds for nutrients.

 First widespread insecticide use began at the end of

World War II and included DDT
(dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and gammaxene.

 Decrease the fertility of the soil

 DUMPING OF SOLID WASTES

• In general, solid waste includes garbage,

domestic refuse and discarded solid
materials such as those from commercial,
industrial and agricultural operations.
 DEFORESTATION
• Soil Erosion occurs when the weathered soil
particles are dislodged and carried away
by wind or water.
 Effects of Soil Pollution
• Soil pollution can have a number of
harmful effects on ecosystems and human,
plants and animal health. The harmful
effects of soil pollution may come from
direct contact with polluted soil or from
contact with other resources, such as water
or food which has been grown on or come
in direct contact with the polluted soil.
1.Humans
• Many common soil pollutants are carcinogenic causing
humans who are exposed to these pollutants to be far
more likely to develop cancer than those who are not.
For example, regular exposure to benzene is known to
cause leukemia in both children and adults and
exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is linked
to liver cancer. Soil pollution can also cause
neuromuscular blockage as well as depression of the
central nervous system, headaches, nausea, fatigue,
eye irritation and skin rash.
2. Animals
• Soil pollution can negatively affect the
metabolism of microorganisms and arthropods,
which can destroy some layers of the primary food
chain and have a harmful effect on predator
animal species. Also, small life forms may consume
harmful chemicals in the soil which may then be
passed up the food chain to larger animals, which
may lead to increased mortality rates and even
animal extinction.
3. Environment
• According to Pollution Issues, soil pollution naturally
contributes to air pollution by releasing volatile
compounds into the atmosphere - so the more toxic
compounds soil contains, the greater the air pollution
it creates - and can lead to water pollution if toxic
chemicals leach into groundwater or if contaminated
runoff or sewage, which can contain dangerous heavy
metals, reaches streams, lakes, or oceans. When
applied repeatedly or in large amounts, these heavy
metals can accumulate in soils to the point that it is
unable to support plant life.
 Most polluted Countries
• 1. Chernobyl, Ukraine
• 2. Dzerzhinsk, Russia
• 3. Kabwe, Zambia
• 4. La Oroya, Peru
• 5. Mailuu-Suu, Kyrgyzst
 How to Solve Soil Pollution
• 1. Is to make people aware about the concepts of REUSE, RECYCLE and
REDUCE
• 2. Reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural activities
• 3. Avoid buying packages items as they will lead to garbage and end up in
landfill sites.
• 4. Ensure that you do not litter on the ground and do proper disposal of
your own garbage.
• 5. Buy BIODEGRADABLE products
• 6. Do organic gardening and eat organic food that will be grown without
the use of pesticides
• 7. Create dumping area away from residential areas
• 8. Remember the importance of not disrupting the harmony of the land;
wildlife survive under the land too.
• 9. Reduce Deforestation and Begin Reforestation
 Clean up Options
• Bioremediation - The use of naturally occuring
microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi &
plants to break down or degrade toxic
chemical compounds that have accumulated
in the environment
• It is a method that treats the soils and renders
them non-hazardous, thus eliminating any
future liability that may result from landfill
problems or violations.
 Two types of Bio remediation
• In situ Bioremediation : The treatment in place
without excavation of contaminated soils or
sediments.
• Ex situ bioremediation: requires pumping of
the groundwater or excavation of
contaminated soil prior to remediation
treatments.
 Types of In situ Bioremediation
• Biostimulation: To stimulate the activity of microorganisms by
adding nutrients and electron acceptors (e.g. O2)
• Bioventing: Injecting air through soil to stimulate microbe growth
in unsaturated zone
• Biosparging: Injection of air/nutrients into unsaturated and
saturated zones
• Bioaugmentation: inoculation of soil with microbes or adding
exogenous microbes to the subsurface
 In-situ-Bioremediation
Good for large volumes Less expensive
Slower • Creates less dust
Doesn’t work well in clays or • Less possibility of contaminant
highly layered subsurfaces release into environment

• Biostimulation (stimulates
biological activity)
– Bioventing (Inject
air/nutrients into
unsaturated zone – good
for midweight petroleum,
jet fuel)
– Biosparging (Inject
air/nutrients into
unsaturated and
saturated zones)
• Bioaugmentation (inoculates soil
with microbes)
Biostimulation

Biosparging
 Ex-situ -Bioremediation •Easier to
• Slurry-phase-Soil combined with control
water/additives in tank,
microorganisms, nutrients, •Used to treat
oxygen added wider range of
contaminants
and soil types
• Solid-phase
•Costly
– Land-farming: soil put on pad,
leachate collected •Faster
– Soil biopiles: soil heaped, air
added
– Composting: biodegradable waste
mixed with bulking agent
– Land Applied –waste added
directly to soil which is later
planted to a crop.
 Advantages of Using Bioremediation Processes
Compared With Other Remediation Technologies

(1) biologically-based remediation detoxifies hazardous substances instead of

merely transferring contaminants from on environmental medium to
another;

(2) bioremediation is generally less disruptive to the environment than

excavation-based processes; and

(3) The cost of treating a hazardous waste site using bioremediation

technologies can be considerably lower than that for conventional
treatment methods: vacuuming, absorbing, burning, dispersing, or moving
the material .
 LAWS GOVERNING SOIL POLLUTION
REPUBLIC ACT 9003 ECOLOGICAL SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT ACT OF 2000
• In partnership with stakeholders, the law aims to
adopt a systematic, comprehensive and
ecological solid waste management program that
shall ensure the protection of public health and
environment. The law ensures proper
segregation, collection, storage, treatment and
disposal of solid waste through the formulation
and adaptation of best eco-waste products.
• REPUBLIC ACT 6969 TOXIC SUBSTANCES, HAZARDOUS
AND NUCLEAR WASTE CONTROL ACT OF 1990
The law aims to regulate restrict or prohibit the
importation, manufacture, processing, sale, distribution,
use and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures the
present unreasonable risk to human health. It likewise
prohibits the entry, even in transit, of hazardous and
nuclear wastes and their disposal into the Philippine
territorial limits for whatever purpose; and to provide
advancement and facilitate research and studies on toxic
chemicals.
• PRESIDENTIAL DECREE 1586 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
STATEMENT (EIS) STATEMENT OF 1978
The Environment Impact Assessment System was formally
established in 1978 with the enactment of Presidential
Decree no. 1586 to facilitate the attainment and
maintenance of rational and orderly balance between
socio-economic development and environmental
protection. EIA is a planning and management tool that
will help government, decision makers, the proponents
and the affected community address the negative
consequences or risks on the environment. The process
assures implementation of environment-friendly projects.
 PROHIBITED ACTS | FINES AND
PENALTIES
REPUBLIC ACT 9003 ECOLOGICAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT OF
2000 Section 48. Prohibited Acts – The following acts are prohibited:
• 1. Littering, throwing, dumping of waste matters in public places,
such as roads, sidewalks, canals, esteros or parks, and
establishment, or causing or permitting the same;
• 2. Undertaking activities or operating, collecting or transporting
equipment in violation of sanitation operation and other
requirements or permits set forth in established pursuant;
• 3.The open burning of solid waste;
• 4. Causing or permitting the collection of non-segregated or
unsorted wastes;
• 5. Squatting in open dumps and landfills;
• 6. Open dumping, burying of biodegradable or non-biodegradable
materials in flood prone areas;
• 7. Unauthorized removal of recyclable material intended for
collection by authorized persons;
• 8. The mixing of source-separated recyclable material with other solid waste in
any vehicle, box, container or receptacle used in solid waste collection or disposal;
• 9. Establishment or operation of open dumps as enjoined in this Act, or closure of
said dumps in violation of Sec. 37;
• 10. The manufacture, distribution or use of non-environmentally acceptable
packaging materials;
• 11. Importation of consumer products packaged in non-environmentally
acceptable materials;
• 12. Importation of toxic wastes misrepresented as "recyclable" or "with recyclable
content";
• 13. Transport and dumplog in bulk of collected domestic, industrial, commercial,
and institutional wastes in areas other than centers or facilities prescribe under
this Act;
• 14. Site preparation, construction, expansion or operation of waste management
facilities without an Environmental Compliance Certificate required pursuant to
Presidential Decree No. 1586 and this Act and not conforming with the land use
plan of the LGU;
• 15. The construction of any establishment within two hundred (200) meters from
open dumps or controlled dumps, or sanitary landfill; and 16. The construction or
operation of landfills or any waste disposal facility on any aquifer, groundwater
reservoir, or watershed area and or any portions thereof.
 PROHIBITED ACTS | FINES AND
PENALTIES
• REPUBLIC ACT 6969 TOXIC SUBSTANCES, HAZARDOUS AND NUCLEAR
WASTE CONTROL ACT OF 1990 Section 13. Prohibited Acts. – The following
acts and omissions shall be considered unlawful:
• a. Knowingly use in chemical substance or mixture which is imported,
manufactured, processed or distributed in violation of this Act or
implementing rules and regulations or orders;
• b. Failure or refusal to submit reports, notices or on the information,
access to records as required by this Act, or permit inspection of
establishment where chemicals are manufactured, processed, stored or
otherwise held;
• c. Failure or refusal to comply with the pre-manufacture and pre-
importation requirements; and
• d. Cause, aid or facilitate, directly or indirectly, in the storage, importation
or bringing into Philippine territory, including its maritime economic
zones, even in transit, either by means of land, air or sea transportation or
otherwise keeping in storage any amount of hazardous and nuclear wastes
in any part of the Philippines.