Question

Explain various sources of soil pollution

Answer 1

Various sources of soil pollution are

1. Industrial wastes: There are two types of wastes produced from industrial activities i.e. unused chemicals and unwanted industrial garbage.
2. Urban wastes – Urban wastes comprise is of both commercial and domestic wastes, consisting of dried sludge and sewage. Urban waste should be separately disposed of from industrial waste because it is not easily degraded.
3. Biological agents – Soil gets a large amount of human, animal, and bird excreta which constitute a major source of land pollution by biological agents.
4. 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.
5. Radioactive pollutants- Radioactive substances resulting from explosions of nuclear testing laboratories and industries give rise to nuclear dust radioactive wastes, penetrate the soil, and accumulate giving rise to land/soil pollution.