AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution may be defined as an atmospheric condition is which certain substances are present in such
concentrations which can cause undesirable effects on man and his environment. These substances
include gases, particulate matter, radioactive substances etc.
CAUSES/ SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION
The sources of air pollution are natural and man-made.
1. Natural sources: Natural sources of air pollution are volcanic eruptions, forest fires, biological decay,
pollen grains of flowers, spores etc. Radioactive minerals present in the earth crust are also sources of
radioactivity in the atmosphere.
2. Man-made sources: Man-made sources of air pollution include thermal power plants, industrial units,
vehicular emissions, fossil fuel burning, agricultural activities etc. The main pollutants emitted by thermal
power plants and metallurgical plants are flyash and SO2. Fertilizer plants, textile mills, tanneries,
refineries, chemical industries, paper and pulp mills are other sources of air pollution. Automobile
exhaust is another source of air pollution. Automobiles release gases such carbon monoxide, oxides of
nitrogen and hydrocarbons.
AIR POLLUTANTS
Air pollutants are classified as follows:
1. Particulate matter (Aerosol): Any kind of small particle floating in the air is referred to as particulates
(aerosols). Particulates in air are the result of both natural and human activities. Various types of
particulates present in air are:
(a) Dust: The particulate having the size lum to 200 μm in solid forms is referred to as dust. This includes
metallic (copper, lead, steel, aluminum, zinc etc) and non-metallic (cotton, cement, asbestos, ceramic
etc.).
(b) Smoke: It mostly consist of soot, flyash and other liquid or solid particles having the size 0.01um to
lum in diameter. Smoke generates from several sources such as factories, automobiles, oil refineries, steel
plant etc.
(c) Fog: It is a special type of thin cloud consisting of microscopically small water droplets which remain
suspended in the air near the ground surface.
(d) Smog: Smog is a combination of smoke (carbon particles) and fog (an emulsion of water vapours in
air). Smog has become very common is large cities, especially during winter.
2. Oxides of carbon:
(a) Carbonmonoxide : CO (a product of incomplete combustion of carbon) is a deadly poisonous gas in
high concentration. The main sources are automobiles, furnaces; incomplete combustion of coal in
factories etc.
(b) Carbon dioxide: A large amount of CO2 is released in the atmosphere from burning of fossil fuels.
3. Hydrocarbons: They include methane, ethane, butane, acetylene etc. emitted by automobiles and
industrial exhausts.
4. Oxides of nitrogen: Nitrous oxide (N2O), Nitrogen oxide (NO), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Nitrogen
trioxide (NO3) are called as oxides of nitrogen. From these NO and NO2 are the most important air
pollutants.
5. Oxide of sulphur: Sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and sulphates particles are the three forms of
sulphur found in the atmosphere. The chief source of SO2 emission is burning of fossil fuels and for H2S
is decomposition of vegetation and animal waste especially in aquatic habitats.
6. Halogens: Halogens remain in the atmosphere in two forms namely chlorine and fluorine. The chief
source of Cl2 is caustic soda industries. Fluorine becomes a pollutant at high concentrations. It occurs
mainly in smoke from brick kiln, iron and steel industries.
EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution has become a serious problem in big, congested, industrialized cities with heavy rush of
vehicular traffic. Air pollution has adverse effects on men, animals, plants, materials and climate as
discussed further.
1. Effects on human health: Our health depends on the quality of air we breathe in our immediate
environment. Air pollution is responsible for various health hazards and diseases.
(i) Respiratory symptoms such as coughing and wheezing.
(ii) Increased respiratory disease such as bronchitis.
(iii) Reduced lung functioning
(iv) Asthmatic attack
(v) Irritation of eyes, nose, throat and mouth
(vi) Headache and dizziness
(vii) Cardiovascular problems
(viii) Neurobehavioural disorders
(ix) Cancer
(x) Reduced energy levels
(xi) Premature death
2. Effects on vegetation: Air pollution cause following adverse effects on vegetation:
(i) Dust, smoke and other particulate matter settle on the leaves of the plants which reduce sunlight and
thereby retard photosynthesis.
(ii) Hydrocarbons such as ethylene cause premature leaf fall, fruit drop, shedding of floral buds, curling of
petals.
(iii) Acid rain affects adversely terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. Low pH also damage soil microbial
community.
(iv) Ozone hole in the upper atmosphere can allow excessive ultraviolet radiation from the sun causing
damage to trees and plans.
(v) Fruit trees and cereal crops are more sensitive to oxides of sulphur. Therefore, they suffer a great loss
in the areas around smelters and industrial belts.
(vi) Lichens (tiny plants) are very sensitive to air pollution. Their growth is inhibited in polluted air.
(vii) Ozone damages the foliage in large number of plants.
3. Effects on animals: Air pollution causes large scale damage to livestock. The general effects of air
pollution on domestic animals in or around industrial area are similar to those on human beings.
(i) When the animals feed upon the particulate (lead, arsenic) coated plants, they get affected with
lead/arsenic poisoning. Lead poisoning results in bronchitis and lack of appetite in pet animals.
(ii) Excessive ultraviolet radiations from the Sun through the ozone layer may cause cancer in wildlife.
(iii) Ozone in the lower atmosphere may damage lung tissues of animals. (iv) Air pollutants mixing up
with rainwater can cause high acidity (lower pH) in fresh water lakes. This affects aquatic life specially
fish. Some of the freshwater lakes have experienced total fish death.
(v) Several air borne microbes cause diseases in animals.
4. Effects on materials/buildings: Air pollution effects the materials and buildings in the following
manner:
(i) Acid rains caused by oxides of sulphur and nitrogen have corrosive effect on the buildings and other
materials.
(ii) Metals undergo corrosion and tarnishing by SO2 and acid gases.
(iii) Paints get discolored by H2S, SO2 and other particulates.
iv) Photochemical smog has deteriorating effect on buildings, metals and marbles.
(v) Large number of historical buildings are damaged by acid rains and other air pollutants.
(vi) Ozone in the atmosphere causes cracking of rubber.
5. Effects on climate: Earth's climate depends on various factors including composition of atmosphere
and balance of gases. Thus air pollution has following harmful effects on climate:
(i) Heat produced by the industrial plants raises the temperature of the surroundings.
(ii) Due to deforestation and excessive burning of fossil fuels, the CO2 and CO contents of the
atmosphere are increasing rapidly. It will lead to rise in global temperature by more than two to three
degree due to greenhouse effect. A rise in global temperature may result in melting of glaciers and polar
ice caps, flooding of low lying coastal plains and submersion of islands. It may change the rainfall pattern
also thus affecting agricultural output.
(iii) Excessive release of CFCs will deplete the ozone layer in the stratosphere, which permit most of the
harmful ultraviolet radiations to reach the earth. (iv) When pollutants like hydrocarbons and nitrogen
oxides combine in the presence of sunlight, smog is formed. Since it is formed by photochemical
reactions, it is called photochemical smog. It forms a yellowish brown haze especially during winter and
hampers visibility.
6. Effects on aesthetics: Air pollution has adverse effects on the aesthetics of human life.
(i) A clear and transparent atmosphere is not only aesthetically pleasant but also necessary for clear
vision. A dust haze or hanging smoke blur's our vision.
(ii) Foul odour emitted by industries, automobiles, dirty drains and garbage heaps make urban life
unpleasant.
(iii) Coal dust and other materials discharged from the industries settle down on the floor and other
objects of houses and present dirty look.
CONTROL OF AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution can be minimized effectively by adopting the following methods:
1. Preventive measures: Some of the preventive measures to control air pollution are:
(i) Selection of suitable fuel (e.g. fuel with low sulphur content) and its efficient utilization to reduce the
level of pollutants in emissions.
(ii) Modifications in industrial processes and equipments to reduce emission.
(iii) Setting of industries after proper environmental impact assessment studies.
(iv) Selection of suitable manufacturing zones for industrial set up to disperse pollution sources. Setting
of industries away from the residential areas.
(v) Dilution of emission from industries by installing tall chimneys.
(vi) Minimizing activities which cause pollution like transportation and energy production. Promote mass
transportation system for travel within the city limits and by cycles for short distance.
(vii) Controlling vehicular pollution by regular tune-up of engines, replacing more polluting old vehicles,
by engine modification to have more fuel efficiency.
(viii) Shifting to less polluting fuels (hydrogen gas).
(ix) Using biological filters and bio-scrubbers.
(x) Planting more and more trees to reduce air pollution.
2. Remedial measures: When pollution control is not possible at source then it becomes necessary to
install the pollution control equipments to remove the pollutants.
Different types of air pollutant can be eliminated/minimised by the following methods:
(a) Control of particulate matter: To separate particulate matters from contaminated air following
equipments are used:
(i) Gravitational settling chamber: This device consists of a huge rectangular chamber and is used to
remove pollutants exceeding 50 um in size. The gas with particulates is allowed to enter from one end.
The horizontal velocity of the gas stream is kept low (less than 0.3m/s) in order to provide sufficient time
for the particulates to settle down by gravity.
(iii) Fabric filters: In this device, the polluted gas is made to pass through a fabric that filters out the
particles and allows the clean gas to pass through. This device is closed at the upper end and has a hopper
attached at the lower end to collect the particles which are removed by the fabrics. This device is also
called as baghouse filters.
 Fig.: Fabric filter
(iv) Electrostatic precipitators: This device works on the principle of electrostatic precipitation i.e.
electrically charged particulates present in the polluted gas are separated under the influence of the
electrical field. The collecting electrodes are continuously vibrated to remove the collected dust particles
into the hoppers.

Fig.: Electrostatic precipitator

(b) Control of gaseous pollutants: The gaseous pollutants can be controlled through the techniques of
combustion, absorption and adsorption.
(i) In combustion process oxidizable gaseous pollutants are completely burnt at a high temperature. This
method is used in petro-chemical, fertilizer, paint and varnish industries.
(ii) In absorption technique gaseous pollutants are absorbed in suitable absorbent materials.
(iii) Adsorption technique is applied to control toxic gases, vapours and inflammable compounds that
could not be efficiently removed or transferred by the above techniques. Air pollutants are adsorbed on
large solid surfaces.
(iv) Wet scrubbers: These devices are used to clean air for both dust and gases by passing it through wet
packing material/wet chamber. These devices are best suited for the removal of gaseous pollutants. Dirty
gases are passed through water in the chamber or water is sprayed on the gas. Particles are made wet and
are removed from the gas stream. Wet scrubbers are very efficient for removing the particulates. The
scrubbers are very useful for removal of toxic and acidic gases also.

Fig.: Wet Scrubber

ADVERSE EFFECTS ON HEALTH OF SOME SPECIFIC AIR POLLUTANTS
The following gases adversely affect the human health and, therefore, require due attention:
1. Tobacco smoke: Tobacco smoke is a major cause of ill health, as it is known to cause cancer, not
only to the smoker but affecting passive smokers (the persons who are in the vicinity of a smoker)
also. Tobacco smoke causes burning sensation in the eyes or nose, throat irritation, cancer,
bronchitis, severe asthma and a decrease in lung function.
2. Carbon monoxide: It is one of the most common and poisonous gas. The incomplete burning of
any carbon material, specially gasoline in automobiles, produces carbon monoxide. When it
enters the blood system, it combines with the haemoglobin (due to its higher affinity to
haeomoglobin) and reduces oxygen carrying capacity of blood. Due to reduced intake of oxygen
our brain and the cardiovascular system is affected. It causes headache and slows down our
physical and mental activities.
3. Formaldehyde : Exposure to formaldehyde causes irritation to the eyes, nose and may cause
allergies in some people.
 4. Lead: Prolonged exposure to it can cause damage to the nervous system, digestive problems and
in some cases may cause cancer.
5. Ozone: Exposure to this gas makes our eyes itch, burn and watery. It also causes increase in
respiratory disorders such as asthma. It lowers our resistance to cold and pneumonia.
WATER POLLUTION:
Water pollution may be defined as the addition of some undesirable substances (organic, inorganic,
biological or radiological) which degrades the physical, chemical or biological quality of water so that
it either becomes a health hazard or unfit for use.
6. WATER POLLUTANTS
Broadly water pollutants may be classified as:
Category Nature 7. Sources of Pollution

Physical Temperature Waste heat from industries

Turbidity and colour
Dyes and pigments
Suspended and
floating Sand, metal pieces, plastic,
matter sewage etc.

Chemical Organic Synthetic detergents, tars,

fertilizers, organic effluent
Inorganic
from industries etc.
Nitrates, phosphates,
chlorides, fluorides etc.
Biological Pathogenic Bacteria, fungi, virus, worms
etc.

SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION

Water is an essential commodity for survival. Water is required for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing,
irrigation and for industrial purposes. Water has unique property of dissolving almost all the substances in
it, therefore, it can easily get polluted.
Major sources of water pollution are classified as follows:
1. Community waste water: Community waste water includes discharge from houses, commercial and
industrial establishments connected to public sewerage system. The sewage contains human and animal
excreta, food residues, cleansing agents, detergents and other wastes.
It always contains organic matter, bacteria and other biological pollutants.
With increase in the amount of organic wastes in the polluted water, the bacteria multiply rapidly and use
up the available oxygen. Deoxygenation of waste water causes growth of anaerobic bacteria which
produce foul smelling gases.
2. Industrial effluents: The major source of water pollution is the waste water discharged from industrial
and commercial establishments. These industries include chemical, metallurgical, textile, paper, sugar,
rubber and plastic, fo processing, oil refineries, tanneries etc. Industrial wastes contain toxic chemicals,
acids, alkalis, metallic salts, phenols, cyanides, ammonia, radioactive substances etc.
They also cause thermal (heat) pollution of water.
3. Agrochemical pollutants: Chemical fertilizers and pesticides has become vital for the present day
high yielding crops. Consequently they have become a major source of water pollution. These fertilizers
(containing nitrates, phosphate and potassium) and pesticides (insecticides, fungicides, herbicides etc.)
may reach the ground water by leaching or may be mixed with surface water by rain-water surface run-off
and pollute it. These chemicals remain in the environment for a long time and can enter the food chain.
4. Thermal pollution: Thermal pollution of water is caused by the rise temperature of water bodies. The
main sources of thermal pollution are the thermal and nuclear power plants. These plants use water as
coolant and release hot water after use into the water bodies. Sudden rise in temperature kills fish and
other aquatic animals.
5. Underground water pollution: Groundwater seems to be less prone pollution as the soil mantle
through which water passes helps to retain various contaminants due to its cation exchange capacity.
However, there are number of potential sources of ground water pollution. Septic tanks, industries (textile
chemicals and tanneries), deep well injection, mining etc. are mainly responsible for ground water
pollution, which is irreversible.
Ground water polluted with arsenic, fluoride and nitrate are posing serious health hazards.
6. Marine pollution: Oceans are the ultimate sink of all natural and manmade pollutants. Rivers
discharge their pollutants into the sea. The sewerage and garbage of coastal cities are also dumped into
the sea.
The other sources of marine pollution are navigational discharge of oil, grease, detergents, sewage,
garbage and radioactive wastes.
Oil spillage into sea-water during drilling and shipment causes marine pollution. An accidental discharge
of petroleum in oceans is called oil spills.
EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION
Water is a vital resource essential for sustaining life and, therefore, its contamination has immediate as
well as far reaching effects on the health and environment of living organisms.
The following are the adverse effects of water pollution:
Effects on aquatic ecosystem: Presence of organic and inorganic wastes present in water decreases the
dissolved oxygen (D.O.) of the water. D.O. content of water is important for the survival of aquatic life.
Due to decrease in D.O. content in the water, fish and other aquatic life is killed.
2. Biological magnification: The phenomenon through which certain pollutants get accumulated in
increasing concentration along the food chain is called biological magnification.
Many of the pesticides are non-degradable and their residues have long life. Once they are absorbed by an
organism, they cannot be degraded and broken down. These pollutants get accumulated in fat containing
tissues of the organisms. A classic example of biological magnification is the accumulation of DDT in the
tissues of organisms of aquatic food chain.
DDT is an insecticide which is sprayed on water bodies to check the growth of mosquitoes. After regular
spraying of DDT for few years, it is found that concentration of DDT had increased along the aquatic
food chain.
Pollutants like DDT reach the human body also through milk if the cattle are fed on DDT sprayed grass or
DDT contaminated drinking water.

Figure: Biomagnification
3. Eutrophication: The process of nutrient enrichment of water, which often leads to the loss of species
diversity, is called eutrophication.
"Water bodies are being polluted constantly by dumping of sewage which includes organic matter and by
the runoff from the agricultural fields that contain fertilizers. It increases the nutrient content of water
which causes profuse growth of algae especially the blue green algae. This type of growth of algae is
called algal bloom. This algal growth often release toxin in water. Aquatic animals (e.g. fish) may die due
to toxicity or lack of oxygen.
4. Effects on human health:
The following are the various human health hazards caused due to various types of pollutants present in
water :
 (i) The water polluted with sewage usually contains pathogens like virus, bacteria, parasitic
protozoa and worms which are responsible for various water borne diseases like jaundice,
cholera, typhoid, amoebiasis etc.
(ii) The consumption of highly contaminated water can cause injury to the heart and kidney.
(iii) (The water contaminated with heavy metals like lead, mercury can cause serious health
problems.
(iv) Nitrate when present in excess in drinking water causes blue baby syndrome. This disease
develops when a part of hemoglobin is converted into non-functional oxidized form.
(v) Excess of fluoride in drinking water causes defects in teeth and bones called fluorosis.
(vi) Over exploitation of groundwater may lead to leaching of arsenic from soil and rock sources
and contaminates groundwater. Chronic exposure to arsenic causes black foot disease. It also
causes diarrhoea and also lung and skin cancer.

CONTROL OF WATER POLLUTION

The following steps may help in reducing water pollution to a large extent:

(i) Excessive use of agrochemicals like pesticides and fertilizers should be avoided. As far as
possible less stable pesticides should be used. Also avoid use of agrochemicals on sloped
ground because a major portion of them will flow with surface run-off in this case.
(ii) Use nitrogen fixing plants to supplement the use of fertilizers.
(iii) Prevent run-off of manure rich surface water from fields. Divert such run- off to basin for
settlement. This nutrient rich water can be used as fertilizers in the fields again.
(iv) Hot water should be cooled before release from the power plants.
(v) Washing clothes and taking bath directly in tanks, streams and rivers, which supply drinking
water, should be prohibited.
(vi) Oil spills in water can be cleaned with the help of bregoli (a by-product) of paper industry
resembling saw dust.
(vii) Don't throw paints, oils and other forms of litter down the drain.
(viii) Use environment-friendly household products, such as washing powder, cleansing agents etc.
(ix) The industrial effluents should be suitably treated before releasing them into water. The
process requires different steps depending upon the nature of pollutants. For example, the
acids and alkalies can be neutralized, the colloidal materials can be coagulated, while the
metallic salts can be precipitated.
(x) The sewage should be suitably treated before releasing it into water. It is one of the most
important means to recover usable water from the sewage.
The purpose of sewage treatment is to remove/reduce organic and inorganic substances, nutrients, toxic
substances, kill pathogenic organisms etc. so that the quality of discharged water is improved to meet the
permissible level of water to be discharged in some water body, on land or in agricultural field.

This process involves the following steps:

In the first step, the larger and suspended particles are removed by simple physical methods such as
sedimentation and filtration.

In the second step, bacterial decomposition of organic matter is done. This process is carried out in
shallow stabilization or oxidation ponds.

In the third step, dissolved organic matter, metal or pathogens etc. are removed by physico-chemical
process. This step involves chemical oxidation of waste water by strong oxidising agents such as chlorine
gas, ozone ga etc. After this treatment, the waste water can be discharged into natural waters or used for
irrigation.

SOME IMPORTANT TERMS

(i) Dissolved oxygen (D.O.): Dissolved oxygen is the amount of oxygen present in the aquatic
system that is available for aquatic life and is essential for sustaining life in an aquatic
system.
(ii) Biochemical oxygen demand (B.O.D.): The biochemical oxygen demand is a measure of the
oxygen required by aerobic micro-organisms to oxidiza (bio-chemically) the organic matter
present in the water. It is expressed in milligrams of oxygen per litre of water (mg/l).
(iii) Chemical oxygen demand (C.O.D.): The chemical oxygen demand is measure of the
oxygen required by chemical oxidants to oxidize (chemically) the organic matter present in
the water.
Generally C.O.D. of waste is higher than its B.O.D. because more organic compounds can be
oxidized chemically than bio-chemically. Hence C.O.D. is slightly better mode of measuring
water pollution. It measures all oxygen consuming pollutant materials in water.
(iv) Oil pollution: Oil spill is a major problem in the oceans and seas. Oceans are polluted by oil
on a daily basis from oil spills, routine shipping. The oil tankers and offshore petroleum
refineries cause oil leakage into the water. This pollutes the water.
Oil floats on the water surface and prevents the atmospheric oxygen from mixing in the sea
water. This oil enters the body of the organisms. It also coats the body of the aquatic animals
which may also kill them. Oil cannot dissolve in water and forms a thick sludge in the water.
 This suffocates fish, gets caught in the feathers of marine birds stopping them from flying and
blocks sunlight for photosynthetic aquatic plants.

SOIL POLLUTION:

Soil pollution may be defined as the addition of considerable quantities of undesirable substances to
the soil, which adversely affect physical, chemical and biological properties of soil and reduces its
fertility or productivity. The process of soil formation is very slow, therefore, the soil may be
considered as non-renewable resource. This makes the problem of soil pollution more acute.

SOURCES OF SOIL POLLUTION

Soil pollution is an extremely complicated process. It may occur due to directly dumping and disposal
of wastes, application of agro-chemicals or the indirect result of air pollution such as acid rains.

The main sources of soil pollution are:

1. Industrial wastes: Disposal of industrial wastes is the major reason of soil pollution. The
industrial wastes are mainly discharged from pulp and paper mills, chemical industries, oil refineries,
sugar mills, tanneries, textile, steel, coal industries etc. and mineral mining industries, drugs, glass,
cement, petroleum, Thermal, atomic and electric power plants also add pollutants to the soil.

2. Pesticides: These days a number of chemicals are used as insecticides, fungicides, weedicides,
herbicides or algaecides in order to improve agriculture, horticulture or forestry. They are sprayed on
the plants in the form of fine mist or powder. They accumulate in the soil as they degrade very slowly
by soil and water bacteria. Pesticides reduce the population and number of species of living
organisms including micro organisms, thus affect the structure and fertility.

3. Fertilizers and manures: Chemical fertilizers are added to the soil for increasing crop yield.
Excessive use of chemical fertilizers decreases population of useful bacteria and crumb structure of
the soil. It also increases salt content of the soil and reduces productivity of the soil.

The digested sewage sludge used as manure also pollutes the soil but this pollution is not so alarming.

4. Urban wastes: Urban wastes comprise both commercial and domestic wastes. Solid wastes and
refuse also contribute to soil pollution. This refuse contains garbage and rubbish materials like
plastics, glasses, metallic cans, fibres, paper, rubber, fuel residues and other discarded manufactured
products.

5.Radioactive wastes: Radioactive substances resulting from explosions of nuclear devices, nuclear
dust and radioactive wastes penetrate the soil and accumulate there causing soil pollution.
6. Salination of soil: Increase in the concentration of soluble salts in the soil is called salination. The
salts dissolved in irrigation and floodwater accumulates on the soil surface due to inadequate
drainage. The salts from the lower layers also move up by capillary action and deposit on the surface.
It adversely affects soil productivity and degrades the quality of land.

7. Other pollutants: Many air pollutants (acid rain) and water pollutants ultimately become part of
the soil. The soil also receives some toxic chemicals during weathering of certain rocks.

EFFECTS OF SOIL POLLUTION

The harmful effects of soil pollution are the following:

1. Effects of industrial pollutants

(i) Different industries release different harmful toxins. These toxins enter the food chain causing a
number of undesirable effects.

(ii) Metallic pollutants destroy bacteria and beneficial micro-organisms in the soil.

2. Effects of urban wastes

(i) Million tones of wastes is dumped along highways and other places in developing countries. These
wastes spread several chronic diseases and emit foul smells.

(ii) This urban wastes is piled up at public places and cause obstruction in daily life.

3. Effects of radioactive pollutants: The problem of radioactive wastes dumped into the soil is more
complicated. Radioactive elements can remain active in soil for long time. Radiation affects the soil
and its productivity. Radiation affected food causes undesirable diseases.

4. Effects of fertilizers and pesticides:

(i) Potassium fertilizers in soil decrease the valuable nutrient vitamin 'C' in vegetables and fruits.

(ii) Cereal crops like jawar and maize etc. grown on alkaline soil, absorb higher amount of fluorides
which causes fluorosis.

(iii) Pesticides like DDT seep gradually through soil into ground water and contaminate drinking
water supplies.

CONTROL OF SOIL POLLUTION

Soil pollution can be controlled by the following measures:

1. Solid wastes should be properly collected and disposed off by appropriate methods.
2. From the solid wastes, recovery of useful products should be done to reduce solid wastes.
3. Biodegradable organic wastes should be used for generation of biogas.
4. Cattle dung should be used for methane generation.
5. Microbial degradation of biodegradable substances is also one of the scientific approaches for
reducing soil pollution.
6. Effluents should be properly treated before discharging on the soil.
7. Special pit or low lying areas should be selected for dumping industrial wastes.
8. The use of chemical fertilizers can be reduced by applying biofertilizers.
9. Biological pest control methods can reduce the use of pesticides.
10. Improvement in mining techniques and transport of extracted materials can reduce the spread of
mine dust.
11. Extensive affore station and community forestry programmes should be launched to prevent soil
erosion and soil degradation.
12. Enactment of stringent pollution control laws and their effective implementation.
13. Public awareness about soil pollution should be created.