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Causes and control of soil pollution

Short answer

Causes include agrochemicals (fertilisers, pesticides), heavy metals (Pb, Hg, Cd), industrial wastes, and plastics. Control: organic farming, reduce/reuse/recycle, bioremediation, treatment of effluents, banning polythene, afforestation, and crop rotation.

What are the causes of soil pollution? How it can be controlled?

Causes of soil pollution

  • Agrochemicals: chemical fertilisers (nitrates, phosphates), pesticides and herbicides (DDT, BHC, malathion).
  • Heavy metals: Pb, Hg, Cd, As, Cr from mining, batteries, paints and industrial waste.
  • Industrial wastes: fly ash, sludge, acids, alkalis, dyes, tannery waste.
  • Solid wastes: plastics, polythene, glass, metal scrap, municipal garbage and e-waste.
  • Others: sewage sludge, radioactive wastes, oil spills, acid rain deposition, excess salts from irrigation.

Control

  • Use fertilisers and pesticides in controlled amounts; adopt organic farming, compost and biofertilisers, and integrated pest management.
  • Segregate solid waste and follow reduce, reuse, recycle; compost biodegradable waste and produce biogas.
  • Ban or limit polythene; use biodegradable materials.
  • Treat industrial effluents before discharge; dispose of hazardous waste in secure landfills.
  • Bioremediation and phytoremediation (microbes or plants that absorb metals) to clean polluted soil.
  • Afforestation and crop rotation to prevent erosion; public awareness and strict laws.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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