Introduction

Soil pollution is the contamination of soil with xenobiotic substances or better known as human made chemicals, that can adversely affect the quality of the soil and the health of those living on it. Soil pollution normally caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals or other alteration the natural soil environment. 

Process

Soil pollution can result from contaminated water absorbing into the soil. Agricultural chemicals can coat the soil, and litter can work its way into the dirt. Pollutants in the air can settle on the ground, such as was the case in Tacoma, Washington, where the State of Washington Department of Ecology says airborne smelter pollutants fell to the ground and contaminated nearly 1,000 square miles. Polluted acid rain can end up in soil, too, and metal-contaminated dust on roads can wash into the soil as part of rain-induced run-off. The Food and Fertilizer Technology Center warns that heavy-metal contamination can not only reduce crop yields due to poor soil quality, but result in the crops absorbing the metals.

Damage Done to Soil