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What are Contaminated Soils?
Soil contamination or soil pollution is caused by the presence
of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the
natural soil environment.
This type of contamination typically arises from the failure
caused by corrosion of underground storage tanks (including piping
used to transmit the contents), application of pesticides,
percolation of contaminated surface water to subsurface strata, oil
and fuel dumping, disposal of coal ash, leaching of wastes from
landfills or direct discharge of industrial wastes to the soil. The
most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, lead,
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (such as naphthalene and
benzo(a)pyrene), solvents, pesticides, and other heavy metals. This
occurrence of this phenomenon is correlated with the degree of
industrialization and intensities of chemical usage.
The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health
risks, from direct contact with the contaminated soil, vapors from
the contaminants, and from secondary contamination of water
supplies within and underlying the soil. Mapping of contaminated
soil sites and the resulting cleanup are time consuming and
expensive tasks, requiring extensive amounts of geology, hydrology,
chemistry, computer modeling skills, and GIS in Environmental
Contamination, as well as an appreciation of the history of
industrial chemistry.