Soil contamination

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Our Toxic World: A Wake Up Call Doris J. Rapp, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

Their food similarly contained elevated levels of pesticides, probably because of prolonged soil contamination. Chlordane, banned in foods in 1978 and for termites in 1988, also was found in their blood.22-93a Levels of pesticides in the blood of children and adults in a Colorado study correlated with levels found in house dust showing that chemicals from outside air and soil can contaminate the inside of homes. Some of this is due to pesticides used in home construction, tracked in from the outside and those purposely used within and around homes and buildings for insect and weed control.

If our governmental decision makers decide it is a priority, they unquestionably can safely clean up much of the air, water and soil contamination, and make positive efforts to control the acid rain, global warming and ozone layer problems. We have insightful and intuitive medical physicians and others in the healing professions who are willing to push the envelope and try newer potentially better modalities of therapy, because they appear to help and not hurt.

Health in the 21st Century: Will Doctors Survive? Francisco, M.D. Contreras See book keywords and concepts

Winds, drought, hurricanes, twisters and other climatic factors as well as indiscriminate urban and industrial growth and soil contamination contribute to the waning forests. In our world, less than 55% of the forests remain intact. This has contributed to the reduction of oxygen in the atmosphere. If deforestation continues at its present rate, 4% of the earth's surface per year, there will be no forests left by the year 2035. There is genuine worldwide concern about deforestation because trees play a crucial role in the cleaning of our air supply.

Staying Healthy in a Risky Environment: The New York University Medical Center Family Guide Arthur C. Upton, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

Urban Contamination The top soil layers in urban areas are plagued with soil contamination problems compounded by the concentration of people and the abundance of toxic materials. Contaminants accrue from used motor oil (which also contains toxic metals such as lead and arsenic), antifreeze, pesticides, and paints, all of which are often poured into drains, gutters, ditches, catch basins, or the corner of a backyard. When enough of the material enters the ground, the contaminants can eventually seep into the groundwater and then into local water supplies.

Farms are not the only source of soil contamination by agricultural chemicals. Similar chemicals are used to treat 25 million acres of grass each year in the United States, including residential yards; golf courses; industrial park lawns; and other residential, industrial, and commercial lawns. According to a 1991 statement by the Senate Environmental and Public Works Sub- Figure 15.1 SOURCES OF SOIL POLLUTION. Soils have long been used as repositories for residential, industrial, and commercial wastes.

Contact your state environmental agency (usually referred to as the Environmental Quality or Environmental Protection Agency) or local health department if you suspect soil contamination. They may be receiving similar complaints from other people in the area and may be able to put together a pattern of contamination. They also will help to determine your best course of action if you do find contamination on your property and can refer you to a reliable soil-testing company.

Old, improperly installed, and leaking gasoline tanks under thousands of service stations and on gasoline tank farms are a troublesome source of soil contamination. The bare steel tanks used to store gas often were installed with no protection against corrosion; within a few years of installation, certain soils and water damaged and corroded the tanks until the contents leaked into the surrounding earth. Such þ 0-35 [ | 36-74 §21 75-110 Figure 15.5 A MAP OF THE SUPERFUND PRIORITY SITES. At the time this book went to press, 1,207 sites were designated for cleanup under the Super-fund Program.

Natural Contaminants In addition to the numerous human-made hazards of soil contamination, natural contaminants occur deep within the layers of earth. Radon is an example of such a contaminant: This naturally occurring element is an odorless, invisible gas derived from natural radioactive decay of radium and uranium. Radon filters through the cracks in the soil and can enter and accumulate in houses and buildings (especially those that are well sealed for energy conservation), potentially exposing the occupants to excessive amounts of the gas.

Further complicating this complex issue is the difficulty that exists when trying to interpret the estimates of how much health risk is posed by soil contamination. For instance, many long-term studies have neither proved nor disproved the potential health risks of soil contaminants because of conflicting data and because reports of health hazards may be confounded by other existing pollution in an area. In other cases, risk estimates may be revised downward as new information is gathered. Public perception of a potential soil contaminant also plays a major role in assessing risk.

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