1. The land pollution is defined as, “the degradation of land because of the disposal of waste on the land”. Any substance (solid, liquid or gaseous) that is discharged, emitted or deposited in the environment in such a way that it alters the environment causes land pollution.
Causes of Land Pollution:
(I) Deforestation and soil erosion:
1. Deforestation carried out to create dry lands is one of the major concerns.
2. Land that is once converted into a dry or barren land, can never be made fertile again, whatever the magnitude of measures to convert it.
(II) Agricultural activities:
1. With growing human and pet animal population, demand for food has increased considerably.
2. Farmers often use highly toxic fertilizers and pesticides to get rid off insects, fungi and bacteria from their crops.
3. However the overuse of these chemicals, results in contamination and poisoning of land.
(III) Mining activities: During extraction and mining activities, several land spaces are created beneath the surface.
(IV) Landfills:
1. Each household produces tones of garbage each year due to changing economic lifestyle of the people.
2. Garbage like plastic, paper, cloth, wood and hospital waste get accumulated.
3. Items that cannot be recycled become a part of the landfills that cause land pollution
(V) Industrialization:
1. Due to increasing consumerism more industries were developed which led to deforestation.
2. Research and development paved the way for modem fertilizers and chemicals that were highly toxic and led to soil contamination.
(VI) Construction activities:
1. Due to urbanization, large amount of construction activities are taking place.
2. This has resulted in large waste articles like wood, metal, bricks, plastic.
3. These are dumped at the outskirts of urban areas that lead to land pollution.
(VII) Nuclear waste:
1. The leftover radioactive materials, harmful and toxic chemicals affect human health.
2. They are dumped beneath the earth to avoid any casualty.
