Causes of Land Pollution

By Sally Painter

The causes of land pollution can be divided into two categories. The
first is manmade and one that can be controlled. The second is created
through natural reactions that are not easily controlled.

Manmade Land Pollution

Land pollution comes in many manmade forms such as accidental
disasters, Brownfields, waste management and landfills, pesticides and
agricultural practices, clear cutting, urban development and energy
production. Each has a long-lasting negative impact on the
environment, but each has a solution.

Accidental Disasters
The 2010 BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico in just one example of an
extreme accident that killed people and aquatic life. The spill impacted
environmental and economical sectors and even reached the
shorelines,destroying wetlands and recreational beach proprieties.

Brownfields, a Big Pollution Problem

A Brownfield is land that has been abandoned and often contains
hazardous pollutants or substances left behind by industries and
factories. Brownfields can also be old mines as well as former
industrial dump sites. The EPA's (Environmental Protection

Agency) Brownfields Program was created to reclaim these pieces of

real estate and through cleanup and redevelopment, make them
usable and valuable pieces of properties once more.
Storm water runoff is a major concern for this type of property since it
can create water pollution and spread pollutants and contaminants to
other lands as well as water sources. It's in the community's best
interest to participate in a Brownfields Program, which includes grants
as well as valuable information how a community can practice land
revitalization.
Once contaminants are cleaned up, the properties can be reused to
alleviate some of the stress placed on communities for new land
development. This recycling of land also encourages the conservation
of pristine lands. According to the EPA, Brownfields Program cleanups
increase surrounding residential property value by as much as three
percent. There are more than 450,000 Brownfields throughout the
United States that could benefit through the EPA Brownfields Program.
For a community, the benefits are reaped in more usable lands that
equal more property taxes, attract more industry into the area, which
then create new jobs.

Energy production
Coal Mining: The mining process requires the displacement
of soil and introduces chemicals and other pollutants into the
environment.
Natural Gas: Extracting natural gas creates erosion and
disrupts the natural plant and animal life.
Nuclear plants: The production of nuclear power plants
have a negative impact not just on the water used for
cooling the reactors, but also create land pollution from the
processes.
Oil Refiners: Risks of spills and contaminates can pollute
surrounding land.

Waste Management and Landfills

Solid waste management must be handled with a forward thinking
process to limit the impact to land and runoff water. This goal is
compounded from illegally dumped chemicals. Underground storage
tanks corrode and leach into the soil and require different storage
methods. The debris sent to landfills create a buildup of deadly
methane gas.

Pesticides and Agricultural Practices

Harmful chemicals used in agriculture collect in the soil and eventually
create contaminated land as well as water runoff that finds its way into
streams and rivers to other land and eventually the oceans.

Logging and Clear Cutting

Irresponsible methods of harvesting trees can lead to soil erosion and
serious land changes. According to the EPA, the practice of clearing
land to make room for agriculture was the highest between the 1830s
and 1950s. The biggest threat to forests today is the clearing for urban
developments.

Unpaved Roads
One of the most overlooked causes of land pollution, but probably one
of the worst is unpaved roads. These roads erode very easily and once
the process begin, they deteriorate very quickly. Chunks of the dirt
road falls into ditches and when it rains, fill very quickly, which can
lead to the flooding of these roads and creating further erosion. Any oil
and gas within the roadbed is carried by the water to a river, stream or
other land, typically to crop fields or grazing pastures.
The unpaved roads within forests can create the worst type of erosion
and land pollution since most of the road grades are usually severe or
steep. It's important to note that even road construction can create
severe land pollution by displacing soil with the use of heavy
equipment that disturbs the roadbed and surrounding soil.

Naturally Occurring Land Pollution

Many natural processes can create soil pollution. They include:

 Erosion: The natural processes of erosion can lead to severe

pollution as sediment finds its way into streams, rivers and
oceans. As the sediment dumps into the oceans, it can upset
fragile aquatic eco-systems and marine life.
Floods: A raging river swollen by rain or a heavy snow
thawing too quickly create land pollution. Rivers that run
over the banks into communities sweep away automobiles,
homes, propane tanks and hundreds of other pollutants that
eventually find their way into the soil once the waters
recede.
Forest fires: Lightning strikes can create massive forest
fires as easily as one created by a careless camper or
passerby. Fire destroys entire forests and impacts the
wildlife dependent upon the vegetation for its sustenance.
Heavy metals: Many people are surprised to learn that soil
can be contaminated from natural elements such as heavy
metals that include lead, arsenic, chromium, selenium and
cadmium. These can also leach into water supplies; however,
the instances are fairly rare.
Radon: This is a serious pollutant gas that appears naturally
in soil as a result of the uranium breakdown process. When
inhaled, this gas can cause lung cancer.
Storm erosion: Natural disasters such as earthquakes,
tornadoes and hurricanes destroy manmade structures and
carry contaminates and hazardous materials into waterways
and oceans. These pollutants disrupt the natural order of
marine life and aquatic systems.

Causes of Land Pollution

Land pollution can occur naturally, but the majority of the issues that
face the world today are manmade and can be resolved by those
creating the pollution taking preventative measures.