soil pollution

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forbidden word: soil pollution

This is one of the terms you can’t say in the Trump Regime. See a comprehensive list at the Forbidden Words Project.

soil pollution

soil¹, noun

  1. the portion of the earth’s surface consisting of disintegrated rock and humus.

  2. a particular kind of earth.

    sandy soil.

  3. the ground as producing vegetation or as cultivated for its crops.

    fertile soil.

  4. a country, land, or region.

    an act committed on American soil.

  5. the ground or earth.

    tilling the soil.

  6. any place or condition providing the opportunity for growth or development.

    Some believe that poverty provides the soil for crime.

soil², verb (used with an object)

  1. to make unclean, dirty, or filthy, especially on the surface.

    to soil one’s clothes.

  2. to smirch, smudge, or stain.

    The ink soiled his hands.

  3. to sully or tarnish, as with disgrace; defile morally.

    to soil one’s good name.

    Synonyms:
    debase, taint, blacken

soil², verb (used without an object)

to become soiled.

White soils easily.

soil², noun

  1. the act or fact of soiling.

  2. the state of being soiled.

  3. a spot, mark, or stain.

  4. dirty or foul matter; filth; sewage.

  5. ordure; manure

soil³, verb (used with an object)

to feed (confined cattle, horses, etc.) freshly cut green fodder for roughage.

scientific

  1. The loose top layer of the Earth’s surface, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with decayed organic matter (humus), and capable of retaining water, providing nutrients for plants, and supporting a wide range of biotic communities. Soil is formed by a combination of depositional, chemical, and biological processes and plays an important role in the carbon, nitrogen, and hydrologic cycles. Soil types vary widely from one region to another, depending on the type of bedrock they overlie and the climate in which they form. In wet and humid regions, for example, soils tend to be thicker than they do in dry regions.

  2. See more at A horizon B horizon C horizon See illustration at ABC soil

cultural

Material on the surface of the Earth on which plants can grow. (See topsoil.)

 

Discover More

Soil is produced by the weathering of rocks.

Other Word Forms

  • soilless, adjective

Etymology

Origin of soil1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English soil, soil(l)e “land, native land, piece of ground, earth, soil,” from Anglo-French soil, soyl, variants of Old French sueil, souil, from Latin solium “high-backed chair, throne, seat,” confused with solum “base, foundation, ground”; see also sole 2 ( def. )

Origin of soil2

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English verb soilen, soil(l)e “to dirty,” from Old French soillier, soullier, suillier, from Vulgar Latin suculāre, (unrecorded) “to wallow like a pig,” derivative verb of suculus or sucula, diminutives of sus “pig, sow”; see origin at sow 2, -cle 1

Origin of soil3

First recorded in 1600–10; origin uncertain

Related Words

from — Definition of soil. (n.d.). In dictionary.com. 

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pollution, n

  1. the act of polluting or the state of being polluted. polluted.

  2. the introduction of harmful substances or products into the environment.

    air pollution.

Other Word Forms

  • self-pollution noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pollution¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pollucioun, from Old French, from Late Latin pollūtiōn-, stem of pollūtiō “defilement”; equivalent to pollute + -ion

Related Words

from — Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words. (2025d). In Dictionary.com. 

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soil pollution

Global Assessment of Soil Pollution

04 June 2021
Cover page

Soil pollution is a chemical degradation process that consumes fertile soils, with implications for global food security and human health. Soil pollution hampers the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including achieving zero hunger, ending poverty, ensuring healthy lives and human well-being, halting and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss, and making cities safe and resilient. Most contaminants originate from human activities and enter into the environment because of unsustainable production chains, consumption patterns or inappropriate waste disposal practices.

In May 2018, FAO and its Global Soil Partnership (GSP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) organized the Global Symposium on Soil Pollution (GSOP18) to bring together science and policy to understand the status, causes, impacts and solutions to soil pollution. The Outcome document of the symposium, ‘Be the solution to soil pollution’ paved the way to the implementation of a coordinated set of actions to #StopSoilPollution.

This report considers both point source contamination and diffuse pollution, and detail also the risks and impacts of soil pollution on human health, the environment and food security, without neglecting soil degradation and the burden of disease resulting from exposure to polluted soil.

The Global Assessment of Soil Pollution report and its Summary for Policy makers will be launched on 4th June are a response to this request and as part of the World Environment Day celebrations and the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. This report and its summary, coordinated by the FAO’s GSP, the ITPS, and UNEP, are the product of an inclusive process involving scientists from all regions.

from — Global Assessment of Soil Pollution. (2021, June 4). UN Environment Programme. Retrieved July 17, 2026

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Global assessment of soil pollution: Report

Synopsis (short abstract)

Soil pollution is invisible to the human eye, but it compromises the quality of the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe and puts human and environmental health at risk. Most contaminants originate from human activities such as industrial processes and mining, poor waste management, unsustainable farming practices, accidents ranging from small chemical spills to accidents at nuclear power plants, and the many effects of armed conflicts. Pollution knows no borders: contaminants are spread throughout terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and many are distributed globally by atmospheric transport. In addition, they are redistributed through the global economy by way of food and production chains. Soil pollution has been internationally recognized as a major threat to soil health, and it affects the soil’s ability to provide ecosystem services, including the production of safe and sufficient food, compromising global food security. Soil pollution hinders the achievement of many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those related to poverty elimination (SDG 1), zero hunger (SDG 2), and good health and well-being (SDG 3). Soil pollution hits the most vulnerable hardest, especially children and women (SDG 5). The supply of safe drinking water is threatened by the leaching of contaminants into groundwater and runoff (SDG 6). CO2 and N2O emissions from unsustainably managed soils accelerate climate change (SDG 13). Soil pollution contributes to land degradation and loss of terrestrial (SDG 15) and aquatic (SDG 14) biodiversity, and decreased the security and resilience of cities (SDG 11), among others.

from — Global assessment of soil pollution: Report. (2021). In FAO and UNEP eBooks. 

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soil contanimation

Soil contamination, soil pollution, or land pollution as a part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity,[1] agricultural chemicals[2] or improper disposal of waste.[3] The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons,[4] polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (such as naphthalene and benzo(a)pyrene),[5] solvents,[6] pesticides,[7] and heavy metals.[8] The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, from direct contact with contaminated soil or consumption of plants growing in contaminated soil,[9] vapour inhalation from the contaminants,[10] or from secondary contamination of water supplies within (groundwater) and underlying the soil (aquifer).[11] Mapping of contaminated soil sites and the resulting cleanups are time-consuming and expensive tasks, and require expertise in geology, hydrology, chemistry, computer modelling, and GIS in Environmental Contamination, as well as an appreciation of the history of site pollution.[12] It has been suggested that the examination of humus forms, which necessitates only a cursory glance upon ground floor thickness and structure of the underlying mineral horizon, could used at low cost for the early detection and mapping of potential soil contamination.[13]

In North America and Europe the extent of contaminated land is best known for as many of the countries in these areas have a legal framework to identify and deal with this environmental problem.[14][15][16] Other countries tend to be less tightly regulated despite some of them have undergone significant industrialization and are searching for more regulation.[17][18]

Causes

Soil pollution can be caused by the following (non-exhaustive list):

The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead, and other heavy metals.[19]

Any activity that leads to other forms of soil degradation (erosion, compaction, etc.) may indirectly worsen the contamination effects in that soil remediation becomes more tedious.[20]

E-waste processing in Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Improper disposal of manufactured goods and industrial wastes, often means that communities in the global south have to process goods. Especially without proper protections, heavy metals and other contaminates can seep into the soil, and create water pollution and air pollution.

Historical deposition of coal ash used for residential, commercial, and industrial heating, as well as for industrial processes such as ore smelting, were a common source of contamination in areas that were industrialized before about 1960.[21] Coal naturally concentrates arsenic, cadmium lead and zinc during its formation, as well as other heavy metals to a lesser degree.[22] When the coal is burned, most of these metals become concentrated in the ash (the principal exception being mercury, which evaporates).[23] Coal ash and slag may contain sufficient lead to qualify as a “characteristic hazardous waste“,[24] defined in the US as containing more than 5 mg/L, further revised to 1.5 mg/L of extractable lead using the TCLP procedure.[25] In addition to lead, coal ash typically contains variable but significant concentrations of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; e.g., benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, phenanthrene, anthracene, and others).[26] These PAHs are known human carcinogens[27] and the acceptable concentrations of them in soil are typically from 0.1 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg, with a strong variation from a PAH to another.[28] Coal ash and slag can be recognised by the presence of off-white grains in soil, gray heterogeneous soil, or (coal slag) bubbly, vesicular pebble-sized grains.[29]

Treated sewage sludge, known in the industry as biosolids, has become controversial as a “fertilizer“. As it is the byproduct of sewage treatment, it generally contains more contaminants such as organisms, pesticides, and heavy metals than other soil.[30][31][32] In the European Union, the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive allows sewage sludge to be sprayed onto land, although several European countries have introduced more stringent requirements in comparison with the directive.[33] 10 million tons dry matter of sewage sludge have been produced in Europe every year over the period 2003–2006. This has good agricultural properties due to the high nitrogen, phosphate and potassium content.[34] However, there is a need to control sewage sludge application to agricultural land so that pathogenic microorganisms do not get into water courses[35] and to ensure that there is no accumulation of heavy metals in the topsoil.[36] Composting of sewage sludge allows to decrease its content in pathogens[37] and organic pollutants (bioremediation, to the exception of persistent organic pollutants)[38] but not that of heavy metals, although these are in a less bioavailable form.[39]

Pesticides and herbicides

A pesticide is a substance used to kill a pest. A pesticide may be a chemical substance, biological agent (such as a virus or bacteria), antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest. Pests include harmful insects, plant pathogens, weeds, mollusks, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes (roundworms) and microbes that compete with humans for food, destroy property, spread or are a vector for disease or cause a nuisance. Although there are benefits to the use of pesticides,[40] there are also drawbacks, such as potential toxicity to humans[41] and other organisms.[42][43][44]

Herbicides are used to kill weeds, especially on pavements[45] and railways,[46] but also in agricultural crops either for destructing the total vegetation (e.g. glyphosate) or only a class of undesired plants (e.g. 2,4-D). The so-called auxin herbicides are similar to auxins and are selective to dicots.[47] Glyphosate is a non-selective (broad-spectrum) systemic herbicide which competes with enzymes used in the synthesis of key plant amino acids.[48] Most herbicides are biodegradable by soil bacteria.[49] However, one group derived from trinitrotoluene (2,4-D and 2,4,5-T) have the impurity dioxin, which is very toxic and causes fatality even in low concentrations.[50] Another common herbicide is Paraquat, banned in the European Union but still frequently used in agricultural areas of the United States and Asia.[51] It is highly toxic to humans[52] and other animals[53] and cannot rapidly degrade in the soil where it is adsorbed and thus protected in clay lattices.[54] Glyphosate is rapidly transformed in AMPA by soil bacteria but its residues are detected in drinking water, agriculture, and food products and have major effects on the health of reproductive systems.[55] Glyphosate is used in genetically modified crops to kill all vegetation except the target crop, more especially in developing countries where it offers yield and profit gains despite growing concerns about environment and human health.[56]

Insecticides are used to rid farms of pests which damage crops. The insects damage not only standing crops but also stored ones and in the tropics it is reckoned that one third of the total production is lost during food storage.[57] As with fungicides, the first insecticides used in the nineteenth century were inorganic e.g. Paris Green and other compounds of arsenic.[58] Nicotine has also been used since 1690.[59] Neonicotinoids, i.e. synthetic insecticides derived from nicotin are the last generation of insecticides. They have been scheduled to be highly selective to insect pests, although it appeared that acetamiprid, IMI, and thiacloprid were toxic to birds, thiacloprid to fish, and several neonicotinoids were harmful to honeybees, either by direct contact or ingestion.[60]

There are now three main groups of synthetic insecticides:

1. Organochlorines include DDT, Aldrin, Dieldrin and benzene hexachloride (BHC). They are cheap to produce, potent and persistent but have harmful effects on a lot of beneficial organisms, from microbes[61] to a wide range of plants and animals, humans included,[62] hence their banishment in many (but not all) countries,[63] inasmuch as resistance occurred in a lot of target insect pests.[64] DDT was used on a massive scale from the 1930s, with a peak of 72,000 tonnes used in 1970.[65] Then usage fell as the harmful environmental effects were realized.[66] It was found worldwide in fish and birds[67] and was even discovered in the snow in the Antarctic.[68] It is only slightly soluble in water[69] but is very soluble in the bloodstream,[70] and in fats. It affects the nervous[71] and endocrine systems[72] and causes the eggshells of birds to lack calcium causing them to be easily breakable.[73] It is thought to be responsible for the decline of numbers of birds of prey like ospreys and peregrine falcons in the 1950s, now recovering.[74] As well as increased concentration via the food chain, it is known to enter via permeable membranes, so fish get it through their gills and then it accumulates in fatty organs.[75] As it has low water solubility and a high affinity to the air-water interface,[76] DDT tends to stay at the water surface, so organisms that live there are most affected, in particular mosquito larvae,[77] the target organisms of malaria control.[78] DDT and its breakdown product DDE found in fish that formed part of the human food chain caused concern, with levels found in human liver, kidney and brain tissues around 13 ppm in 1970,[79] with a general decrease since DDT was banished from developing countries but with still high levels in Asia and Africa where DDT is used against malaria.[80] DDT was banned by the Stockholm convention in 2001 to stop its further buildup in the food chain. However, the World Health Organization allowed its reintroduction only for control of vector-borne diseases in some tropical countries in 2006.[81] U.S. manufacturers continued to sell DDT to developing countries, who could not afford the expensive replacement chemicals and who did not have such stringent regulations governing the use of pesticides.[82]

2. Organophosphates, e.g. parathion, methyl parathion and about 40 other insecticides are available nationally. Parathion is highly toxic, methyl-parathion less so[83] but health concerns have resulted in cancellation of the use of methyl-parathion in most food crops in the United States.[84] There is no evidence that malathion affects the ability of humans to reproduce. There is also no conclusive proof that malathion causes cancer in humans, although some studies have found increased incidence of some cancers in people who are regularly exposed to pesticides, such as farmers and pesticide applicators.[85] This group of insecticides works by preventing normal nerve transmission as acetylcholinesterase is prevented from breaking down the transmitter substance acetylcholine, resulting in uncontrolled muscle movements.[86]

3. Neonicotinoids, e.g. acetamiprid, imidacloprid, are the last generation of insecticides and are now largely used for crop protection.[87] They affect the central nervous system of insects, with higher selectivity for insects than organophosphates and organochlorines.[88] However, their biocidal action includes both pests and beneficial organisms, e.g. pollinators,[89] predatory insects, parasitoids.[90] The ay also act as endocrine disruptors on juvenile bees.[91] The dramatic decline of honey bee colonies,[92] for example, could be linked to, or at least exacerbated by the use of neonicotinoids.[93] Like nicotine, their molecular base, they are degraded in the soil but the environmental residues of neonicotinoids have enormously increased due to large-scale applications.[94]

Agents of war

The disposal of munitions, and a lack of care in manufacture of munitions caused by the urgency of production, can contaminate soil for extended periods.[95] There is little published evidence on this type of contamination largely because of restrictions placed by governments of many countries on the publication of material related to war effort, in particular under ongoing conflict scenarios.[96] However, mustard gas stored during World War II has contaminated some sites for up to 50 years[97] and the testing of Anthrax as a potential biological weapon contaminated the whole island of Gruinard, leaving it in quarantine for 48 years.[98] There are abandoned delaboration sites around the former World War I front in Belgium and also in France which are still contaminated by arsenic and lead.[99]

Human health

Exposure pathways

Contaminated or polluted soil directly affects human health through direct contact with soil[100] or via inhalation of soil contaminants that have vaporized.[101] Potentially greater threats are posed by the infiltration of soil contaminants into groundwater aquifers used for irrigation[102] or direct human consumption,[103] sometimes in areas far from any apparent source of above-ground contamination (long-range diffuse soil contamination).[104] Toxic metals can also make their way up the food chain through plants that reside in soils containing high concentrations of heavy metals.[105] This tends to result in the development of pollution-related diseases.

Most exposure to soil contamination is accidental, and can happen through:[106]

  • Ingesting dust or soil directly
  • Ingesting food or vegetables grown in contaminated soil or with foods in contact with contaminants
  • Skin contact with dust or soil
  • Vapors from the soil
  • Inhaling clouds of dust while working in soils or windy environments

However, some studies estimate that 90% of human exposure is through eating contaminated food.[106]

Consequences

Health consequences from exposure to soil contamination vary greatly depending on pollutant type, the pathway of attack, and the vulnerability of the exposed population.[107] Researchers suggest that pesticides and heavy metals in soil may harm cardiovascular health, including inflammation and change in the body’s circadian rhythm.[108]

Chronic exposure to chromium, lead, and other metals, petroleum, solvents, and many pesticide and herbicide formulations can be carcinogenic (mutagenic),[109] can cause congenital disorders,[110] or other chronic diseases.[111] Industrial or human-made concentrations of naturally occurring substances, such as nitrate and ammonia associated with livestock manure from agricultural operations, have also been identified as health hazards in soil and groundwater.[112]

Chronic exposure to benzene at sufficient concentrations is known to be associated with a higher incidence of leukemia.[113] Mercury and cyclodienes are known to induce higher incidences of kidney damage and some irreversible diseases.[114][115] PCBs and cyclodienes are linked to liver toxicity.[116] Organophosphates can cause a chain of responses leading to neuromuscular blockage.[117] Many chlorinated solvents induce liver changes, kidney changes, and depression of the central nervous system.[118] There is an entire spectrum of further health effects such as headache, nausea, fatigue, eye irritation and skin rash for the above cited and other chemicals, including those commonly used in agriculture.[119] At sufficient dosages a large number of soil contaminants can cause death by exposure via direct contact, inhalation or ingestion.[120]

Ecosystem effects

This area is contaminated with stagnant water and refuse, making the environment unhygienic.

Not unexpectedly, soil contaminants can have significant deleterious consequences for ecosystems.[121] There are radical soil chemistry changes which can arise from the presence of many hazardous chemicals even at low concentration of the contaminant species.[122] These changes can manifest in the alteration of the metabolism of soil microorganisms and soil animals resident in a given soil environment.[123][124] The result can be virtual eradication of some of the primary food chain, which in turn could have major consequences for predator or consumer species.[125] Even if the chemical effect on lower life forms is small, the lower pyramid levels of the food chain may ingest alien chemicals, which then become more and more concentrated for each consuming rung of the food chain.[126] Many of these effects are now well known, such as the concentration of persistent DDT materials for avian consumers, leading to weakening of egg shells, increased chick mortality and potential extinction of species.[127]

Detrimental impacts of contaminants on soil food chains result in dramatic changes in humus forms, mediated by the disappearance or reduced activity of key organisms, also called soil ecosystem engineers, e.g. earthworms, which arez particularly sensitive to a wide range of soil contaminants.[128] In contaminated land the topsoil passes from a stage in which organic matter is decomposed and incorporated to mineral matter (mull humus, with a good granular soil structure) to a stage in which organic matter accumulates undecayed above a compact mineral soil with poor structure (mor humus).[129]

Agricultural lands display certain types of soil contamination, involving in particular heavy metals and metalloids. These contaminants typically alter plant metabolism, often causing a reduction in crop yields.[130] This has a secondary effect upon soil conservation, since the languishing crops cannot shield the Earth’s soil from erosion.[131] Some of these chemical contaminants have long half-lives and in other cases derivative chemicals are formed from decay of primary soil contaminants.[132]

Potential effects of contaminants to soil functions

Heavy metals and other soil contaminants can adversely affect the activity, species composition and abundance of soil microorganisms, thereby threatening soil functions such as biochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen.[133] However, soil contaminants can also become less bioavailable by time (natural attenuation),[134] and microorganisms and ecosystems can adapt to altered conditions.[135] Soil properties such as pH, organic matter content and texture are very important and modify mobility, bioavailability and toxicity of pollutants in contaminated soils.[136] The same amount of contaminant can be toxic in one soil but totally harmless in another soil.[137] This stresses the need for soil-specific risk assessment[138] and remediation measures.[139]

Cleanup options

Cleanup or environmental remediation is analyzed by environmental scientists who utilize field measurement of soil chemicals and also apply computer models (GIS in Environmental Contamination) for analyzing transport[140] and fate of soil chemicals.[141] Various technologies have been developed for remediation of oil-contaminated soil and sediments.[142] There are several principal strategies for remediation of contaminated soils:

By country

Various national standards for concentrations of particular contaminants include the United States EPA Region 9 Preliminary Remediation Goals (U.S. PRGs),[154] the United States EPA Region 3 Risk Based Concentrations (U.S. EPA RBCs),[155] and National Environment Protection Council of Australia Guideline on Investigation Levels for Soil and Groundwater.[156]

People’s Republic of China

The immense and sustained growth of the People’s Republic of China since the 1970s has exacted a price from the land in increased soil pollution.[157] The Ministry of Ecology and Environment believes it to be a threat to the environment, to food safety and to sustainable agriculture.[158] According to a scientific sampling, 150 million mu (100,000 square kilometres) of China’s cultivated land have been polluted, with contaminated water being used to irrigate a further 32.5 million mu (21,670 square kilometres) and another 2 million mu (1,300 square kilometres) covered or destroyed by solid waste. In total, the area accounts for one-tenth of China’s cultivatable land, and is mostly in economically developed areas. An estimated 12 million tonnes of grain are contaminated by heavy metals every year, causing direct losses of 20 billion yuan ($2.57 billion USD).[159] Recent survey shows that 19% of the agricultural soils are contaminated with heavy metals and metalloids, and the rate of contamination still increases dramatically.[160] China established a series of soil pollution remediation systems under the Chinese Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law which still remain to be improved because of imperfect remediation standards and insufficient public participation.[161]

European Union

According to the received data from member states in 2012, in the European Union the number of estimated potential contaminated sites was more than 2.5 million and the identified contaminated sites around 342 thousand .[162] Municipal and industrial wastes contributed most to soil contamination (38%), followed by the industrial/commercial sector (34%). Mineral oil and heavy metals were the main contaminants contributing around 60% to soil contamination. In terms of budget, the management of contaminated sites was estimated to cost around 6 billion Euros (€) annually.[162] The EU’s Soil Monitoring Law, entered into force on 16 December 2025, protects and restores soils, ensuring that they are used sustainably.[163]

United Kingdom

Generic guidance commonly used in the United Kingdom are the Soil Guideline Values published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Environment Agency.[164] These are screening values that demonstrate the minimal acceptable level of a substance. Above this there can be no assurances in terms of significant risk of harm to human health. These have been derived using the Contaminated Land Exposure Assessment Model (CLEA UK).[165] Certain input parameters such as Health Criteria Values, age and land use are fed into CLEA UK to obtain a probabilistic output.[166]

Guidance by the Inter Departmental Committee for the Redevelopment of Contaminated Land (ICRCL)[167] has been formally withdrawn in 2002 by the DEFRA, for use as a prescriptive document to determine the potential need for remediation or further assessment.[168][169]

The CLEA model published by DEFRA and the Environment Agency (EA) in March 2002, updated in September 2009, sets a framework for the appropriate assessment of risks to human health from contaminated land, as required by Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.[170] As part of this framework, generic Soil Guideline Values (SGVs) have currently been derived for ten contaminants to be used as “intervention values”.[171] These values should not be considered as remedial targets but values above which further detailed assessment should be considered.[172]

Three sets of CLEA SGVs have been produced for three different land uses,[173] namely

  • residential (with and without plant uptake)
  • allotments
  • commercial/industrial

It was intended that the SGVs replace the former ICRCL values.[168] The CLEA SGVs relate to assessing chronic (long term) risks to human health and do not apply to the protection of ground workers during construction, or other potential receptors such as groundwater, buildings, plants or other ecosystems. The CLEA SGVs are not directly applicable to a site completely covered in hardstanding, as there is no direct exposure route to contaminated soils.[174]

To date, fifteen of fifty-five contaminant SGVs have been published, for the following: arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, benzene, ethyl benzene, phenol, xylene, toluene, dioxines, furanes, and dioxin-like PCBs.[173] Toxicological data (Tox) has been published for each of these contaminants as well as for benzo(a)pyrene, naphthalene, vinyl chloride, 1,1,2,2 tetrachloroethane and 1,1,1,2 tetrachloroethane, 1,1,1 trichloroethane, tetrachloroethene, carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, and trichloroethene.[175] The SGVs for ethyl benzene, phenol and toluene are dependent on the soil organic matter (SOM) content (which can be calculated from the total organic carbon (TOC) content).[176] As an initial screen the SGVs for 1% SOM are considered to be appropriate.[166]

Canada

As of July 2025, there are a total of 24,000 plus contaminated sites in Canada, of which more than 19,000 have been closed after historical reviews, testing, clean-ups or long-term monitoring activities determined that no further action was required.[177] One infamous contaminated sited is located near a nickel-copper smelting site in Sudbury, Ontario. A study investigating the heavy metal pollution in the vicinity of the smelter reveals that elevated levels of nickel and copper were found in the soil; values going as high as 5,104ppm Ni, and 2,892 ppm Cu within a 1.1 km range of the smelter location. Other metals were also found in the soil; such metals include iron, cobalt, and silver. Furthermore, upon examining the different vegetation surrounding the smelter it was evident that they too had been affected; the results show that the plants contained nickel, copper and aluminium as a result of soil contamination.[178] Soil quality guidelines have been published for 32 soil contaminants.[179]

India

In March 2009, the issue of uranium poisoning in Punjab attracted press coverage. It was alleged to be caused by fly ash ponds of thermal power stations, which reportedly lead to severe birth defects in children in the Faridkot and Bhatinda districts of Punjab. The news reports claimed the uranium levels were more than 60 times the maximum safe limit.[180][181] Out of total 140 samples collected and analyzed in south-west Punjab, 76% have uranium levels greater than the chemical toxicity limit of World Health Organization (WHO, 30 μg.L−1) and 34% samples have concentration higher than the radiological toxicity limit given by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB, 60 μg.L−1).[182] Research is underway to identify natural or other sources for the uranium. A study suggested that prolonged application of uranium-containing fertilizers could have contributed to its enhanced concentration in the soil,[183] while a more recent study rather suggested that a complex interplay of hydrogeochemical processes under monsoonal influence could have played a decisive role in uranium mobility and contamination of groundwater above tolerated thresholds.[184]

See also

from — Wikipedia contributors. (2026v, June 12). Soil contamination. Wikipedia. Retrieved July 17, 2026

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Soil and water pollution and human health: what should cardiologists worry about?

 1,2,✉,  3,4,5,  6,7,#, Philip J Landrigan 8,9,#,3

PMCID: PMC10064841  PMID: 35772469

Abstract

Healthy soil is foundational to human health. Healthy soil is needed to grow crops, provides food, and sustains populations. It supports diverse ecosystems and critical ecological services such as pollination. It stores water and prevents floods. It captures carbon and slows global climate change. Soil pollution is a great and growing threat to human health. Soil may be polluted by heavy metals, organic chemicals such as pesticides, biological pathogens, and micro/nanoplastic particles. Pollution reduces soil’s ability to yield food. It results in food crop contamination and disease. Soil pollutants wash into rivers causing water pollution. Deforestation causes soil erosion, liberates sequestered pollutants, and generates airborne dust. Pollution of air, water, and soil is responsible for at least 9 million deaths each year. More than 60% of pollution-related disease and death is due to cardiovascular disease. Recognizing the importance of pollution to human health, the European Commission and the EU Action Plan for 2050: A Healthy Planet for All, have determined that air, water, and soil pollution must be reduced to levels that cause no harm to human or ecosystem health. We are thus required to create a toxic-free environment, respect the concept of a safe operating space for humanity, and sustain the health of our planet for future generations. This review article summarizes current knowledge of the links between soil health and human health and discusses the more important soil pollutants and their health effects.

Keywords: Environment, Solid pollution, Water, Pollution, Deforestation, Nanoplastic

1. Introduction

Healthy soil is essential for human health. While soil is not something we physicians consider very often in our daily work, soil is in fact, a key component of our planet’s infrastructure and it is foundational to human health. Healthy soil is essential for the production of safe, healthy, sufficient food. Healthy soil supports richly diverse ecosystems that provide services critical to human survival, most notably pollination. Healthy soil stores water and protects waterways, thus preventing floods and waterborne diseases. Healthy soil captures vast quantities of carbon and slows the pace of climate change.

Pollution of air, water, and soil is a great and growing threat to global health. The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health documented that pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and pre-mature death in the world today. Diseases caused by pollution were responsible for an estimated 9 million pre-mature deaths in 2015—16% of all deaths worldwide and three times more than from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis together (Figure 1A). Additionally, pollution was responsible in 2015 for the loss of 268 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)—254 million years of life lost and 14 million years lived with disability.

Figure 1.

Figure 1

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(A) Estimated global deaths for different pollution categories. Estimated global deaths (B) and DALYs (C) by different pollution-risk factors and age at death in 2015. Adapted from Landrigan et al. under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).

Despite the fact that 70% of pollution-related diseases are non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and more than 60% are cardiovascular diseases, interventions against pollution are barely mentioned in the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCD. In addition to ignoring chemical pollutants, the Global NCD Action Plan also neglects the health effects of non-chemical environmental stressors such as mental stress, noise exposure, nocturnal light pollution, and climatic changes that all together may easily outcompete all genetic pre-disposition-related health-risk factors. Epidemiological data suggest that environmental-risk factors are major contributors to NCD, especially cardiovascular disease, and that they also contribute to metabolic and mental diseases including hypertension, heart failure, myocardial infarction, diabetes, arrhythmia, stroke, neurodegeneration, depression, and anxiety disorders as well as cancers.

As air pollution is the leading environmental pollutant causing global pre-mature deaths in older age groups, water pollution significantly contributes to infant mortality (Figure 1B and C). In addition, soil and air pollution are major determinants life years lost to illness (DALYs) in infancy and childhood, whereas soil pollution is a major trigger of DALYs at higher age. The mechanisms underlying environmentally triggered NCDs are not fully understood but may comprise increased stress hormone release (cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline), oxidative stress, and inflammation as well as a dysregulation of circadian rhythms leading to adverse health effects., Ambient air pollution is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease and mortality,, and the incidences of stroke, arrhythmias, and acute myocardial infarction are all increased by air pollutants.

Soil pollution is defined as contamination of soil at higher than normal concentrations by waste materials of human origin that have adverse effects on human and ecosystem health. Soil pollutants include heavy metals and toxic organic chemicals such as pesticides, biological pathogens, and plastic waste. Air pollution is the most visible and best-studied form of pollution, and images of smoke puffing out of train engines and fumes coming out of exhaust pipes are common and easily recognizable. In contrast, soil pollution is not so easily observable, and the adverse effects of soil pollution on human health are much less well characterized and are not adequately quantified.

This review article will summarize some of the more important and direct relationships between soil pollution and human health, with a particular focus on cardiovascular disease.

2. Healthy soil is essential for human health

Soil is important for human health in a number of ways. Approximately 78% of the average per capita calorie consumption worldwide comes from crops grown directly in soil, and another nearly 20% comes from terrestrial food sources that rely indirectly on soil. Soil is also a major source of nutrients, and it acts as natural filters to remove contaminants from water.

The thin crust of the Earth’s surface supports all terrestrial life and is involved in the regulation and provision of many key ecosystem services that are essential to the environment and to human health and well-being. Soil is the foundation of the agri-food system and the medium in which nearly all food-producing crops grow—about 95% of the food we eat comes from the soil. After the oceans, soil is the largest active carbon store and one cubic metre of soil can store up to 600 L of water, allowing crops to grow even during dry periods.

Biodiversity—above and below ground—is vital to ensure healthy soils and the ecosystems upon which we depend. Soil biodiversity contributes to the cycling of nutrients and carbon, regulates the emergence of pests and diseases, and serves as a source of pharmaceuticals that contribute to boost our health. Soil also provides building materials, fuel, and fibre. They are the basis for human infrastructure and preserve our cultural heritage. The main threats to healthy soil are macro- and microplastic, deforestation, pesticides, overfertilization, and heavy metals (Figure 2).

Figure 2.

Figure 2

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Main soil pollutants and processes that contribute to poor soil quality causing important adverse health effects. Included images were taken from open source image databases Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/) and Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/).

2.1. Soil and water contamination with heavy/transition metals, pesticides, and other bioactive toxicants: mechanisms

Toxic substances such as heavy (transition) metals and metalloids or pesticides that contaminate soil frequently produce oxidative stress that is considered as a common initiating event for multiple NCDs,, (Figure 3).Epidemiological and experimental data suggest that heavy metals such as cadmium (a systematic review of 31 studies) and lead (a systematic review of 12 studies) as well as metalloids such as arsenic (a systematic review of 12 studies) can trigger cardiovascular diseases. Cadmium leads to vascular damage, endothelial dysfunction, and atherosclerosis by oxidative mechanisms (e.g. by replacement of iron and copper in sulphur complexes, promoting Fenton reactions),,  interference with antioxidant responses (e.g. by disruption of zinc–sulphur complexes), and inhibition of •NO-mediated vasodilation. In addition, there is also evidence for adverse effects of heavy metals and metalloids on epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Further reports indicate that lead contributes to oxidative stress, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and proliferation of vascular cells with adverse effects on heart-rate variability.,  Overall, lead and cadmium have many similar biological effects.

Figure 3.

Figure 3

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Main effects of soil contaminants on human health, indicating the organs or systems affected and the contaminants causing them. PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls; PBDEs, polybrominated diphenyl ethers; PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances; POPs, persistent organic pollutants; BTEX, refers to the chemicals benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. Adapted from the report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (created from data in Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and Campanale et al.), https://www.fao.org/3/cb4894en/online/src/html/chapter-04-3.html.

Chemical soil pollutants known to have adverse health effects include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs; e.g. dioxins), polybrominated diphenyl ethers, perfluorocarboxylic acids, perfluorooctanesulphonate, benzene, and bisphenol A (BPA). These chemicals can originate from industrial processes (e.g. material additives or combustion products) or they can be applied to soil in pesticide formulations. These compounds have proved adverse health effects that are mediated by induction of oxidative stress, inflammation, or epigenetic dysregulations (e.g. via microRNAs), all of which can increase risk for cancer, endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerosis, apoptosis, NASH, obesity, and other cardiometabolic complications as well as for neurodegenerative disorders. It is estimated that 25 million agricultural workers per year are affected by pesticide poisoning and that pesticides used in agricultural fields are associated with an increased risk of developing several chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and asthma as well as a variety of short-term problems (e.g. dizziness, nausea, skin and eye irritation, and headaches). Also for ischaemic heart disease complications such as acute myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, and heart failure as well as severe arterial hypertension during pregnancy strong associations with pesticide exposure were reported, although with a large heterogeneity among the included studies.

The mechanisms through which toxic soil pollutants induce oxidative stress are variable, but are mainly based on P450 chemistry, redox cycling, suppression of antioxidant enzymes, and uncoupling of mitochondrial respiration, all of which has been extensively reviewed.,,

In addition, the impact of environmental exposures to heavy metals and their impact on circadian clock, including a detailed discussion on potential mechanisms, was previously published. Alterations induced by chronic lead exposure on the cells of circadian pacemaker of developing rats were reported. Strong evidence exists for disruption of circadian rhythm by cadmium, which is termed ‘cadmium chronotoxicity’ in the literature. It has been demonstrated that this effect could be partly prevented by antioxidant co-therapy (suggesting a role for oxidative stress). Also, elevated body burdens of copper or lead may have adverse effects on the circadian clock. There is also pre-clinical and clinical evidence for an impact of environmental organic chemicals on circadian pathways., According to a study in flies, different pesticides showed consistently varying LD50 values at different daytimes, which correlated well with the diurnal expression profiles of xenobiotic metabolizing genes, but also indicating that toxicity of pesticides is connected with the circadian rhythm in Drosophila flies., Vice versa, it was shown that endocrine disrupting chemicals lead to dysregulation of the endogenous circadian clock, particularly in BPA-exposed fish liver tissue, which may be explained by the presence of several xenobiotic response elements in the promoter regions of Bmal1, Cry1, Cry2, and Per2. The pre-clinical and clinical evidence for a crosstalk between environmental organic chemicals and circadian pathways as well as the underlying mechanisms (e.g. involvement of aryl hydrocarbon receptor-dependent detoxification) were reviewed in detail.,

Disruption of circadian rhythm may promote the pathogenesis of a variety of disease including cardiovascular diseases., There is ample experimental and clinical evidence suggesting a significant link between circadian rhythms and the development or progression of cardiovascular diseases. Circadian misalignment is a condition highly prevalent in shift workers who have a known higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

2.2. Soil and water contamination with heavy/transition metals: clinical studies

Recent epidemiological studies have demonstrated mixed results on the effect of cadmium on cardiovascular disease outcomes. In the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, high blood cadmium levels were associated with higher risk of prevalent stroke [odds ratio (OR) 2.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03–5.56] and hypertension (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.20–1.76) among 10 626 participants aged 20–59 years. However, no association was found for ischaemic heart disease. In contrast, in the Danish Diet Cancer and Health cohort study, no substantial association between urinary cadmium per creatinine concentration and risk of stroke in never smoking men and women was found. Likewise, no strong evidence was found for a positive association between higher urinary cadmium and acute myocardial infarction in never smokers within the same cohort.

In a recent cross-sectional study from China, high blood level lead was associated with higher odds of common carotid artery plaques (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.29–1.82) and cardiovascular disease (composite measure including a previous diagnosis of coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, or stroke; OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.17–1.76) after adjustment for potential confounders in 4234 diabetic patients. In good agreement, in 5348 Chinese adults blood level lead was cross-sectionally associated with cardiovascular disease (including coronary heart disease, stroke, and myocardial infarction) as well as cardiovascular-risk factors (including body mass index, fasting plasma glucose, and blood pressure) after multivariable adjustment in women, but not in men. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) revealed that the interaction of chronic physiological stress (measured by allostatic load index) and blood lead level significantly increased the risk of cardiovascular mortality. The effect of low-moderate levels of arsenic exposure and metabolism on mortality was investigated in a recent US study of 3600 men and women. The results revealed that arsenic exposure and metabolism (defined as urine inorganic, monomethylated and demethylated arsenic compounds) were associated with all-cause [hazard ratio (HR) 1.28, 95% CI 1.16–1.41], cardiovascular (HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.08–1.52), and cancer mortality (HR 1.15, 95% CI 0.92–1.44). In 7941 Spanish mainland towns, the association between metal or metalloid levels in topsoil with all-cause and specific cardiovascular mortality endpoints was investigated through an ecological study using principal component analysis. For PC1, partly reflecting metals including arsenic, a strongly suggestive association with increased all-cause cardiovascular diseases mortality was observed. In a further recent ecological study, inorganic arsenic exposure from rice intake using data at local authority level across England and Wales was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The evidence provided here for an association between heavy metal concentrations and cardiovascular diseases, and mortality was also mirrored by the findings of a high-impact systematic review and meta-analysis (comprising 37 unique studies and 348 259 participants), indicating an association between arsenic, lead as well as cadmium exposure and increased risk of coronary heart disease and overall cardiovascular disease. Although soil pollution with heavy metals and its association with cardiovascular diseases is especially a problem in low- and middle-income countries since their populations are disproportionately exposed to these environmental pollutants, it becomes a problem for any country in the world due to the increasing globalization of food supply chains and uptake of these heavy metals with fruits, vegetables, and meat.

3. Airborne dust

In addition to the classical routes of exposure to soil pollution such as the agricultural use of pesticides and industrial or urban pollution via contaminated ground water or irrigation with polluted water, the hazards of airborne soil contamination are less acknowledged. Cultivation for agricultural production and deflation (wind erosion) from unpaved road and work sites and denuded fields can release soil into the atmosphere as dust. Airborne dust can impact human health, especially when the particles are less than 10, 2.5, or 0.1 µm in diameter. Airborne dust may cause irritation of the respiratory tract and increase risk for pulmonary diseases including pneumonia, chronic obstructive bronchitis, and even lung cancer. Additionally, airborne dust may carry pathogens, harmful gases, organic chemicals, nitrate and nitrite, heavy metals, highly reactive transition metals, aldehydes, insects, pollen, and radioactive materials, which can cause other severe health adverse effects.,,

Depending on their size, airborne dust particles containing toxicants may be able to enter the pulmonary alveoli and even transmigrate the lung epithelium and enter the bloodstream, where they are taken up by the blood vessel wall and trigger inflammation and oxidative stress. Airborne dust from Africa represents an important contaminant in North American soil. Desert storms from the Sahara and Sahel deserts follow the trade winds across the Atlantic Ocean, and African dust has been linked to elevated levels of Hg, Se, and Pb in North American soil. Airborne dust from Africa has also been linked to increased excess air pollution deaths of cardiopulmonary origin in Europe due to the toxicity of the particles. Roughly 400 000–500 000 annual cardiopulmonary deaths can be attributed to natural events (e.g. desert dust, wildfires, volcanic eruptions), which makes up approximately 18% of all pre-mature deaths by air pollution. Since windblown sand dust can be transported over long distances, it was found that airborne dust particles originating from mineral soil in China and Mongolia increase the risk for acute myocardial infarction (OR 1.26–1.36, on Day 4 after dust exposure, depending on age and sex) in Japanese medical centres. The association of desert dust exposure and acute myocardial infarction remained significant even upon adjustment for other meteorologic variables such as temperature and humidity as well as other air pollutants such as photochemical oxidants, suspended particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide. Also the number of cardiovascular emergency department visits in Japan was increased by 20.8% (95% CI 3.5–40.9) on days with heavy Asian dust exposure.

4. Contamination of water, air, and soil by nano- and microplastics

The production of plastics has increased exponentially, from 2.3 million tons in 1950 to 448 million tons by 2015. Production is expected to double by 2050. Every year, about 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations. This is the equivalent of setting five garbage bags full of trash on every meter of coastline around the world.

Comprehensive reviews of environmental pollution need to consider the health effects of nano- and microplastic particles, including particles from emerging sources that have not previously received a great deal of attention such as tyre-wear particles, and particles from synthetic carpets and clothing., Nanomaterials are already a significant component of ambient particulate matter and represent an emerging health issue., They also comprise an appreciable part of household air pollution., Nano- and microplastic particles transfer from polluted seawater and soil to the air are by-product of industrial activities, and already represent an appreciable part of household air pollution from synthetic carpets and clothing. Particles from these sources are expected to make an even greater contribution to environmental pollution in the near future due to anticipated increases in their production for research purposes and commercial use followed by their disposal, and release into the environment. More than 4000 nanomaterial-based products are today present in the market and information about them is deposited in the nanodatabase developed by the Technical University of Denmark (www.nanodb.dk).

More recently, with exponential increase in the generation of plastic waste, nano- and microplastic particles have attracted much public and scientific attention due to their great abundance and suspected adverse ecological effects in inshore waters, the sea and the soil. In water or soil the plastic waste is mechanically and photochemically degraded to smaller and biologically active particles. As much as 50% of the weight of manufactured plastics consists of chemical additives such as phthalates, bisphenols, flame retardants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PCBs, and heavy metals. These materials are incorporated into plastic to convey desired properties such as colour, flexibility, fire resistance, and water resistance. They include carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and neurotoxicants. Most additives are not chemically boomed to the plastic matrix and can leach out of plastic microparticles to enter the environment or human tissues.

Although nano- and microplastics still represent an emerging research field, there have recently been a number of high quality studies on the uptake, distribution, and pathophysiological effects of nano- and microplastic particles in marine organisms such as plankton, mussels, and fish (summarized by meta-analysis,) as well as studies of the transfer of these particles to humans by oral uptake of these marine organisms or direct uptake of the particles by inhalation (as described above) with sustainable adverse health effects.,

Despite these observations and reports, the adverse health effects of nano- and microplastic particles have so far not been addressed on a mechanistic basis in mammals and humans. Mechanistic studies have been almost exclusively conducted in marine organisms and point towards oxidative stress (e.g. increased lipid peroxidation products, DNA damage, mitochondrial dysfunction) and inflammation (e.g. upregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines, infiltration of immune cells) as central pathways mediating the adverse health effects of nano- and microplastic particles that interestingly show large overlap with the toxic effects of air pollution particles. These outcomes have been summarized in the Adverse Outcome Pathways format based on key events, which is used by public health organizations and the OECD guidelines. This format presents a complete tabular overview of key events, adverse health outcomes and toxicological endpoints (e.g. apoptosis, impaired neuronal network function, dysregulated heart rate, fatty liver, growth inhibition, higher mortality, impaired development, and fertility). Most of these studies have been conducted in marine organisms, but some have also been undertaken in rodent models and human cell cultures. Although no controlled or population-based human studies on the association of nano- and microplastic particle exposure and cardiovascular diseases exist to date, it was recently shown that these particles can reach the blood stream and accordingly may damage any organ in the organism. In addition, pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that polystyrene bead ingestion promotes adiposity and cardiometabolic disease in mice, and induces cardiomyocyte cell death by oxidative damage and NLRP3/caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis as well as cardiac fibrosis by Wnt/β-catenin driven apoptosis in Wistar rats.,

Nano- and microplastic particles in polluted seawater will mostly enter the human body via consumption of contaminated seafood. However, some fraction of these particles may also transfer from polluted seawater, soil, or from household sources to the air in the form of particulates or dusts and can then be distributed over large distances and lead to inhalation exposure. Also, contamination of the drinking or irrigation water by nano- and microplastic particles as well as industrially engineered nanomaterials by wastewater is another concern and can lead to exposure via ingestion of contaminated water. The routes of uptake of nano- and microplastic particles as well as their major pathomechanisms are summarized in Figure 4, although some pathophysiological pathways are assumed from airborne particulate matter pathomechanisms.

Figure 4.

Figure 4

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Scheme of pathomechanisms of micro- and nanoplastics (MP/NP) toxicity (combination of experimentally confirmed pathomechanisms of MP/NP as well as anticipated processes established for airborne ultrafine and fine particulate matter particles). MPs/NPs uptake is mainly based on ingestion and inhalation. MPs/NPs can on one hand increase mucosal and alveolar permeability allowing transmigration of the particles (e.g. via gut barrier breach or transcytosis). On the other hand, severe lung inflammation caused by MP/NP interaction with phagocytic cells will cause release of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, MCP-1, and CRP to the circulation. Once reaching the circulation and end organs, MPs/NPs can impair signalling via cell surface receptors and thereby cause changes in nuclear gene expression. Endocytosis of MPs/NPs will lead to formation of endolysosomes, release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and thereby activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated inflammatory signalling and oxidative stress. NPs can also directly penetrate into mitochondria and cause multiple functional damages via swelling, cristolysis, opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage, and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species formation. Oxidative stress may arise from the NADPH oxidases (NOXs) and damaged mitochondria. Redrawn and modified from Yong et al. with permission. © 2020 by the authors (Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.

5. Deforestation

Soil under natural, tropical forests provides essential ecosystem services that have been shaped over many centuries by long-term soil–vegetation feedbacks. However, deforestation of tropical forest, with a net rate of 5.5 million hectares annually in 2010–2015, profoundly impacts soil properties and functions. Reforestation is also prominent in the tropics, again altering the state and functioning of the underlying soil. Changes associated with deforestation may persist for decades after forest clearing eventually extending to deep subsoil and strongly affecting soil functions, including nutrient storage and recycling, carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions, erosion resistance and water storage, drainage and filtration.

Reforestation reverses many of the effects of deforestation, mainly in the topsoil, but such restoration can take decades and the resulting soil properties still deviate from those under natural forests. Improved management of soil organic matter in converted land uses can moderate or reduce the ecologically deleterious effects of deforestation on soil. We emphasize the importance of soil science not only in cross-disciplinary research on deforestation and reforestation but also in developing effective incentives and policies to reduce deforestation.

6. Ecological and health consequences of overfertilization

Since the mid-1920s, humans have doubled the natural rate at which nitrogen is deposited onto land through the production and application of nitrogen fertilizers (inorganic and manure), the combustion of fossil fuels, and replacement of natural vegetation with nitrogen-fixing crops such as soya beans. The major anthropogenic source of nitrogen in the environment is nitrogen fertilizer. Most synthetic fertilizer applications to agricultural land around the world have occurred since 1980. Since approximately half of all applied nitrogen drains from agricultural fields to contaminate surface and groundwater, nitrate concentrations in our water resources have also increased.

In terrestrial ecosystems, the addition of nitrogen to soil can lead to nutrient imbalance in trees, changes in forest health, and declines in biodiversity. With increased nitrogen availability, alteration can occur in carbon storage, thus impacting multiple ecological processes in addition to the nitrogen cycle. In agricultural systems, fertilizers are used extensively to increase plant production, but unused nitrogen, usually in the form of nitrate, can leach out of the soil, enter streams and rivers, and ultimately make its way into drinking water. The process of making synthetic fertilizers for use in agriculture by causing N2 to react with H2, known as the Haber–Bosch process, has increased significantly over the past several decades. In fact, today, nearly 80% of the nitrogen found in human tissues originated from the Haber–Bosch process.

Much of the nitrogen applied to agricultural and urban areas ultimately enters rivers and nearshore coastal systems. In nearshore marine systems, increases in nitrogen can often lead to conditions of anoxia (no dissolved oxygen in the water) or hypoxia (low oxygen), leading to reduced biodiversity. These effects can change the food-web structure and degrade the aquatic habitat. One increasingly common consequence of increased nitrogen in both fresh and salt waters is an increase in frequency of harmful algal blooms. Toxic blooms of certain types of dinoflagellates have been associated with high fish and shellfish mortality in some areas. The impacts on human health include ciguatera poisoning as well as amnesic, diarrheic, and paralytic shellfish poisoning.

Additionally, increases in nitrogen in aquatic systems can lead to increased acidification in freshwater ecosystems. Nitrogen surpluses may also have an environmental impact. Nitrogen fertilizer that is not absorbed by crops can, after being converted into nitrates, end up in neighbouring waterbodies or in the air, where it is hazardous to groundwater and drinking water and contributes to the eutrophication of surface waterbodies and terrestrial ecosystems. Nitrate air emissions provoke the eutrophication and acidification of fragile ecosystems and contribute to greenhouse gas formation. This in turn has a negative impact on landscape quality and biodiversity. The adverse health effects were colorectal cancer, bladder, and breast cancer, thyroid disease, methemoglobinaemia, and neural tube defects. In addition, ammonia particle emissions from agriculture to the atmosphere may be inhaled with significant health side effects of these fine and ultrafine particles.

7. Conclusions and political implications

Soil pollution, water pollution, deforestation, excessive fertilization, and the use of pesticides and other toxic chemicals degrade the rich biodiversity of soil around the world, diminish ecosystem sustainability, reduce food crop production, and threaten human health and well-being. Soil pollution reduces the number and variety of beneficial microorganisms in the soil through chemical toxicity and chemical pollutants in soil may also become a source of pollution for groundwater through leaching of contaminants.

Along with climate change, air pollution, and species extinction, soil pollution represents an existential threat to the sustainability of human societies. All of these forms of environmental degradation are ultimately the consequence of short-term economic thinking and greed that have no respect for natural systems and no concern either for other people today or for future generations.

The many pollutants that contaminate soil increase risk of cardiovascular disease and other NCDs. While these pollutants differ in their chemical composition, they cause disease through shared pathophysiological pathways centred on oxidative stress and inflammation leading to a dysregulation of circadian rhythms., Oxidative stress and inflammation in response to contamination with plastic, heavy metals, overfertilization, pesticides, and toxic agents represent major pathophysiologic mechanisms causing cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and metabolic diseases.

Chemical and nano/microplastic pollutants can act additively and/or synergistically with other lifestyle, metabolic and traditional health-risk factors leading to aggravated pathogenesis of NCD. The extraordinary concentration of environmental-risk factors—the exposome that includes light, noise, and air pollution as well as psychosocial stress—in urbanized areas has the potential to produce a disease burden associated with the sum of these environmental stressors that exceeds all previous estimations.

There is thus an urgency to act, and an opportunity for physicians and other health professionals to lead. Pollution can cause ischaemic heart disease, cancer, obstructive pulmonary disease, strokes, mental and neurological conditions, diabetes, and more. Despite tangible progress, in 2015 pollution still led to at least 9 million pre-mature deaths worldwide (16% of all deaths)—three times more deaths than from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined and 10 times more than from all wars and other forms of violence. In the EU, every year, pollution causes one in eight deaths. Soil pollution is definitely something that the cardiologist should worry about.

Importantly, according to the zero-pollution vision of the European Commission and the EU Action Plan for 2050 (https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/zero-pollution-action-plan_de): a ‘Healthy Planet for All’, air, water, and soil pollution have to be reduced to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems and that respect the boundaries our planet can cope with, thus creating a non-toxic environment.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Margot Neuser and Thilo Weckmüller for expert graphical assistance. T.M. is a PI of the DZHK Rhine-Main.

Contributor Information

Thomas Münzel, Department of Cardiology, Cardiology I, University Medical Center Mainz, Cardiology I, Geb. 605, Langenbeckstr. 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Mainz, Germany.

Omar Hahad, Department of Cardiology, Cardiology I, University Medical Center Mainz, Cardiology I, Geb. 605, Langenbeckstr. 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Mainz, Germany; Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research (LIR), Mainz, Germany.

Andreas Daiber, Department of Cardiology, Cardiology I, University Medical Center Mainz, Cardiology I, Geb. 605, Langenbeckstr. 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Mainz, Germany.

Philip J Landrigan, Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA; Department of Medical Biology, Centre Scientifique de Monaco, Monaco-Ville, Monaco.

Funding

The present work was supported by a vascular biology research grant from the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation for the collaborative research group ‘Novel and neglected cardiovascular-risk factors: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic implications’ to study the effects of environmental-risk factors on vascular function and oxidative stress (A.D. and T.M.). The authors also acknowledge the continuous support by the Foundation Heart of Mainz and the DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), Partner Site Rhine-Main, Mainz, Germany.

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~ ~ ~ 

Trump administration yanks $15m in research into Pfas on US farms: ‘not just stupid, it’s evil’

Pfas-laden pesticides and sewage sludge used as fertilizer move into crops and nearby water sources

The Trump administration has killed nearly $15m in research into Pfas contamination of US farmland, bringing to a close studies that public health advocates say are essential for understanding a worrying source of widespread food contamination.

Researchers in recent years have begun to understand that Pfas-laden pesticides and sewage sludge spread on cropland as a fertilizer contaminate the soil with the chemicals, which then move into crops and nearby water sources.

Sludge is behind a still unfolding crisis in Maine, where 84 farms have been found to be significantly contaminated with Pfas, and some were forced to close. Advocates say farms across the nation are almost certainly contaminated at similar levels, but Maine is the only state with a robust testing program. The impacts on members of the public who eat from the farms in Maine and beyond is unclear.

“We have to do this research and take steps to not just make sure that our food supply is safe, but also ensure our farms and farmers are safe,” said Bill Pluecker, a Maine state representative and public policy organizer at Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, which has advocated for stricter sludge regulations.

“As we’ve seen here in Maine, farmers are the most affected by the Pfas because they’re working the soil, eating the food and drinking from wells.”

Pfas are a class of around 15,000 compounds that are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, and accumulate in the human body and environment. The chemicals are linked to a range of serious health problems like cancer, liver disease, kidney issues, high cholesterol, birth defects and decreased immunity.

In a statement, the EPA said: “The Trump EPA will continue to work with states, tribes, and communities to advance the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment and Administrator [Lee] Zeldin’s Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative, which includes providing clean air, land and water for every American.”

Sludge is a mix of human and industrial waste that is a byproduct of the wastewater treatment process. Its disposal is expensive, and the EPA allows it to be spread on cropland as “biosolid” fertilizer because it is also rich in plant nutrients.

But public health advocates have blasted the practice because the nation spends billions of dollars annually treating water only to take the toxic byproduct, insert it into the food supply and re-pollute water.

Maine became the first state to ban biosolids, and it established a $70m fund to help bail out affected farmers. So far, five farms have closed, and some farmers say they are suffering from health issues.

The EPA under Joe Biden was resistant to calls to take more action around contaminated farms and to ban the practice. A 2024 federal lawsuit alleging water pollution from Pfas-tainted sludge violates the Clean Water Act has the potential to end the practice altogether, or force the EPA into establishing regulations.

Amid this pressure, it set up the $15m program that funded 10 studies led by universities across the country. The research aimed to learn more about how the chemicals move into and accumulate in crops and livestock. Some research also looked at urban gardens; wastewater treatment plants often sell tainted sludge that it labels as “organic”. Other research aimed to improve mitigation strategies.

Previous research has highlighted the risks in crops uptaking Pfas. In North Carolina, researchers found water-rich fruits and vegetables – such as strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, blueberries and blackberries – showed higher levels than starch-rich produce, such as corn, because Pfas are attracted to water.

The same study found the levels crops uptake can be quite high. For example, a child who eats just 10 blueberries from one of the gardens tested would consume levels of GenX, a common Pfas compound, equivalent to drinking a liter of water with levels of the chemical above the federal limit.

The Trump administration, along with Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency”, or Doge, killed the program in May, but recently reinstated funding for two studies. It is unclear why that funding was reinstated, but other funding was not. Several scientists told the Guardian they were appealing the decision, but declined to comment beyond that.

The administration’s move is “not just stupid, it’s evil”, said Kyla Bennett, science director with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), and a former EPA attorney.

“Cutting funding into research on how these toxic chemicals get into our food will doom us to decades or even hundreds of years more of exposure,” Bennett said.

from — Perkins, T. (2025, July 15). Trump administration yanks $15m in research into Pfas on US farms: ‘not just stupid, it’s evil.’ The Guardian. 

July 17th, 2026
New England

This is one of the words/ phrases you can’t say in the new Trump Regime. See a comprehensive list at the Forbidden Words Project.

image: buddha reflecting © Holly Troy 6.2026
from Whole Hearted Healing Center in Flagstaff, AZ

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Holly hails from an illustrious lineage of fortune tellers, yogis, folk healers, troubadours and poets of the fine and mystical arts. Shape-shifting Tantric Siren of the Lunar Mysteries, she surfs the ebbs and flows of the multiverse on the Pure Sound of Creation. Her alchemy is Sacred Folly — revolutionary transformation through Love, deep play, Beauty, and music.

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