THE IMPACT OF SOIL CONTAMINATION ON ENVIRONMENT

Soil contamination is the state in which man-made chemicals in and alter the natural soil environment. Contamination usually occurs because: leakage of liquid waste or industrial chemicals or commercial facilities, the use of pesticides, polluted surface water ingress into the sub-surface layer, chemical substances, or waste. Water waste from landfills and industrial waste directly discharged into the soil ineligible.

If a hazardous substance has polluted the soil surface, so it can evaporate, and the rain washed away or into the ground. Pollution that goes into the ground and then terendap as toxic chemicals in the soil. Toxic substances in the soil can have a direct impact to humans when in contact or can contaminate ground water and the air above it.

Change Function of Land and Soil Pollution

Shifting land use due to industrialization, the changing function of agricultural land has led to extensive water catchment areas in many parts of Indonesia. Besides the change of land use is industrial activity has also resulted in the pollution of soil and water bodies. As a result of this pollution, among others also can reduce the quality and quantity of yield / agricultural products, the disruption of the comfort and health of humans or other living things.

Another Kegaiatan follow damage and impact on soil pollution, sedimentation, erosion and drought, is a mining activity. Damage caused by mining activities are changing the Earth's surface or loss of shape (landscape), especially the mining is done in an open (opened mining) leaving large holes in the surface of the earth. To obtain ore, peeled and ground excavated using heavy equipment. The manager left the mining areas mined by without doing rehabilitation or reclamation.

  Occurrence of Soil Pollution

Categorized fertile soil when the soil contains enough nutrients for plants and micro-organisms, and in terms of physics, chemistry, and biology meet for growth. Soil can be damaged due to soil contamination.

Soil contamination is a condition in which the matter of physical, chemical, and biological in and alter the natural soil environment. Contamination can occur due to human activities or due keceroban routine, such as leakage of liquid waste or industrial chemicals or commercial facilities; pesticide use, the inclusion of contaminated surface water in the sub-surface layer; crash fleet carrier oil, chemicals, or waste; wastewater from landfills and industrial waste directly discharged into the soil ineligible (illegal dumping).

If classified the soil contamination can occur because of these things below, namely:

· Direct Pollution: Pollution, for instance due to excess use of fertilizer, pesticide, and disposal of waste that can not be described as plastic, cans, bottles, and others.

· Pollution through water: Contaminated water (contain contaminants / pollutants) will alter the chemical composition of the soil thereby disrupting the bodies that live in or on the soil surface.

· Pollution by air: the polluted air will make the rain that contain contaminants that lead contaminated soil as well.

Chemicals including pesticides and detergents as well as various forms of beneficial when used in excess will lead to various forms of pollution to the environment including land. Several types of these pollutants cause relatively permanent type of pollution is difficult karana decompose in nature.

When a substance is hazardous / toxic has polluted the soil surface, so it can evaporate, and the rain washed away or into the ground. Pollution that goes into the ground and then terendap as toxic chemicals in the soil. Toxic substances in the soil can have a direct impact to humans when in contact or can contaminate ground water and the air above it.

The impacts caused by soil pollution, including:

In Health

The impact of pollution on the health of the soil depends on the type of pollutant, the entry into the body and the vulnerability of the affected population. Chromium, a wide range of pesticides and herbicides are carcinogenic to all populations. Lead is particularly dangerous in children because it can cause brain damage, and kidney damage in the whole population.

Exposure to chronic (ongoing) to benzene at a certain concentration can increase the chances of developing leukemia. Mercury (mercury) and siklodiena known to cause kidney damage, some can not even be treated. PCB and siklodiena related liver toxicity. Karmabat organophosphate and may cause neuromuscular disorders. Various solvents containing chlorine stimulate changes in the liver and kidneys as well as the decrease in the central nervous system. There are several types of health effects that looked like headache, dizziness, fatigue, eye irritation and skin rashes to exposure to chemicals mentioned above. What is clear, in large doses, can cause soil contamination Death.

In Ecosystem

Soil pollution can also have an impact on the ecosystem. Changes in soil chemical radicals can arise from the presence of toxic chemicals / hazardous even at low doses though. These changes can lead to changes in metabolism of endemic microorganisms and arthropods that live in the soil. As a result, some species can even destroy the primary of the food chain, which can give a great result against predators or other levels of the food chain. Even if the effects of chemicals on the bottom of the lower forms of life, the bottom of the food pyramid can ingest foreign chemicals that will eventually concentrated on creatures residents of the pyramid. Many of these effects are seen at this time, as the concentration of DDT in birds causes eggshell fragility, increased levels of seedling death and the possible loss of species.

The impact on agriculture, especially plant metabolic changes that can ultimately lead to declining crop yields. This can lead to further impacts on the conservation of the plant where the plant is not able to hold the soil from erosion. Some of these contaminants have long half-lives and in other cases derivative chemicals are formed from the main land pollutants.

Efforts to Overcome Land Pollution

There are several ways to reduce the impact of soil pollution, among others, with remediation and bioremidiasi. Remediation is a way to clean surfaces contaminated soil. While bioremediation by soil contamination cleanup process using microorganisms (fungi, bacteria). Bioremediation aims to break down or degrade contaminants into less toxic materials or non-toxic (carbon dioxide and water).

Remediation activities to clean the surface is contaminated soil. There are two types of soil remediation, ie in-situ (or on-site) and ex-situ (or off-site). Cleaning is the cleaning on-site at the location. Cleaning is cheaper and easier, consisting of cleaning, venting (injection), and bioremediation.

Cleaning off-site includes excavation of contaminated soil and then taken to a safe area. After it was in a safe area, the land is cleared of contaminants. The trick is, the land is kept in tubs / tanks are watertight, then the cleaning agent is pumped into the tub / tank. Furthermore pollutants pumped out of the tub and then treated with wastewater treatment plant. Off-site cleanup is much more expensive and complicated.

Handling pesticides as soil contaminants is to not use it. This method is the better the result, but the soil pests resulting in decreased yield.

How that can be taken include the setting of plants and planting time, Choose pest-resistant crop varieties, use of natural enemies to pests, use an insect hormone, pmandulan (sterilization), as well as the use of sex appeal to insects

Important to note is the use of the procedures and the treatment of the use of chemicals such as pesticides and other chemicals. The characteristics of these pesticides are divided according to their chemical structure and composition of the constituent materials, so the storage and usage procedures should be coinciding with the procedure.

Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks, google, and adequate working clothes important so that the material is not in direct contact with the body and the environment so that pollute the environment. While the treatment that should be applied to the results of the waste, as well as other waste management principles must be considered, such as the principle of Reuse, Recycling, Reducing, by the methods of sanitary landfills, dumping, grinding, composting, Incineration, or derngan pyrolysis method.

 Prevention and mitigation are two actions that can not be separated in the sense that usually the two actions are taken to support each other, if preventive measures are not possible, then do the action steps. However, basically we all agree that prevention is better and preferably done before the contamination occurred, if contamination has occurred either naturally or due to human aktivisas to make ends meet, then we should take countermeasures.

Precautions and countermeasures against pollution can be done in various ways according to kinds of contaminants that need to be tackled. Measures to prevent and control the pollution, among others to do the following:

Preventive measures

In general, prevention is, in principle, is trying not to cause pollution, for example, to prevent / reduce the occurrence of contaminants, such as:

1) Organic waste can decompose / broken down by microorganisms, among others can be done by measuring the waste in closed and open land, then be processed as compost / fertilizer. To reduce terciumnya stench of gases that arise in the process of decay, the burial of waste is done in layers with the ground.

2) Waste organic compounds or inorganic compounds that can not be destroyed by microorganisms can be done by burning the waste that can be burned like plastic and fiber individually and collected in a place far from the settlement, so it does not pollute the air settlements. Waste that can not be burned to ground / cut into small particles, and then buried.

3) Processing of the industrial wastes containing heavy metals that will pollute the ground, before being discharged into the river or into exile in order to do the purification process.

4) radioactive waste before disposal, stored first on sumursumur or tank in the time period long enough to not dangerous, just banished to a place away from settlements, eg coral islands, which are uninhabited or to the bottom of a very deep ocean.

5) The use of fertilizers, pesticides are not used arbitrarily, but in accordance with the rules and not be excessive.

6) Try to remove and put detergent in the form of organic compounds that can be destroyed / broken down by microorganisms.

Countermeasures

If contamination has occurred, it is necessary to control for these pencemara. Countermeasures, in principle, reduce soil contaminants or pollutants to process or recycle into useful materials. Land can function properly, the soil is fertile and arable land are beneficial microorganisms and soil fauna extinction not. There are several steps handlers to reduce the impact of the pollution of the soil. Among them are:

1. Remediation

Remediation activities to clean the surface is ground yangtercemar. There are two types of soil remediation, ie in-situ (or on-site) and ex-situ (or off-site). Cleaning is the cleaning on-site at the location. Cleaning is cheaper and easier, consisting of cleaning, venting (injection), and off-site bioremediasi.Pembersihan includes excavation of contaminated soil and then taken to a safe area. After it was in a safe area, the land is cleared of contaminants. The trick is, the land is kept in tubs / tanks are watertight, then the cleaning agent is pumped into the tub / tank. Furthermore pollutants pumped out of the tub and then treated with wastewater treatment plant. Off-site cleanup is much more expensive and complicated.

2. Bioremediation

Bioremediation is the process of cleansing the soil contamination using microorganisms (fungi, bacteria). Bioremediation aims to break down or degrade contaminants into less material beracunatau not toxic (carbon dioxide and water).

We can also perform countermeasures such as:

· Organic waste that can not be destroyed (being in considerable numbers) and jeopardizes the welfare of life and pollute the soil, in order to be processed or made recycled into other useful goods, such as used toys, used building materials, plastics and fibers kesed or paperboard used recycled into tissue, glass recycled into flower vases, recycled into plastic buckets and many more ways to waste recycler.

· Used building materials (such as ceramic, stone, sand, gravel, bricks, berangkal) which can cause the soil to be no / less fertile, well buried in the layers that can serve as a catchment and filtration of water, so it does not cause flooding, but remain in place around the house and filtered. Watershed could even get into wells and can be reused as clean water.

· Acid rain causes the soil pH to be no longer suitable for crops, the soil needs to be supplemented with calcium that acidic pH is reduced.