Land Pollution consequences
Soil contamination often cannot be directly perceived or assessed, making it a hidden
hazard with serious consequences. Among them, it affects food security, by hindering the
metabolism of plants and by reducing agricultural yields, also making crops harmful for
consumption. Pollutants also directly harm organisms that live in the soil and make it
more fertile.And, of course, soil contaminated with hazardous elements, organic
chemicals like PCBs and PAHs, or pharmaceuticals - such as antibiotics or endocrine
disruptors - poses serious risks to human health.By far, most of the soil contamination is
due to human activities: industrial activities - including mining, smelting and
manufacturing; domestic, livestock and urban waste; pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers
used in agriculture; petroleum products that are released or decompose in the
environment; gases generated by transport...
Xabier