Land pollution
Topic: Geographical Issues: Pollution, Urban Waste, Slums and Land Degradation · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 9 "Geographical Perspective on Selected Issues and Problems"
Meaning
Land pollution is the dirtying of land by harmful waste from human activities. The pollutants include human and animal excreta, viruses and bacteria, garbage, untreated industrial waste, pesticide and fertiliser residues, fluorides and radioactive matter. These lower the fertility of the soil, which is its ability to grow crops. They also seep into groundwater and pass into food chains, so a problem on the surface reaches the water we drink and the food we eat.
Example
At Daurala, a village near Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, untreated wastewater from local industries soaked through the ground. It carried heavy metals down to the water table, which is the level below which the ground is full of water.
Don't confuse with
- Land degradation: a fall in land's ability to produce. Erosion, waterlogging or salt build-up can cause it even when no pollutant is present. Land pollution means contamination by harmful substances.