**2. Soil pollution**

Soil pollution is defined as the build-up in soils of persistent toxic compounds, chemicals, salts, radioactive materials, or disease causing agents, which have adverse effects on plant growth and animal health [1].

Soil is the thin layer of organic and inorganic materials that covers the Earth's rocky surface. The organic portion, which is derived from the decayed remains of plants and animal, is concentrated in the dark uppermost topsoil. The inorganic portion made up of rock fragments, was formed over thousands of years by physical and chemical weathering of bedrock. Productive soils are necessary for agriculture to supply the world with sufficient food [2].

There are many different ways that soil can become polluted, such as:


The most common chemicals involved in causing soil pollution are:


sional and economic divergence between the interests of scientists, stakeholders, authorities, engineers, managers, lawyers, nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and regulators is therefore not unusual. Even neglecting those aspects, a number of unresolved problems exist in the way we currently assess risk and manage the impact of anthropogenic substances in the

This chapter does not intend to present a comprehensive review of all published data from ecological studies at contaminated sites. Instead, the observations from all case studies are used in the discussion and form the basis for the final conclusion. In each case, we try to answer

**5.** Is it possible to make sound field surveys, or do we lack suitable reference situations?

Soil pollution is defined as the build-up in soils of persistent toxic compounds, chemicals, salts, radioactive materials, or disease causing agents, which have adverse effects on plant growth

Soil is the thin layer of organic and inorganic materials that covers the Earth's rocky surface. The organic portion, which is derived from the decayed remains of plants and animal, is concentrated in the dark uppermost topsoil. The inorganic portion made up of rock fragments, was formed over thousands of years by physical and chemical weathering of bedrock. Productive soils are necessary for agriculture to supply the world with sufficient food [2].

**6.** What are the possible soil management methods for the polluted soils?

There are many different ways that soil can become polluted, such as:

terrestrial environment.

the following questions:

**2. Soil pollution**

and animal health [1].

**•** Seepage from a landfill

**•** Solid waste seepage

**•** Discharge of industrial waste into the soil

**•** Rupture of underground storage tanks

**•** Percolation of contaminated water into the soil

**•** Excess application of pesticides, herbicides or fertilizer

The most common chemicals involved in causing soil pollution are:

**1.** What is soil pollution and how it occurs?

4 Environmental Risk Assessment of Soil Contamination

**2.** How to determine the ecological risk assessment of the soil?

**3.** To what extent do soil screening levels (over)estimate risk?

**4.** Do bioassays represent a more realistic risk estimate?

**•** Solvents
