Answering Key Questions Associated with Soil Risk Assessment

Soil is an irreplaceable resource that sustains life on the planet, challenged by food and energy demands of an increasing population. Therefore, soil contamination constitutes a critical issue to be addressed if we are to secure the life quality of present and future generations. Integrated efforts from researchers and policy makers are required to develop sound risk assessment procedures, remediation strategies and sustainable soil management policies. Soil pollution/contamination is caused by the presence of human-made chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals, or improper disposal of waste. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. Contamination is correlated with the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical usage. This paper aims to provide answer to a wide range of key questions pertaining to soil contamination and risk assessment. It introduces several innovative approaches for soil remediation and risk assessment. In terms of methodology employed, secondary data (collected from various sources like research reports, government publications, Internet resources, etc.) have been analyzed, using descriptive research methods. In addition, the data utilized in the paper contain examples of: (a) how inter-species sensitivity should be taken into account, and (b) challenges and development needs in regulatory soil risk assessment. The paper concludes that soil pollution is a result of many activities and experiments done by mankind which end up contaminating the soil. Industrial wastes such as harmful gases and chemicals, agricultural pesticides, fertilizers and insecticides are the most common causes of soil pollution