Heavy metals are elements that occur naturally in soil and rocks all over the world, and in these natural concentrations they are generally not a real problem. However, when they start to build up in larger concentrations, they can then become harmful to humans, animals and the environment as a whole, making the soil contaminated. Heavy metals that are commonly the cause of contaminated soil include lead, mercury arsenic and nickel to name but a few.
Unfortunately, areas that tend to be contaminated with heavy metals are due to human activity. Things that can cause this include industrial activities, mining, landfill and even heavy traffic in an area. In some cases, farming also can cause it due to former uses of pesticides and fertilisers on the land. When these metals are in the soil, they don’t tend to break down like other things, so they can remain in the ground for hundreds of years.
It is easy to see how they pose a risk to human health – eating food grown in these soils, breathing in the dust and digging in the soil all cause health issues to humans like kidney problems, damage to the nervous system and it can also increase the risk of some types of cancer, especially if there has been exposure over a long period of time.
The only way to ensure that land like this is safe and can be used again is to get a professional like this soil remediation company //soilfix.co.uk/services/soil-remediation/ to come in and deal with it – as well as protecting human health, this also benefits the environment in general and all the creatures that live there.
