2.

1 CAUSES OF SOIL CONTAMINATION IN CHINA

2.1 Agricultural Activity
The rapid economic growth and urbanisation over the last thirty years have
brought about substantial changes in the diet of China’s population. In particular, there
has been a shift from the grain-centred diet towards a more diverse diet: the
significant increase in incomes has created a demand for more animal protein, and
high quality vegetables and fruits. Between 1980 and 2002, the contribution of
cereals and starchy roots to the average daily per capita calorie intake decreased by
17.4% and 13.5%, respectively. On the other hand, during the same period, the
contribution of vegetables and fruits to people’s diet increased by 260% and
500%, respectively.
Accordingly, soils previously used for cultivating crops like grains and starchy roots
have been gradually transformed into lands for more high-value crops.
Modifications in crop composition and crop yields fundamentally affect the way
lands are utilised and managed, thereby also changing the capacity and nutrient
cycles of soils. Different crop compositions require different nutrient supplies, as
well as a specific balance of plant minerals applied to the soil, which also changes
the physical and chemical properties of the soil. These are some of the reasons
underlying the high and growing levels of soil pollution generated by agricultural
production. They lead, in particular, to the application of a growing amounts of
fertilisers and pesticides in the soil. These issues are discussed below.

 Soil contamination by overuse of fertilisers

Even though the overuse of fertilizers leads to soil contamination and food safety
issues, agriculture in China largely relies on the use of chemical fertilizers. A survey
conducted in five counties in east-central China to examine farmers’ fertilizer
application practices showed that 74% of the farmers in Shandong Province and
47% of the farmers in Shanxi Province have explained their increasing use of
synthetic fertilizers with the decreasing use of organic fertilizers, and having to
offset the decline in soil fertility. Furthermore, to keep inflation in check, the
government has been imposing profit caps on farmers. As a result, many farmers
have been struggling to make a living, which forces them to increase their crop
yields through greater use of synthetic fertilizers.

Nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), and potassium (K) fertilizers are the three main
chemical fertilizers used in China. According to LIU (2014), they are often applied
in the proportion of 1:0.5:0.5, and internationally recognized limit for their
maximum safe usage is between 225 kg per ha (CCICED, 2006) and 250 kg per ha (LIU,
2014). But in China the amount applied is much larger than this. Nitrogen fertilizers are
by far the most common, and China has become the world’s largest producer and
consumer of synthetic N fertilizer. The national average annual amount of nitrogen
fertilizer use reached 230 kg N ha-1 in croplands, which is the third largest in the
world after Korea and Japan.
Besides fertilizer overuse, there is also misuse. Since the 1980s, the effectivity rate of
fertilizer application has been decreasing. According to Yang, “only about 30% of
the fertilizers China uses actually does any good. A nationwide survey of pollution
sources in 2007 showed that the total nitrogen loss from cropland was about 1.6
million tons, of which some 320,000 tons was from surface runoff and over 200,000
tons from underground leaching. The total phosphorus loss was of about 108,000
tons.

 Increasing use of pesticides

For over 10 years, China has been the largest buyer of pesticides in the world, with
the average amount of pesticides applied per unit area being double the global
average (SUN ET AL., 2012). In 2000, organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides
made up over 39.4% and 37.0% of the total pesticide use, respectively, and the
highly toxic organophosphorus and aminoformin pesticides made up 67.0% of the
total amount of insecticides used. These pesticides are primarily sprayed on
vegetables, fruit bearing trees, and cereal crops (rice and wheat). The utilization of
pesticides has significantly boosted China’s agricultural productivity.
However, pesticides are also highly toxic, and beyond a certain amount, they no
longer help to boost agricultural output. Instead, they end up in the soil and water in
amounts that exceed the ability of the natural environment to absorb, dilute and
decompose them. According to a recent study only about 1% of these toxic substances
does any good, while the other 99 % will reach non-target soils and contaminate
the water bodies and the atmosphere to eventually get absorbed by other living
organism.

 Soil contamination by waste from livestock.

Intensive animal farming has spread rapidly across China over the last decades,
resulting in the production of substantial amounts of waste. Chinese farmers used to
recycle and compost organic materials, such as animal waste, to guarantee high
concentrations of organic matter and mineral nutrients in the soil. However, due to
the rising costs of labor and rapid economic growth and urbanization, the recycling
rate of organic matter has significantly dropped over the last decades, particularly in
the more developed provinces of east and south-east China.
In 2007, the N and P discharge from human and livestock excretion exceeded the amount
of synthetic fertilizers, and has become the primary source of non-point source (NPS)
pollution in China. In 2007, livestock and poultry farming generated 243 million tons
of waste, and 163 million tons of urine; the amount of N and P discharged from
animal excretion totalled 1,024,800 and 160,400 tons, respectively. Unfortunately, the
majority of livestock are kept by small farmers who ignore waste discharge
regulations: 90% of animal farms in China have no or inadequate waste disposal or
treatment plants. Ignoring the guidelines for the safe handling and storage of waste
causes serious contamination.
2.2 Waste Disposal
China produces 254 million tons of garbage a year, or about a third of a kilogram per
person per day – a third of the world’s annual trash and garbage output. Even though the
average Chinese dumps only half the garbage that average American does that level will
grow by about 4 percent a year until til it reaches around 50 percent more than what it is
now. Each urban dweller in China produces about half a ton of garbage a year. China has
surpassed the United States to become the world's largest trash producer, churning out
more than 260 million tons a year. Beijing's 20 million residents generate about 18,000
tons a day, most of which goes to landfills. With household trash volume rising at least 5
percent annually, according to the city, authorities are building new incinerators, though
that's caused concern about further dirtying the capital's already smoggy skies. 

 Garbage disposal in China

China suffers from a lack of space for landfills. About 85 percent of China's 7 billion tons
of trash is in landfills, much of it in unlicensed dumps in the countryside. Most have only
thin linings of plastic under them or nothing at all. Rain causes bacteria, heavy metals and
ammonia to drip into the groundwater, soil and drinking water supplies. Decomposing
garbage produces methane and carbon dioxide. If the garbage disposal system isn't
improved some say China could suffer from heath problems. Increasingly incineration is
seen as China's way to solve this problem.

 Rural landfills in China 

China's garbage problem can particularly nasty for the poor villages on the outskirts
of large cities that have had landfills placed in their backyards. Zhanglidong, a village
outside of Zhengzhou, city with 8 million people, for example, has a landfill the size
of 20 football field placed near it. One resident told AP, “Life here went from heaven
to hell in an instant--- when the landfill was opened. Among the problems associated
with the dump that she ticked off were clouds of mosquitoes, piles rotted, insect-filled
peaches and cherries, unharvested fields contaminated with smelly, toxic and an
increase in health problems such as bronchitis and skin disease.
 Illegal dumps outside Beijing
A considerable amount of the garbage is channeled to the so-called underground
garbage industrial chain. This garbage is purchased at a low price within the city,
transported outside the city center, and sorted by scavengers employed for this task.
This is how so many illegal garbage sites have come into existence in hidden corners
of the city. The particular details of their geographical distribution are effectively
unknown, as are their exact numbers. 
Improper and irresponsible disposal of waste pollutes the soil. Sometimes waste is
dumped illegally in areas where disposal is not permitted. For example, factories may
not treat waste according to proper procedures and release untreated waste matter into
the surrounding land or water.The incorrect way of chemical waste disposal from
different types of industries can cause contamination of soil. Human activities like this
have led to acidification of soil and contamination due to the disposal of industrial
waste, heavy metals, toxic chemicals, dumping oil and fuel, etc. Solid waste
management must be handled with a forward thinking process to limit the impact to
land and runoff water. This goal is compounded from illegally dumped chemicals.
Underground storage tanks corrode and leach into the soil and require different
storage methods. The debris sent to landfills create a buildup of deadly methane
gas. For example, industrial wastes are mostly chemical wastes, and it causes the
toxicity of soil.
2.3 Industrial Activities
The large scale of mining and smelting with poor environmental standards over the last
decades has resulted in large amounts of heavy metal contaminants affecting farmlands
through atmospheric deposition, waste transportation, and irrigation with wastewater and
sludge. The incorrect way of chemical waste disposal from different types of industries
can cause contamination of soil. Human activities like this have led to acidification of
soil and contamination due to the disposal of industrial waste, heavy metals, toxic
chemicals, dumping oil and fuel, etc.

 Contamination of soil through coal mining

China is the
largest producer
and it having
the most
consumer of
coal in the
world and the
largest
consumption of
coal to generate
electricity in the world. Since most of the electricity in China is generating by coal
power plants, the country’s coal productions need to meet the huge demand for
energy. Surface mining (also known as open cast, mountaintop, or strip mining)
involves removing the top layers of the soil and rocks to dig the coal closer to the
surface. Surface mining devastates landscapes, woodlands, and wildlife habitats when
the vegetation and topsoil are destroyed and cleared. This destructive practice results
in soil erosion and the ruination of arable land and results in massive amounts of soil
and waste rock being exposed to the surface, some of which may be toxic and come
into contact with soils. Although coal companies need to submit sound mine
reclamation plans before starting their mining activities, the rehabilitation of water
supplies, ecosystems, and air quality is a long and difficult process. In particular, re-
 seeding the native vegetation is challenging due to the extensive damage inflicted on
the soil during the mining. The coal mining activities increased the concentrations of
potentially toxic heavy metals. The average concentrations of Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cu, Ni
and Cd were higher compared to the critical soil concentrations. While at the area
near coal mining areas, Mn, Cu and Ni were near the toxic limits of the respective
metals.

Even when the negative environmental impacts from the extraction of coal are
minimized, the burning of coal causes air pollution, which degrades the vegetation
and the soil.

 Soil contaminated by industrial emission

Industrial emissions are a significant source of air pollution. When the airborne toxic
chemicals and heavy metals fall back to the ground, they pollute the soil. Industrial
emissions are some of the major sources of heavy metal pollution in China. While the
concentration of Cadmium [Cd] in the atmosphere is relatively low (usually below
1.0 pg/L) in rural areas without industrial activities, industrial areas show
significantly higher values, reaching up to 100 pg/L. Soils in industrial areas can
absorb Cd from the air and through precipitation.
2.4 Road Construction and Traffic Pollution
With the rapid development of the economy, automobiles have become more affordable.
As a result, traffic-related pollution has developed into a significant contributor to urban
environmental degradation and public health problems. While road construction may lead
to soil erosion, the traffic itself contributes to the accumulation of heavy metals. Many
studies showed that traffic-related pollution can result in the accumulation of some heavy
metals such as Pb (lead), Cd (cadmium), Zn (zinc), and Cu (copper) in both the soil and
plants along roads, primarily attributable to vehicle emissions and the abrasion of.
Alongside these roads, damages to vegetation and the change of the surface soil layer
structure causes land degradation.

On the contrary, as the particles originating from the road pavement, its maintenance or
the traffic enter the ground transferred by the water other pollutants are also
transferred by the wind and are spread in various distances polluting the soil. As to the
total soil pollution (transferred by the wind and the water) elements requiring special
caution are the heavy metals (lead, zinc, cadmium, nickel), the sodium chloride,
hydrocarbons and dusts.
The main processes by which vehicles spread heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Ni)
into the environment are combustion processes, the wear of cars (tires, brakes, engine),
leaking of oil and corrosion. Certain components of automotive engines, chasis and
piping contain manganese and copper, while chromium and nickel which come from
combustion of lubricating oils are used in chrome plating. Lead is released in
combustion of leaded petrol, zinc is derived from tire dust, copper is derived from
brake abrasion and corrosion of radiators, and the other heavy metals have mixed origins.
Heavy metals are also released due to weathering of road surface asphalt and corrosion
of crash barriers and road signs. The present of those heavy metals will leads to the
contamination of soils.
 Acid rain
Acid rain is caused by a chemical reaction that begins when compounds like sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air. These substances can rise very high
into the atmosphere, where they mix and react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to
form more acidic pollutants, known as acid rain. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides
dissolve very easily in water and can be carried very far by the wind. As a result, the two
compounds can travel long distances where they become part of the rain, sleet, snow, and
fog that we experience on certain days.

Human activities are the main cause of acid rain. Over the past few decades, humans
have released so many different chemicals into the air that they have changed the mix of
gases in the atmosphere. Power plants release the majority of sulfur dioxide and much of
the nitrogen oxides when they burn fossil fuels, such as coal, to produce electricity. In
addition, the exhaust from cars, trucks, and buses releases nitrogen oxides and sulfur
dioxide into the air. These pollutants cause acid rain.The acid rain water soaks into the
soil. Some trickles over the ground and runs into a stream, river or lake. That soil may
neutralize some or all of the acidity of the acid rainwater. Soil biology and chemistry can
be seriously damaged by acid rain. Some microbes are unable to tolerate changes to low
pH and are killed. The enzymes of these microbes are denatured by the acid. The
hydronium ions of acid rain also mobilize toxins, such as aluminium, and leach away
essential nutrients and minerals such as magnesium. This ability of the soil to resist some
pH change is called buffering capacity. A buffer resists changes in pH. Without buffering
capacity, soil pH would change rapidly.
REFERENCES
1) Hays, J. (2014, January). GARBAGE AND RECYCLING IN CHINA. Retrieved from
http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat10/sub66/item1111.html
2) Delang, C. (2017). Causes and distribution of soil pollution in China. Environmental &
Socio-economic Studies, 5(4), pp.1-17.
3) 16% of China's Soil Is Polluted. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/16-of-chinas-soil-is-polluted/
4) What causes acid rain? (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www3.epa.gov/acidrain/education/site_students/whatcauses.html
5) A., A., V., & G. (2014). Soil pollution by transportation projects and operations.
Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313598720_Soil_pollution_by_transportation_p
rojects_and_operations
6)