Impact and Control of Industry Effluents on Physical, Chemical, and Biological Aspects of Soil Characteristics

There is a growing public concern over the potential accumulation of heavy metals in soil and water, due to rapid industrial development. In this era of urbanization and modernization, industrial pollution has been and continues to be a major cause of our environmental degradation. So, it is necessary to have a look upon our natural recourses. There must be a balance between industrial development and agriculture. This review presents the effects of different industries (e.g., pulp and paper mill and chemical industries) and glass and polymers effluents disposal on water and soil characteristics in the vicinity of their respective industries. Among various toxic substances released by industrial activities, heavy metals have been seen as a key marker because they can be analysed effectively and consistently in most environmental matrices. Unlike organic pollutants which may degrade to less harmful components as a result of biological or chemical processes, metals are not degradable by natural processes especially when elemental metallic content is considered. Use of heavy mechanical vehicles leads to an increase in soil stress, higher bulk density, and decrease in saturated hydraulic conductivity and water holding capacity of soil due to soil compaction. This review shows that soils were polluted most significantly by heavy metals and in most cases, metal levels in the studied areas were found to exceed the common regulation guideline levels. It is thus important to keep systematic and continuous monitoring of heavy metals and their derivatives to manage and suppress such pollution. Treatment processes of industrial effluents are also requires a huge amount of chemicals and water. So there is need of controlled treatment process of effluents and better method of disposal of solid wastes.