For a long time, the soil has received excessive discharges of waste of any kind, in addition to accidental spills of chemical and biological products during transport, storage and industrial processes.
It is necessary to mention that the soil is a naturally balanced system, with vulnerability and susceptibility to alterations. Its quality is based on the set of equilibrium characteristics, which ensure that natural biological and geochemical processes are carried out safely, thus eliminating risks for the ecosystem, the environment and for human beings.
The combination and even the homogenization of toxic substances and materials can cause an imbalance of the soil, temporarily or permanently affecting its natural composition, risking ecosystems and the living beings that depend on it, these effects become of great impact when through the infiltration of these substances alters surface and underground waters, spreading pollutants to different places.
A contaminated soil is all that whose physical, chemical or biological characteristics have been negatively altered by the presence of dangerous components of human origin, in such a concentration that it represents a risk to human health or the environment.
A contaminated site refers to places where there has been deposit, burial or dumping of chemical substances or waste, linked to industrial, commercial, agricultural or domestic activities.
There are different causes that cause these contaminations:
- Inadequate disposal of * RSU, RP and RME in vacant lands, warehouses, warehouses and industrial yards Leakage of materials or Hazardous Waste from underground tanks and containers, pipes and ducts, as well as from industrial or public sewers and drains. of materials in storage sites and where production activities are carried out, or, of sanitary landfills and open dumps Accidental spills of chemical substances during their transport Application of potentially toxic chemical substances in the soil, facilities and buildings Discharge wastewater containing Hazardous Waste and potentially toxic chemicals without prior treatment.
The physical and chemical characteristics of the soil and the contaminating properties of the substance define the dimension of contamination. In case of being in contact with groundwater, the depth and its proximity to human contact. The impact of pollution on soils and its risks are directly related to other environmental aspects such as the atmosphere and water flows and the alterations that these may suffer.
To abate situations of this type, there is a site remediation process that seeks to mitigate or minimize risks to the environment and health due to exposure to contaminants that may be present in the soil. It is worth mentioning that the remediation tasks do not necessarily imply that the original conditions and properties of the site are restored, but rather leave the sites or soils in the use they had before being contaminated.
- * MSW (Urban Solid Waste) RP (Hazardous Waste) RME (Special Handling Waste)
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