Soil contamination is caused by environmental pollution from many sources. Improper disposal of toxic wastes, chemical spills, and underground storage tank leakage often result in soil contamination. Mining operations, oil storage, chemical manufacture, pesticide manufacture and disposal are among other causal activities. Contaminated soil is a health risk to people exposed to the chemical contaminants. Secondary pollution of ground and surface water is also a concern.
Clean-up of contaminated soil is expensive and in the US a government program, the Superfund, was established to help clean up toxic waste sites. Over the last twenty years more than 700 toxic waste sites were cleaned up with Superfund assistance. Today EPA Brownfields grants help communities assess and plan remediation of contaminated sites.
Soil contamination despoils open spaces, ruins agricultural land, and makes urban "brownfields uninhabitable without remediation. Some of the alternatives for clean up of contaminated soil include: bioremediation, excavation, and thermoelectric treatment.
Bioremediation involves the use of microorganisms, fungi, or green plants to convert specific contaminants. For example, heavy metals can be removed from soil by growing plants that bioaccumulate the contaminants, and disposing of the biomass, leaving cleaner soil behind.
Excavation—removal of the soil to a toxic waste dump—is generally not a favored alternative because the contaminants are merely being shifted from one place to another. However, sometimes excavation is used for offsite treatment rather than disposal.
Thermoelectric treatment works by introduction of heat. Soil temperatures are raised high enough high to vaporize chemical contaminants out of the soil and subsequent stripping of the contaminants from the vapor.
(Photo credit: Nicholas_T, Flickr)
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The gas station in front of my house was closed and raised, tanks removed and the land filled in. Now, about 8 months later I,m told that the gasoline tanks were leaking and gasoline and whatever leaked under and on to my front yard and property. Now a private company along with the SC Dept of Health and Environmental Control want permission to come on my land and drill test holes and test wells. What should I do. At this point I want out,, live down the road.
Sounds like a serious situation! I am not a lawyer, and I know nothing about South Carolina statutes covering environmental contamination. That said, let me ask, do you know what laws might govern your situation, what your liability would be as a property owner of contaminated land? Does the state have any programs to fund a clean-up or is the property owner stuck with the expense?
Based on what you've said, it sounds like the Dept. of Health and Environmental Control has contracted with an engineering firm to determine the extent of the problem in your neighborhood. You might want to talk with the responsible State agency to find out what the next steps will be if the land is in fact contaminated. Once a situation like this surfaces the residents and property owners have an interest in knowing the scope of the problem. I think it would be the neighborly thing to do to let them drill their test holes, but you might not like what they discover.