Contaminated Soil?
Stop us if you have heard this one before. You buy a house. You love the house, and you move into it. You begin the transformation process to make the house yours. You notice that the plants around the house do not look very healthy. You figure that the previous owner did not have a green thumb — no problem. You begin to work in the yard and plant new plants. However, your plants do not seem to be doing any better than the previous owner’s plants. You send a soil sample to the lab for testing, and when the results come back, you are stunned. It turns out your soil is contaminated.
What do you do? How do you know if the soil is contaminated for sure? How do you treat contaminated soil? Is it possible to treat it? Here are the answers to your questions.
What Contaminates the Soil?
There are lots of things that can contaminate the soil. Before the land was part of your property, it may have had several lives. This is especially true in New Jersey. Yards in subdivisions might have been farms where farmers may have sprayed insecticides. Your yard might also have been a part of a factory that used strong chemicals. There are many lives your yard could have led, and that is part of the problem.
What Kind of Contaminants Could Be in My Soil?
There are lots of things that could be contaminating your soil. And, that makes New Jersey interesting. The state’s soil could have a combination of urban and rural contaminants. Rural contaminants could include fertilizers and insecticides/pesticides. Your soil could also be contaminated by urban contaminants. Some examples of urban contaminants could be things, such as petroleum from oil and gasoline from cars. There could also be lead and arsenic in the soil from industrial production. Many businesses could have contaminated the soil before you even owned the land. Your land could have had manufacturing waste from factories or waste disposal as well.
At first glance, soil contamination might not seem like such a big deal, but it is. That’s because if your soil is contaminated, it can hurt you, your family, and your environment. It can kill trees and plants in your yard. It can make animals sick as well. Contaminated soil can also make you and your family sick. Over time, contaminated soil can lead to problems with your liver, kidneys, brain, heart, and lungs. Cancer rates could go up in the area as well.
How Do You Fix Contaminated Soil?
Depending on what is contaminating your soil, there are several ways that you can fix it. We might try to physically separate your soil from the contaminants. While this is a good procedure for large particles of contaminants, it will not work for everything. We can also try chemicals in your soil that bind with the contaminants and stop them from further damage. There is also bioremediation we can try. We can introduce bacteria into your soil to digest the contaminants without further contaminating it. We can also heat the soil to rid it of contaminants.
Are you worried that you might have soil that is contaminated? Do you need someone to check your soil? If you know your soil is contaminated, how can you get your soil fixed? If you want to make sure that your soil is perfect for your home and family, contact All American Environmental in N.J. We would love to help you make sure your soil is safe.
