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Soil Pollution in Urban Environments: Sources, Consequences, Potential Mitigation Strategies and the Importance of Sustainable Urban Development
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This review synthesizes sources, pollutant types, health consequences, and mitigation strategies for urban soil pollution, highlighting microplastics and pharmaceuticals as emerging contaminants alongside heavy metals and PAHs. Urban soils are a key but often overlooked pathway for human microplastic exposure, as contaminated soil enters food systems through produce, drinking water, and airborne dust in densely populated areas.
Soil pollution in urban environments is a critical issue with significant implications for public health, environmental quality, and sustainable urban development. This review paper explores the various aspects of soil pollution in urban areas, including its sources, types of pollutants, consequences, mitigation strategies, and the importance of sustainable urban development. The sources of soil pollution in urban environments are diverse, ranging from industrial activities and waste disposal to emerging sources like microplastics and pharmaceuticals. The types of pollutants found in urban soils include heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and organochlorine pesticides, among others. The consequences of soil pollution in urban areas encompass public health risks, environmental impacts, and contamination of water resources. Mitigation strategies such as remediation techniques, pollution prevention measures, urban green infrastructure, and public awareness are crucial for addressing soil pollution in urban environments. Sustainable urban development plays a key role in maintaining soil health and integrating soil considerations into urban planning. By understanding the sources, types, consequences, and mitigation strategies of soil pollution in urban areas, cities can work towards healthier environments and sustainable development.
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Tiny plastic bits in soil don't just sit there, this review of existing research shows they can team up with toxic heavy metals already in the ground, making those metals up to 30-50% more likely to leach out and get absorbed by crops. That matters because it means the food grown in contaminated soil could carry more heavy metal contamination than previously thought, though scientists still need more real-world data to fully understand the risk to people who eat those crops.
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A comprehensive literature review found that soil microplastic research lags far behind aquatic studies despite annual MP discharge into farmland exceeding marine inputs, with synthetic textiles, tire wear, and urban dust as dominant sources entering soil via atmospheric deposition, sewage irrigation, and agricultural film use. The soil MP burden threatens food crop health, risks leaching into groundwater, and poses intergenerational health risks through nutrient disruption and potential plant-to-human transmission pathways.
Impacts of microplastics in soils due to connected built environments, identification challenges, and regulating policies: A ComprehensiveReview
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A comprehensive review of microplastic contamination in soils from built environments found that synthetic textiles, household waste, and urban runoff are major contributors, while existing regulatory frameworks remain inadequate for addressing soil-specific microplastic pollution. Because soil is a major sink for microplastics that eventually migrate into groundwater and food crops, the lack of soil-specific regulations represents a critical gap in protecting human health from dietary exposure.
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Researchers synthesized existing knowledge on microplastic contamination in soils, finding that particles accumulate widely, disrupt soil ecosystems, and can enter food crops — yet soil remains far less studied than water environments. Closing this research gap is urgent because soil health underpins food production and microplastics in agricultural land could reach human diets.
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