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Contaminación de aguas subterráneas. Algunos ejemplos
Summary
This Spanish article reviews major sources of groundwater contamination including agricultural chemicals, industrial waste, and urban effluents, and discusses the difficulty of remediating contaminated aquifers. While focused on traditional pollutants, groundwater contamination pathways are also relevant to emerging concerns about microplastic transport in subsurface environments.
espanolLa calidad de las aguas subterraneas puede verse alterada por la introduccion de sustancias asociadas a muy diversas actividades humanas. Los agroquimicos (fertilizantes y plaguicidas) utilizados en las practicas agricolas, los residuos liquidos o solidos de la actividad industrial, la deposicion no controlada de residuos solidos urbanos y el vertido de aguas residuales urbanas son las principales fuentes de contaminacion, pero tambien hay otros como las aguas procedentes de la mineria, las fugas de hidrocarburos o las fosas septicas. En general, la zona no saturada puede favorecer la atenuacion de ciertos contaminantes pero, lamentablemente, no representa una proteccion eficaz, como se deduce de los numerosos casos de contaminacion que afectan a nuestros acuiferos. La salinizacion de las aguas subterraneas en acuiferos costeros es un proceso inducido por la sobreexplotacion (explotacion intensiva) y debe ser considerada como una forma severa de contaminacion que afecta a notables volumenes de agua y que es dificilmente reversible, al menos a medio plazo. En los ultimos anos esta tomando relevancia la presencia en las aguas subterraneas de los denominados contaminantes emergentes, que son microcontaminantes organicos que llegan al medio ambiente a traves de las aguas residuales urbanas. Las sustancias incluidas en estos contaminantes son farmacos, drogas de abuso, hormonas, productos del cuidado personal, plaguicidas y disolventes, entre otros. Mas recientemente estan siendo encontrados nanomateriales y microplasticos EnglishThe quality of groundwater can be altered by the introduction of substances associated with very diverse human activities. Agrochemicals (fertilizers and pesticides) used in agricultural practices, liquid or solid waste from industrial activity, the uncontrolled deposition of solid urban waste and the dumping of urban waste water are the main sources of contamination, but there are also others such as water from mining, hydrocarbon leaks or septic tanks. In general, the unsaturated zone can favor the attenuation of certain pollutants but, unfortunately, it does not represent an effective protection, as can be deduced from the numerous cases of contamination that affect our aquifers. The salinization of coastal groundwater is a process induced by overexploitation (intensive exploitation) and should be considered as a severe form of pollution that affects significant volumes of water and is difficult to reverse, at least in the medium term. In recent years, the presence in groundwater of the so-called emerging pollutants, which are organic micropollutants that reach the environment through urban wastewater, is becoming relevant. The substances included in these pollutants are pharmaceutical products, drugs of abuse, hormones, personal care products, pesticides and solvents, among others. More recently, nanomaterials and microplastics are being found in some waters
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