Soil contamination

Radon is a chemical element; it has symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive noble gas and is colorless and odorless. Of the three naturally occurring radon isotopes, only Rn has a sufficiently long half-life (3.825 days) for it to be released from the soil and rock where it is generated. Radon isotopes are the immediate decay products of radium isotopes.

Cadmium is a chemical element; it has symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of its compounds, and like mercury, it has a lower melting point than the transition metals in groups 3 through 11. Cadmium and its congeners in group 12 are often not considered transition metals, in that they do not have partly filled d or f electron shells in the elemental or common oxidation states. The average concentration of cadmium in Earth's crust is

thumb|A self-propelled crop sprayer spraying pesticide on a field thumb|A crop-duster spraying pesticide on a field Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all pesticide use globally. Most pesticides are used as plant protection products (also known as crop protection products), which in general protect plants from weeds, fungi, or insects.

Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar hexagonal ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. As it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, benzene is a hydrocarbon.

thumb|A field after application of a herbicide thumb|Weeds controlled with herbicide

thumb|A solvent dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution thumb|Ethyl acetate, a nail polish solvent.

pollution of land by human-made chemicals or other alteration

class=skin-invert-image|thumb|400px|The three xylene isomers: o-Xylene|o-xylene, m-xylene, and p-xylene

flow of excess rainwater not infiltrating in the ground over its surface

any chemical compound from a series of congeners based on biphenyl skeleton, differing from other compounds of this group by a number and position of chlorine atoms

Trichloroethylene (TCE, IUPAC name: trichloroethene) is an organochloride with the formula C2HCl3, commonly used as an industrial degreaser. It is a clear, colourless, non-flammable, volatile liquid with a sweet chloroform-like pleasant mild smell and burning sweet taste. Trichloroethylene has been sold under a variety of trade names. Under the trade names Trimar and Trilene, it was used as a volatile anesthetic and as an inhaled obstetrical analgesic. Industrial abbreviations include trichlor, Trike, Tricky and tri. It should not be confused with the similar 1,1,1-trichloroethane, which was c

Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi in mycoremediation, and plants in phytoremediation), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, fuel gasses, industrial effluents etc., in natural or artificial settings. The natural ability of organisms to adsorb, accumulate, and degrade common and emerging pollutants has attracted the use of biological resources in treatment of contaminated environment. In comparison to conventional physicochemical treatment methods bioremediation may o

thumb|upright=1.3|Some heavy metals such as copper and zinc are removed from the soil by moving up into the plant roots.

chemical compound

waste product from the production of alumina

previous industrial or commercial land, often somewhat contaminated as a result

collective name for environmentally devastated WWI battlefields in northeast France

thumb|Viola lutea subsp. calaminaria, also known as the zinc violet, grows in soils high in zinc.

thumb|Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster mushroom)|300x300px Mycoremediation (from ancient Greek (), meaning "fungus", and the suffix , in Latin meaning 'restoring balance') is a form of bioremediation in which fungi-based remediation methods are used to decontaminate the environment. Fungi have been proven to be a cheap, effective and environmentally sound way for removing a wide array of contaminants from damaged environments or wastewater. These contaminants include heavy metals, organic pollutants, textile dyes, leather tanning chemicals and wastewater, petroleum fuels, polycyclic aromatic hydroc

class of chemical compounds

pesticide applied to food crops remaining on or in food

overview of the topic

in situ process for soil remediation

area in the Italian province of Campania comprising the municipalities of Acerra, Nola and Marigliano

Sand contaminated by weapon projectiles