Soil pollution
As a result of human activity, many harmful substances may accumulate in the soil that they may cause harm or danger to the environment or general health, decrease in comfort or other comparable harm.
Harmful substances can enter the soil as a result of individual accidents, damages or gradual emissions over a long period of time. Substances may migrate in the soil to groundwater and waterways or spread to surrounding areas. Pollution of the environment may be detected after decades when the activities have already been completed.
Soil contamination is most commonly investigated when the use or ownership of an area suspected to be contaminated based on operational history changes, a building is built on the area, or the activity carried out in the area ceases. If the area is found to be contaminated, measures must be taken to reduce the harm and risks to an acceptable level, which depends on the land use of the area. Risk management can be implemented by removing harmful substances, reducing their transport, or limiting exposure to harmful substances, for example through land use planning.
Restoration of contaminated soil is necessary when the risk assessment indicates that harmful substances pose a significant environmental or health risk. In addition, areas can be rehabilitated, for example when the ownership of the area changes, in order to remove decontamination responsibilities related to the pollution of the area. As the urban structure becomes more dense, former industrial and transport areas are taken for residential use, which often requires decontamination of the soil.
The most typical soil polluting activities have been the distribution and storage of fuels, landfills, workshops, scrapping plants and shooting ranges. Target information about soil pollution is stored in the MATTI soil condition iformation system. It contains information on potentially contaminated, contaminated, decontaminated and clean areas. In the Kuopio region, 662 sites have been recorded in the MATTI system.
There are 19 old, decommissioned municipal waste landfills in the Kuopio area and three old industrial landfills. There are also three large old land and ash spoil areas. The effects of the most important old landfills are monitored by monitoring surface and groundwater.
For more information on soil pollution, visit the website of the environmental administration.
Jouni Hoffren
environmental inspector
Kati Määttä
environmental inspector