According to the Environmental Protection Agency, contaminated land has solid or liquid toxins, or both, present in the soil due to seepage, spillage or burial. Long-term exposure to soil contaminants can cause serious side effects.

Types of Contaminants in Soil

Soil contaminants include toxins from oil hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, chemicals, industrial waste, and heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic, according to the EPA and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Side effects depend on which toxins are present in the soil.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls

Polychlorinated Biphenyls, or PCBs, are carcinogenic toxins; they also affect the immune, endocrine, reproductive, and nervous systems. According to the EPA, exposure to high PCB levels is connected to high blood pressure, serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels, liver toxicity and kidney damage.

Lead and Heavy Metals

Lead, mercury and cadmium are the three main heavy-metal soil contaminants, according to Lenntech, a heavy-metal removal company. Side effects include nervous system and developmental brain damage in young children from lead; kidney damage from lead and mercury; and systemic poisoning from cadmium, chromium, thallium, arsenic and other heavy metals.

Chemical Side Effects

Ethyl benzene contamination is linked to leukemia; pesticides like organophosphates and carbamates cause neuromuscular damage. Chlorinated solvents cause liver and kidney damage and central nervous system depression, according to the EPA.

Additional Side Effects

Additional side effects from living on contaminated land include headache, migraine, fatigue, immune system suppression, nausea, skin rash, allergic reactions, breathing difficulties and eye, nose and throat irritation, according to the EPA.

Soil Guideline Values

DEFRA and the EPA established Soil Guideline Values in 2006 for 10 contaminants--the amounts permissible of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, inorganic mercury, nickel, selenium ethyl benzene, phenol and toluene in soil.

Source:

epa.gov: EPA on Soil Contamination

epa.gov: EPA website: Health Effect of PCBs in Soil

lenntech.com: Lenntech - a heavy-metal removal company

More Information:

camden.gov.uk: Soil Guideline Values website