Soil Pollution Education: A Broad View of Knowledge on Soil Pollution and Educational Activities for Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Soil pollution is a major challenge for ensuring a healthy environment and for human health. One of the critical points in soil pollution policy is the education and public awareness of the problem caused by soil pollution. Education influences decision-making on soil and water care. It is crucial to spread knowledge to undergraduate and graduate students about the determinantal effects of soil pollution on ecosystems and humans, considering today’s students are tomorrow’s guardians of soil and human health. A course on soil pollution aims to provide students with a foundation of the knowledge and skills required to work in this field. Knowledge of soil and contaminant properties, soil-pollutant interaction processes, transport of pollutants by soil and water, human health and ecological risk assessment, and measures for preventing soil pollution are fundamental for the sustainable management of soil and food safety. Students should be aware of the need to avoid the three types of soil pollution (chemical, radioactive, and biological) in industrial, agricultural, forest, and urban soils. This article provides a broad view of the knowledge taught in subjects related to soil pollution and introduces learning activities for undergraduate students.

Eco-Insights on Hydrocarbon Bioremediation

“…In the specialized literature, it is strongly reported that contaminated soils have changes in their microbiological, chemical and physical properties, with repercussions on groundwater, aquifer systems and air quality. It is also common to find a significant association between soil, water, food and health since pollutants can accumulate at various levels in food chains and disrupt physiological or biological processes in several species [9][10][11][12]. The relevance of this correlation between soil and health is strongly present in the concept of "healthy soils", introduced by the European Union as an ambitious condition to be achieved by 2050 [13].…”