ABSTRACT
Soil contamination is considered as any addition of compounds that results in detectable adverse effect on soil functioning. Soil contamination by heavy metals, metalloids, organic pollutants, and radionuclides may occur via various diffused and pointed sources. Chemical degradation of soils can be caused by nutrient depletion, acidification, salinization and alkalization, mining and metal smelters, land disposal of wastes, use of organic chemicals and radionuclides. Soil is a major sink for most long-lived radionuclides and thus it becomes the main pathway of radionulide’s transfer to animals and human beings. The important processes influencing mobility and retention of metals are weathering, solubilization, precipitation, chelation, uptake by plants, immobilization by soil organisms and leaching. Higher plants have been used as indicators of environmental and soil pollution.
