CONDITIONING OF THE SOIL POLLUTED BY CEMENT DUST USING POLYMER FLOCCULANTS .1. EFFECTS OF ANIONIC POLYACRYLAMIDE

Old cement factories in India, did not control cement dust emission. T he fine dust that settled on the soil reduced water infiltration and a eration of the soil by lowering its porosity. As a result lands locate d around a cement factory in Coimbatore, a south Indian city, have bec ome uncultivatable. This polluted soil can be made workable by means o f synthetic polymer flocculants. Studies on this polluted soil treated with anionic polyacrylamide showed promising results with early seedl ing emergence and better plant growth compared to the untreated pollut ed soil. Red soil unpolluted by cement dust was also used for comparis on. Crops that were used are peanut, lady's finger, corn, bitter gourd , french bean and field bean.