Heavy metal pollution in soils in China: Status and countermeasures

The pedosphere lies at the juncture of the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphe re and lithosphere. Heavy-metal pollution of soil greatly affects not only the yield and quality of crops, animal and human health, but also the quali ty of the whole environment. The current status and the effects of heavy-me tal pollution in the soils of China are reviewed in this paper. Soil contam ination by heavy metals from sewage irrigation and metal mining, smelting, and processing activities was seen to be serious. Urban enterprises also co ntribute to heavy-metal pollution of soils in China. The effects of soil po llution on plants, animals, and human beings are discussed. Effective count ermeasures for pollution control are also presented.