Soil pollution needs to be treated, and soil testing needs to be strengthened

Soil pollution refers to the phenomenon where pollutants generated by human activities enter the soil and accumulate to a certain extent, causing deterioration of soil quality and leading to certain indicators in crops exceeding national standards. For soil pollutants, they are mainly divided into inorganic pollutants and organic pollutants. Inorganic pollutants mainly include acids, bases, heavy metals, salts, compounds of radioactive elements cesium and strontium, compounds containing arsenic, selenium, fluorine, etc. Organic pollutants mainly include organic pesticides, phenols, petroleum, synthetic detergents, 3,4-benzo [a] pyrene, and harmful microorganisms brought by urban sewage, sludge, and manure. These harmful substances or their decomposition products gradually accumulate in the soil, and are then indirectly absorbed by the human body through crops or water sources, which can have a very adverse impact on people's physical and mental health. Therefore, it is urgent to treat the soil.

In response to the current situation of soil pollution prevention and control in our country, we have also formulated some laws, regulations, and rules on the governance of soil pollution, covering agricultural environmental protection, prevention and control of land pollution, and other aspects, which have played a certain role in improving the soil pollution situation in our country. With the high attention of the country, the soil testing industry has been vigorously developing, and the methods for detecting land pollution have gradually improved. At present, large and small institutions for environmental soil testing and analysis have sprung up like mushrooms in China, mainly distributed in economically developed municipalities and major cities within the province.

In fact, in China, soil testing is a relatively emerging industry, with a rapid growth trend in both quantity and scale. The market competition is extremely fierce, and service prices have repeatedly hit new lows. It can be predicted that in the next few years, this type of new laboratory will undergo a reshuffle process from more to fewer, and the cruel market will eliminate a group of institutions that are at a disadvantage and operate improperly.

However, there has been a phenomenon of uneven quality in the soil testing market in China today. The intensification of market competition has led some testing institutions to take risks and issue false testing reports under the drive of economic interests, catering to the non-standard requirements of some customers to provide qualified reports. Therefore, strong supervision by relevant departments is important. Testing institutions should increase their high requirements for their own strength, with maintaining data reliability and ensuring good quality as the bottom line, which is the long-term solution.

The treatment of soil pollution not only relies on the supervision of testing departments, but also needs to start from oneself. Firstly, farmers should reduce the use of pesticides and take preventive measures, such as planting plants with strong absorption capacity for soil pollutants to reduce the content of toxic substances. For example, plants of the fern genus can absorb heavy metals in the soil; Alternatively, soil can be purified through biodegradation, such as earthworms being able to degrade pesticides, heavy metals, etc; Alternatively, the application of inhibitors can alter the migration and transformation direction of pollutants in the soil, reducing crop absorption. For example, the use of lime can increase soil pH and promote the precipitation of hydroxides such as cadmium, mercury, copper, and zinc. In addition, soil pollution can be treated by increasing the application of organic fertilizers, changing the farming system, replacing soil, deep plowing and other methods.

In short, according to the environmental protection policy of 'prevention first', the primary task of preventing and controlling soil pollution is to control and eliminate soil pollution sources. Effective measures should be taken to remove pollutants from contaminated soil, control the migration and transformation of soil pollutants, improve the rural ecological environment, increase crop yield and quality, and provide safe agricultural products for the general public. I believe that through everyone's efforts, the soil conditions in our country can be alleviated, and effective assistance can be brought to the virtuous cycle of soil environment.

What are the general soil testing items;

In general, soil pollution indicators such as copper, zinc, lead, cadmium, total mercury, total arsenic, total selenium, nickel, total chromium, radon concentration, chloride ions, sulfate ions, and organic phosphorus pesticides need to be measured.

Soil composition

The rocks on the surface of the Earth are gradually broken down into loose, unevenly sized mineral particles (known as parent material) through weathering. And soil is formed and evolved under the comprehensive effects of various soil forming factors such as parent material, climate, biology, terrain, and time. The soil composition is very complex, generally composed of solid, liquid, and gas phases such as minerals, organic matter produced by the decomposition of animal and plant residues, water, and air.

There are various types of soil detectors available

1. Soil pretreatment

Soil sampler | Soil shaker | Ring cutter | Soil sieve | Soil solution sampler

2. Soil Nutrients

Soil EC meter

Soil EC meter | Soil nutrient analyzer | Desktop near-infrared soil nutrient analyzer | Handheld soil nutrient analyzer | Nylon sieve | Nitrogen analyzer | Ion meter | PH meter

Atomic absorption spectrophotometer | Minghollow cathode lamp | Steel cylinder | Atomic absorption spectrometer | Atomic fluorescence spectrophotometer | Mercury analyzer | Titimeter

Gas chromatograph | spectrophotometer | conductivity meter | soil salinity analyzer

3. Soil moisture

Portable soil moisture analyzer | Timed positioning soil moisture analyzer | Portable soil moisture analyzer | GPS soil moisture temperature analyzer

Wireless Soil Moisture Monitoring System | Profile Moisture Monitoring System | Drying Infrared Moisture Tester | Soil Moisture Temperature Rapid Tester | Soil Moisture and Drought Management System

Electric constant temperature blast drying oven | Soil crusher | Moisture aluminum box | Silicone | Drying machine

4. Soil hardness

Digital Soil Hardness Tester | Pointer Soil Hardness Tester | Soil Compaction Tester | GPS Soil Compaction Tester

5. Soil acidity and alkalinity

Soil pH meter | pointer soil acidity meter | digital soil acidity meter

What methods and laboratory instruments are used for soil testing projects

Project Name	Testing methods and instruments
organic matter	soil testing 第6Part: Determination of Soil Organic Matter
	NY/T 1121.6-2006
water content	soil Determination of dry matter and moisture gravimetric methodHJ 613-2011， Moisture Analyzer
pH	soil testing 第2Part: SoilpHThe determination
	NY/T 1121.2-2006, usingPH meter
lead	soil quality Determination of lead and cadmium
	Graphite furnaceAtomic absorption spectrophotometryGB/T 17141-1997
cadmium	soil quality Determination of lead and cadmium
	Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometryGB/T 17141-1997
arsenic	soil testing 第11Part: Determination of total arsenic in soil
	NY/T 1121.11-2006
chromium	soil quality Determination of total chromium Flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry
	HJ 491-2009
copper	soil quality Determination of copper and zinc
	Flame atomic absorption spectrophotometryGB/T 17138-1997
zinc	soil quality Determination of copper and zinc
	Flame atomic absorption spectrophotometryGB/T 17138-1997
nickel	soil quality Determination of Nickel Flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry
	GB/T 17139-1997
hexavalent chromium	Determination of Hexavalent Chromium colorimetryEPA 3060A-1996(Pre processing)
	EPA 7196A-1992(Analysis)
Total salt content	Analysis of Water soluble Salts in Forest SoilLY/T 1251-1999
Cation exchange capacity	Determination of cation exchange capacity of forest soilLY/T 1243-1999
Qing chemical compound	Evaluation Standards for Soil Environmental Quality of Exhibition Land(provisional)
	HJ 350-2007AppendixBQing compounds in soil（CN-）The determination
	Isonicotinic acid-Pyrazolinone colorimetric method
Radon concentration and soil	Code for Indoor Environmental Pollution Control of Civil Building Engineering
Surface radon release rate	（GB 50325-2010）AppendixE
manganese	Compiled by the China Environmental Monitoring Station, "Modern Analytical Methods for Soil Elements"
	Chapter 5 of the edition5.7.1Atomic absorption method
mercury	Soil Quality Determination of total mercury, total arsenic, and total lead Atomic Fluorescence Method
	第1Part: Determination of total mercury in soilGB/T 22105.1-2008
fluoride	soil quality Determination of fluoride
	Ion selective electrode methodGB/T 22104-2008, usingUsing an ion meter and a fluoride electrode
cobalt	China Environmental Science Press Modern Analytical Methods for Soil Elements
	Chapter 5 5.3 Flame atomic absorption method
organophosphorus	Determination of Organophosphorus Pesticides in Water and Soil Gas chromatography method
	GB/T 14552-2003
organochlorine	Evaluation Standards for Soil Environmental Quality of Exhibition Land(provisional)
	HJ 350-2007AppendixGDetermination of organochlorine pesticides in soil
	gas chromatography

Soil testing related instruments;

Non nuclear soil moisture meter

Non nuclear soil density meter

Soil specific gravity buoyancy meter

Buoyancy method soil specific gravity meter

Electric soil relative density meter

Rapid moisture content analyzer