Environmental conditions and chemical time bomb hazards in Poland

✍ Scribed by H. Smal

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 471 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1085-3278
• DOI: 10.1002/ldr.3400040410

✦ Synopsis

Observations on the state of the environment, soil properties, soil hazards and some possible changes in soil parameters are discussed. Sandy and light loamy soils cover more than 50 per cent of the arable land in Poland. About 58 per cent of soils are acid (pHC5.5) in the surface layer and 25 per cent in the layer from 100 to 150 cm. About 51.3 per cent of soils are very vulnerable to pollution. According to a BIGLEB-SOWEP prognosis, in the year 2000 about 13 per cent of soils will be seriously at risk from chemical degradation. Acidification will proceed due to increases in the emission of SOz and NO,, and the end of liming. The environmental conditions in Poland favour delayed responses to environmental hazards: chemical time bombs.

KEY WORDS Soil acidification Soil vulnerability Prognosis of soil hazards Poland

GENERAL STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN POLAND

In 1983, a government report documented serious environmental problems in Poland and for the first time 27 areas were characterized as 'ecologically threatened' (Figure 1).

In 1990, these areas affected 11.2 per cent of the land and 35.4 per cent of the population of the country (GUS, 1991). Of the total amount of sludge requiring cleaning in Poland, 61 per cent could be found in Figure 1. Areas of 'Ecological Threat' in Poland (GUS-The Main Statistical Office, 1991)