Textbook of Soil Chemistry

Until the late 1960s, soil chemistry focused primarily on chemical reactions in the soil that contribute to pedogenesis or that affect plant growth. Since then concerns have grown about environmental pollution, organic and inorganic soil contamination and potential ecological health and environmental health risks. Consequently, the emphasis in soil chemistry has shifted from pedology and agricultural soil science to an emphasis on environmental soil science. A knowledge of environmental soil chemistry is paramount to predicting the fate, mobility and potential toxicity of contaminants in the environment. The vast majority of environmental contami-nants are initially released to the soil. Once a chemical is exposed to the soil environment a myriad of chemical reactions can occur that may increase/decrease contaminant toxicity. These reactions include adsorption/desorption, precipitation, poly-merization, dissolution, complexation, and oxidation/ reduction. These reactions are often disregarded by scientists and engineers involved with environmental remediation. Under-standing these processes enable us to better predict the fate and toxicity of contaminants and provide the knowledge to develop scientifically correct, and cost-effective remediation strategies.