ABSTRACT
Pollution by industrial activities generally has negative impacts on human health and the environment, for example, through uncontrolled disposal, careless handling of chemicals, and accidents. The world’s worst-polluted sites are spread over all continents, affecting millions of people. Industrial waste can be solid, fluid, or gaseous and can be deposited near the emitter or far away. Industrial activities affect soil quality in different ways: physically, chemically, and biologically. Besides negative effects, options for a possible reuse of waste and by-products are also discussed, for example, soil amelioration in nutrient-deficient areas as well as soil remediation through the application of by-products on contaminated soils for the immobilization of harmful elements. Besides waste prevention and the recycling of suitable materials, the use of wastes, by-products, or mixtures of both for amelioration, remediation, or recultivation is a further possible option to regulate material fluxes.
