ABSTRACT
Soil is the ultimate receptor for most pollutants released into the environment. Under proper management, land disposal procedures take advantage of the tremendous capacity of the soil to retain and degrade toxic chemicals. The water solubility of an organic chemical is a critical property affecting its environmental fate and transport in soils. Adsorption of organic chemicals by soil particles is an important mechanism for their removal from the soil solution and for the inhibition of their leaching to the groundwater or volatilization from the soil surface. Volatilization of chemicals from soil involves the desorption of the chemical from soil, movement to the soil surface, and vaporization into the atmosphere. The primary adsorbent of organic chemicals in soil is the organic fraction. The major categories of inorganic pollutants include heavy metals, nitrogen, phosphorous, some acids and bases, salts, and halides. In soil, clay and organic matter are the predominant adsorbents while silt and sand play a negligible role.
