After heavy rainfall the soil became saturated, leading to more of the cliff falling away.

BBC: Landslip at St Mary's Church, Whitby

As much as 10 percent of China's farmland is believed to be polluted, and each year 12 million tons of grain are contaminated with heavy metals absorbed from the soil.

CNN: Economic miracle, environmental disaster

Critics of this kind of farming point to its limited social benefits, and to its ecological costs, which include soil erosion and the heavy use of chemicals.

ECONOMIST: Brazil

Heavy-metal contamination in China's soil also includes high amounts of lead and arsenic.

WSJ: Cadmium-Tainted Rice Found in Guangzhou

"All this heavy machinery and vehicles caused a lot of soil compaction, changed the landscape, and allowed more sand to move and caused a lot of erosion, " she said.

CNN: November 12, 2012 -- Updated 1223 GMT (2023 HKT)

Approximately 1, 100 such units at more than 450 existing power plants emit 48 tons of mercury into the air each year, with 11 tons of that deposited on to U.S. soil and waters, says EPA. Those plants also release arsenic, lead and other heavy metals, all of which are considered hazardous and are therefore subject to clean air laws that require those facilities to use modern pollution controls.

FORBES: Coal Plants Belching Out Less Mercury