The soil in this anomaly is saturated with a viscous compound that is both strongly acidic and highly adhesive. Anyone stepping onto the soil here becomes stuck in place and the acid rapidly burns through clothing, armour etc and then the flesh of the victim. Early scans suggest the acid dissolves almost all organic material and most metals. It has not yet been tested with glass or plastics, but damage done to footwear suggests plastics will also dissolve.
After field tests the the adhesive acid can be extracted using exclusively glass instruments.