Phytoremediation of Heavy Metal(HM) from Contaminated Soilsby DIBYA BHATTA | 19-04-2022 20:44 |
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Naturally soil has metals in the parent materials and are activated by anthropogenic activity like mining ,smelting, electroplating, energy and petroleum production, power transmission, sludge removal, military operations and eco-unfriendly method to meet the global demand of food such as application of heavy metal containing fertilizers and end up contaminating agrarian soil and environment.Heavy metals (cadmium, mercury, arsenic, lead, and chromium) in concentration higher than the minimum threshold can trigger the negative impacts on the soil flora, fauna, and the health of human.Even the lower concentration exposure of heavy metal can cause endocrine disruptions, neurological disorders and can be genotoxic, teratogenic and carcinogenic. So it¡¯s a foremost need to eradicate them from contaminated sites for safety of biological beings. 235 million hectare of arable land is affected by global pandemic of heavy metal contamination.Human exposure of heavy metal through consumption of food and vegetables from contaminated sites leads to long term health hazards.HM pollution can be coped up with recently developed low cost sustainable solution called as phytoremediation which is a green approach in which plant and associated microbes remediate HM-contaminated sites and safeguard the environment and protect the public health. It is far better than conventional clean-up method that require high capital investment and labour and also alter the soil properties and disturb the soil microflora.Contrasted to many alternatives, phytoremediation has demonstrated itself as hopeful, economical, aesthetical, eco-friendly and publicly accepted choice.For beginning and prosperity of any civilization, land and water are the most crucial pillars but unfortunately, today heavy metal wastes are threat due to the long term persistence in the land and soil.These metals also have negative impacts on the functioning of the plant like decreased photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and decreased water content in leaves and exposure of heavy metal in soil for long run can adversely affect the microbial diversity and activity in the soil.Phytoremediation method can vary based on flora and fauna associated in the process. Remediation by plants or phytoextraction, phytovolatilization, Phyto stabilisation, Phyto transformation and rhizofiltration are common practices these days.In todays world where pesticides rule the farming system,heavy metal enter in to the food chain from there but biological approaches ,though they are sluggish and time consuming can be employed to cleanse the soil in long run.There are also increasing concerns of environments because of lack of technology to handle the hyperccumulator plants that are used in the process of remediation because those have high concentration of heavy metal and can act as threat to the living system. |
