| Abstract Title: | Phytoremediation by paddy crops of heavy metals of ternary waste and amended soil |
| Session Choice: | Monitoring Techniques: Trace species |
| Presenter Name: | Dr Neeraj Kumar |
| Co-authors: | Dr Sangeeta Agarwal Dr Khushmendra Kumar |
| Company/Organisation: | SSMV PG COLLEGE SHIKARPUR, Buland shahar,UP |
| Country: | India |
Abstract Information :
Several approaches are currently being used for the prevention, control and remediation of soil contaminated with toxic metals. These include,
(a)land filling - excavation, transport and deposition of contaminated soil in a permitted land fill site
(b) chemical immobilization of heavy metals by the application of ameliorants like lime, farmyard manure (FYM), phosphates, manganese oxides etc.,
(c) leaching - using acid solutions or complexing leachants (EDTA etc.) to desorb and leach metals from the soil drawn from the contaminated area followed by the return of the soil residues to the site;
(d) bioremediation - use of micro-organisms to degrade pollutants in site (since the heavy metals cannot be chemically degraded, application of microbial remediation to the in-site removal of heavy metals from the contaminated substrates is limited mainly to their immobilization by precipitation or reduction); and
(e) phyto-remediation- use of specially selected and engineered metal-accumulating plants for environment clean-up either by phytoextraction or by phytostabilization. Among these, soil excavation is the only method for the total removal of heavy metals from contaminated soil.
However, it can not be recommended as a viable practice, since it is prohibitively expensive. Thus, chemical immobilization of heavy metals by the application of ameliorants (lime, phosphates, FYM etc.), use of complexing extractant/leachants (e.g. EDTA.) and phyto-remediation appear to be the potential remedial measures to alleviate the heavy metal level in soil. Metal concentration in crops is mostly not high enough to cause acute toxicity, but in the long run it may provoke chronic damage to health. Due to the heavy metal burden in human nutrition, there is a need for measures to reduce the metal transfer into agricultural plants. In areas where conventional or other remediation technologies are either not feasible or too expensive, other simple but effective approaches may help to reduce the accumulation of heavy metals in the edible parts of crops.
