Phytoextraction and Stabilization of Lead in Contaminated Soils using Plants

Abstract

Lead is a toxic heavy metal contaminant that poses a serious threat to human health. It is present everywhere in the environment including agricultural, industrial and residential areas. To remediate lead from the contaminated soil, phytoremediation approaches are used. Phytoextraction and Phytostabilization are methods of phytoremediation which has been successfully used to remediate lead contaminant from the soil. Phytoextraction involves the use of hyperaccumulators; to accumulate lead contaminant within the shoots by using the uptake mechanism. Whereas, Phytostabilization involves the stabilization or maintenance of lead in the rhizosphere of the soil to reduce its harmful impact on the environment. Lead phytoextraction could be enhanced by adding chelating agents, such as EDTA, to increase the bioavailability of lead contaminant in the plants. Lead phytostabilization is an effective method to remediate lead contaminant. This method tolerates lead exposure and prevents it in or around the root zone which can restrict the movement of lead into other plants, avoiding resuspended dust and mitigating lead exposure. These approaches are cost effective, simple; ecofriendly and do not require a huge amount of labour.