Phyto-Remediation: Cleaning Up Naturally

In many cases the industrious processes of man have left behind contaminants in the soil. These contaminants pose a significant threat to the health of not just humans but to all natural life in the surrounding environment.

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This problem is made worse when the contaminants enter the food chain or the underlying water table where they spread and become hard to manage. The most common contaminants present in the soil are; heavy metals, industrial chemicals, pesticides and crude oil all of which have been shown to be toxic to wildlife and humans. There have been substantial changes by governments and industries to limit and even remove the need for these harsh chemicals (most notably the ban on polychlorinated biphenyls), however much of the damage has already been done as so emphasis is on the removal of these toxins. The traditional methods for removing contaminants are based around man-made technologies and processes to either degrade or extract the toxins in the soil. In the past methods such as soil removal, soil oxidation and land fill have been used to decontaminate sites. These methods are; labor intensive, costly and in many cases they can be relatively damaging to the environment. This has caused the social and political push towards cleaner and environmentally sustainable methods. Plants and trees have the natural ability to degrade and absorb metals and compounds from the soil, it is in fact the way in which they obtain much of their essential nutrients. This capability can be exploited and utilised to extend to contaminants, and was conceptualised by Dr. IlyaRaskin as “Phytoremeditaion”