Contamination of soils, water, and sediments by radionuclides and toxic metals from uranium mill tailings, nuclear fuel manufacturing and nuclear weapons production is a major concern. Studies of the mechanisms of biotransformation of uranium and toxic metals under various microbial process conditions has resulted in the development of two treatment processes: (i) stabilization of uranium and t...

Background: A pot experiment was conducted to determine the toxic effects of some heavy metals on the plant growth and seed yield of maize (Zea mays L.). Materials and Metheds: Heavy metals Mn, Pb, Cd, Cr and Co individually and in combinations were added as chloride salts in solutions to the pots before sowing. The test plants for were harvested after 80 days of germination and evaluated f...

Trace metals are intrinsic, natural constituents of our environment. Apart from the natural sources, several anthropogenic ones also contribute to metal concentrations in the environment. Some of the anthropogenic sources of the metals in the environment are: mining, smelting, production and use of the compounds and materials containing the metals, burning of fossil fuels, waste dumping and lea...

Environmental preservation is one of the key strategies addressing sustainable development. An awareness of environmental problems and potential hazards caused by industrial waste waters has prompted many countries to limit the discharge of toxic effluents. Mycoremediation play important role in the treatment of pulp and paper mill effluents containing numerous toxic substances like hydrocarbon...

background: industrial development has caused the release of various pollutants including heavy metals into the environment. these toxic compounds are extremely dangerous to living beings and the environment due to their non-biodegradability, severe toxicity, carcinogenicity, the ability to be accumulated in nature and the ability to contaminate groundwater and surface water. the aim of the pre...

There are many chemical constituents that enter the municipal waste stream that are of potential concern for human health. These substances include organic chemicals, inorganic trace elements (such as cadmium and lead), and nitrogen. Conventional agricultural practices, such as the use of commercial fertilizers, also have the potential to introduce additional chemical constituents to soil. Howe...

Plants obtain mineral nutrients from the soil. If they are growing in soil with high levels of metals, they will take up an excess of what is needed for growth. Depending on the species, this can be detrimental to growth—or lethal—and can greatly limit the growth range of plants and the productivity of agricultural species. However, some plants have adapted to living in soil containing excess m...

Heavy metals contribute to the anthropogenic contamination of marine ecosystems. Some of them are essential to the life processes of organisms; others are toxic, even at low concentrations. They penetrate organisms via food, respiratory pathways or the skin. The extent to which metals penetrate organisms is measured by bioconcentration and bioaccumulation factors and also by their transport bet...

Phytoextraction has emerged as a novel approach to clean up metal-polluted soils in which plants are used to transfer toxic metals from soils to shoots. This review provides a synthesis of current knowledge on phytoextraction of metals from soils and their accumulation in plants. The objective is to integrate soil-related (root exudates and chemical amendments) and biological advances to sugges...