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Phytoremediation of Metals and Radionuclides

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Environmental Bioremediation Technologies

12. Conclusion

Phytoremediation is an emerging technology for contaminated sites and is attractive due to its low cost, high public acceptance and environmental friendliness nature. It is not a panacea for all waste problems, but a supplement to the existing technologies. The technology has been demonstrated, but not yet commercially exploited. More research background for development of plant tailored for remediation needs use of genetic engineering. The concept of manipulating plant genes for toxic metal uptake is today a cutting edge research area. The likelihood of public acceptance of genetically engineered plants for phytoremediation will be welcomed, since it will clean up the environment of toxic metals. No doubt phytoremediation technology has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years and it is expected that phytoremediation will capture a significant share of the environmental market in the coming years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Agriculture & Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, 400 085, INDIA

    Susan Eapen, Shraddha Singh & S.F. D’Souza

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  1. Susan Eapen
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  2. Shraddha Singh
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  3. S.F. D’Souza
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  1. Ecotoxicology & Bioremediation, National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, 226001, India

    Shree N. Singh (Deputy Director and Head) & Rudra D. Tripathi (Scientist E-II & Group Leader) (Deputy Director and Head) &  (Scientist E-II & Group Leader)

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Eapen, S., Singh, S., D’Souza, S. (2007). Phytoremediation of Metals and Radionuclides. In: Singh, S.N., Tripathi, R.D. (eds) Environmental Bioremediation Technologies. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-34793-4_8

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