In today’s dynamic environment where heavy metal contamination has grown to be a more significant issue, phytoremediation can be used as a successful and environmentally friendly remediation measure, claims Shukra Raj Paudel, the study’s co-corresponding author and an associate professor at Nepal’s Tribhuvan University.
The process of phytoremediation, according to Paudel, “uses plants to absorb, immobilize, contain, and degrade pollutants in soil, water, and air while maintaining their biological and physical condition.” A few of the plants mentioned in the report are common yarrow for mercury, ladder brake and alfalfa for arsenic, morning glory and needle spikerush for copper, and Indian mustard and alfalfa for lead. Infants and young children are most affected by heavy metal pollution. Lead exposure is linked to poor development, neurological problems, and behavioral problems in children, while it raises blood pressure in adults. Mercury has an impact on the immune system, digestive system, eyes, skin, kidneys, lungs, and neurological system. Cancers of the skin, lungs, and bladder have been associated with prolonged arsenic exposure.
According to Paudel, the limitations of conventional phytoremediation techniques include heavy metal concentrations and the biological cycle of plants. To boost the phytoremediation process, changes must be made to the plant species or the surrounding environment. In the US, Canada, Russia, and several European nations, several plant-based remedial techniques have been employed to successfully remove heavy metals. The total cost of restoration, technical requirements, societal acceptance, and sustainability, however, are significant obstacles to site decontamination in poor nations like Nepal. On the other hand, the study suggests that Nepal may rely on its tremendous plant diversity to create low- or medium-cost repair and management techniques for polluted areas. This would include the deliberate introduction of economically viable “hyperaccumulator” species—species that can absorb huge amounts of heavy metal compounds—into regions that require cleaning. Because of a lack of knowledge about recent developments in improved phytoremediation, procedures used in the past to treat heavy metal pollution at numerous locations in Nepal are still being tried, the report claims. The use of plant-based technologies for the remediation of heavy metal contaminated sites has “immense potential while providing an economic, eco-friendly, and aesthetic solution for the restoration of degraded ecosystems,” according to Radha Rani, assistant professor of biotechnology at India’s Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology.
