PHYTOREMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES USED TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT POSED BY METAL-CONTAMINATED SOILS: THEORY AND REALITY

In this paper an example of the approach to the management of contaminated land is described. The paper is based on realities of the Republic of Poland located in Central Europe; a country whose financial resources are limited and environmental needs high. Soil cleaning technologies are generally highly cost-intensive and unaffordable for developing countries, therefore alternative solutions, which at least help to temporarily isolate or diminish the problem, are always welcome. Phytoremediation, which is a biological method using plants to clean up or stabilize contaminants in polluted soils, is a suitable method due to its low cost effectiveness. Two variants of the practical implementation of phytoremediation methods, e.g., phytostabilization and phytoextraction, are described here. The feasibility of both methods was investigated in the laboratory and in the field, within the framework of two separate efforts financed by the US Department of Energy (phytoextraction) and the European Union (FP5-phytostabilizition).