Zeitschrift für Bioremediation und biologischen Abbau

Abstrakt

Accumulation of Heavy Metals in the Plant Parts During Phytoremediation

Jahnavi Pandya*, Archana Mankad

Heavy metals are commonly defined as those having a specific density of more than 5 g/cm3 and metallic elements with atomic number >20. The main threats to human health from heavy metals are associated with exposure to lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic (arsenic is a metalloid, but is usually classified as a heavy metal). Heavy metals have been used in many different areas for thousands of years. Lead has been used for at least 5000 years, early applications including building materials, pigments for glazing ceramics and pipes for transporting water. In ancient Rome, lead acetate was used to sweeten old wine and some Romans might have consumed as much as a gram of lead a day. Claude Monet used cadmium pigments extensively in the mid1800s, but the scarcity of the metal limited the use in artists’ materials until the early 1900s. Heavy metal contaminants that are commonly found in the environment are cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn). No doubt some of these are necessary for plant growth and are known as micronutrients such as Zn, Cu, Mn, Ni and Co, while others Cd, Pb, Hg have unknown biological function. Biological systems are affected by the metals and do not undergo biodegradation but can be accumulated in different organism thus causing various diseases and disorder even in relatively lower concentration.