Remediation and Management of Polluted Sites

Soils perform several important ecosystem functions and therefore polluted land requires remediation and appropriate management for restoration of its life sustaining functions. Several technologies have been developed for their remediation based on clean-up, detoxification and risk minimization approaches. All of these technologies have both advantages and disadvantages in respect of the extent of applicability, side-effects on other components of environment, cost & ease of adoption, speed & effectiveness of remediation etc. While removal of contaminants and the risk minimization are the major approaches for heavy metal polluted soil, degradation to non toxic or less toxic compounds is the most common approach for soils polluted with organic pollutants. Plants, microorganisms, nanotechnology have also been used for remediation of polluted sites with varying degree of success. Waste products from agriculture, industries, city etc. have also exhibited their potential in minimizing risk from pollutants. Growers may minimize risks from polluted land through modification of soil, crop and nutrient managements. This chapter also discusses examples of a remediation approaches followed in case of different polluted sites worldwide.