Beautiful Vieques

What is phytoremediation?

What is phytoremediation?

Phytoremediation is removing polluting contaminants from soil and water with plants. 

How does that work? 

The same way that plants absorb water and minerals from the soil through their roots, they can also absorb pollutants into their plant tissues.

Well GREAT!  Now we have contaminated plants!  What does that accomplish?

Depending on the pollutant, the metabolic reactions of the plants can break some of these contaminants down and make them non-toxic.  Some of the contaminants such as heavy metals can't be broken down further.  But storing the heavy metals in the plants concentrates them into a much smaller area compared to when these contaminants are spread throughout the environment in the soil and water.  Concentrating the contaminants makes them much easier to manage and/or destroy.  Sometimes the metals can be extracted from the plant material and reused; this process is called phytomining.

Map of Vieques

Sailing off the coast of Vieques, Puerto Rico