Mid Sweden University

Heavy metal soil pollution from anthropogenic sources such as historical use of fertilizers, poor waste disposal, and spills from industries are a serious environmental problem. This can be especially damaging in developing countries where incentives are limited to remediate these soils, and some of the poorest regions are the most affected. Soil remediation can clean heavy metal polluted soil to a level that is sustainable for the environment and the organisms that inhabit it. Many conventional soil remediation techniques can be very expensive, and resource and energy intensive, making them poor choices for developing countries. However, phytoremediation, an emerging soil remediation technology, is much cheaper and less intensive by using the natural ability of certain plants to clean polluted soils. Although phytoremediation has been considered the best available technology for developing countries with heavy metal polluted soil, it is still being underutilized. In this thesis, through the examination of case studies from the U.S., several barriers are identified that are preventing further implementation of phytoremediation projects in developing countries. These barriers include, the difficulties for developing countries in recognising the scale of heavy metal pollution, a lack of enforcement of environmental legislation and standards, prohibitive costs of projects, problems with the effectiveness of phytoremediation as a soil remediation technology, and a lack of technological knowledge.