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How to clean up pesticide contaminated soils

Promising option: Bio- and phyto-remediation technologies

Year of publication 2024

Place of publication Ankara, Türkiye ;

Pages 6 P.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet

Synopsis (short abstract) Around half the obsolete pesticides in the world can be found in the former Soviet Union, according to estimates, with a large portion currently sitting in Central Asia. Due to the mandatory application and oversupply of pesticides during the Soviet period – including pesticides that are banned today – there remain numerous landfills and agricultural land in the region contaminated with obsolete pesticides above safe health and use levels. The numbers and sizes of landfills differ from country to country, but what has remained the same throughout the years is that pesticides have been spread widely, leading to large-scale soil contamination in vast regions – including areas that contain villages and farmlands. The key to addressing this large-scale soil contamination by pesticides in the region is the soil remediation. However, considering the large areas and volumes involved, cleaning solutions must be economic.Soil remediation is a method used to remove, immobilize or transform pollutants from contaminated soils for the protection of human and animal health and the environment. Untreated contaminated soil poses numerous risks, depending on the contaminant, such as human health risks, ecosystem service disruptions, water resource pollution and biodiversity loss. Older pesticides were often based on a chemical group called persistent pollutants, which tend to accumulate in the food chain and cause serious long-term impacts. Through remediation processes, various soil pollutants – heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, persistent pollutants, pesticides and others – can be removed or transformed by certain microorganisms and plant species. Since bioremediation and phytoremediation are more environmentally friendly, sustainable and cost effective than other soil cleaning methods (e.g. excavation and incineration), they are among the best and cheapest options for addressing lightly polluted soils, especially in Central Asia.This leaflet is to introduce the concept of bio- and phyto- remediation technologies for the pesticide contaminated soils in Central Asia. These remediation technologies are very cost-effective methods for restoring contaminated soils compared to physical or chemical remediation methods. Its use case is mainly for low-contaminated soils where a short remediation time is not important. It can be implemented worldwide, especially when it relies on locally existing microorganisms. This leaflet aims to introduce these novel technologies for further implementations across the Central Asia.

Language English

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