ABSTRACT
Environmental pollution due to indiscriminate discharge of hazardous and harmful waste, which contains toxic heavy metals at elevated concentrations, from industries has been a growing concern all over the world. The widespread uses of chromium (Cr) and its compounds in industrial processes and mining activities results in the release of Cr-containing wastes into the environment that contaminate the aquatic as well as terrestrial ecosystems. Bioremediation is a technology that utilizes the metabolic potential of bio-agents to reduce the toxicity of hazardous compounds by degrading, mineralizing, and transforming these pollutants under in situ or ex situ conditions. Cr occurs mainly because of human activities through production of wastewater in metal smelting, electroplating, and tanning, metallurgy, and dyestuff industries. Cr is a common water contaminant because of wide applications in metallurgy, staining glass, anodizing aluminum, organic synthesis, leather tanning, and wood preserving industries.
