ABSTRACT
The term “bioremediation” was coined by scientists in the early 1980s, describing it as a process by which biological agents such as bacteria, fungi, or green plants are used to remove or neutralize the recalcitrant contaminants in soil or water. Bacteria and fungi work by breaking down pollutants such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls into harmless substitutes. Plants are used to aerate the polluted soil and to stimulate the microbial action. Plants have the unique property of absorbing pollutants such as salts and metals into their tissues, which are later harvested using extraction techniques and disposed. Phytoremediation is the term used to describe such remarkable property of plants for decontaminating polluted soil and water.
