ABSTRACT
Numerous sites are contaminated due to various activities such as improper treatment of wastes, abandoned mining wastes, leakage of landfill leachate, military activities, impertinent collection of used batteries, and accidental spills. Contamination frequently affects large areas of soil underlying the surface, and contaminants found in these areas include a wide range of toxic chemicals such as heavy metals, metalloids, radionuclides, and organic compounds. In addition, there are various types of contaminated lands such as paddy soils, farmlands, factory sites, mine fields, and residential districts. Toxic contaminants within and migrating from these lands threaten human health through their detrimental effects on agricultural crops and drinking water reservoirs, including groundwater and surface water in the local area. Accordingly, the remediation of contaminated sites has become a great environmental concern and urgent priority. Development of high-performance technologies for cleaning up these sites is one of the most important technological challenges.
