Remediation of Mercury-Polluted Farmland Soils: A Review

• Published in: Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology Vol. 109; no. 5; pp. 661 - 670
• Main Authors: Yin, Deliang, Zhou, Xian, He, Tianrong, Wu, Pan, Ran, Shu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.11.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adsorption; Agricultural land; Agricultural pollution; Aquatic Pollution; Bacteria; Bioaccumulation; Bioavailability; Biogeochemistry; Cost analysis; Crops; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Focused Review; Food safety; Functional materials; Health risks; Mercury; Mercury (metal); Metallurgy; Phytoremediation; Pollution; Soil contamination; Soil pollution; Soil remediation; Soil Science & Conservation; Sustainability; Sustainable agriculture; Toxicology; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Wildlife; Farmland; Perspectives; Remediation; Achievements, Deficiencies; Mercury
• ISSN: 0007-4861; 1432-0800
• DOI: 10.1007/s00128-022-03544-0

Mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation in Hg-polluted farmlands poses high health risk for humans and wildlife, and remediation work is urgently needed. Here, we first summarize some specific findings related to the environmental process of Hg in Hg-polluted farmlands, and distinguish the main achievements and deficiencies of available remediation strategies in recent studies. Results demonstrate that farmland is a sensitive area with vibrant Hg biogeochemistry. Current remediation methods are relatively hysteretic whether in mechanism understanding or field application, and deficient for large-scale Hg-polluted farmlands in view of safety, efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. New perspectives including environment-friendly functional materials, assisted phytoremediation and agronomic regulations are worthy of further study as their key roles in reducing Hg exposure risk and protecting agricultural sustainability.