Heavy Metal Bioaccumulation in Native Plants in Chromite Impacted Sites: A Search for Effective Remediating Plant Species

Phytoremediation is an environmentally friendly and economically feasible technique used for reclamation of environment contaminated with toxic heavy metals. The present study was conducted to investigate the levels of heavy metals in chromite mining impacted soil and native plant species using atomic absorption spectrometry. The contaminated soil collected from mine-impacted sites showed multifold enrichment of heavy metals Cr, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, while the pollution load index value was >3. Heavy metal concentrations were significantly (p<0.01) higher in soil and plant species of chromite impacted sites as compared to the reference site. The high metal concentrations could be due to emission of dust during chromite mining and open dumping of mine wastes. High metal concentrations may cause potential threats to the local community as well as grazing animals (cows, sheep, and goats) of the study area. The plant species like Solanum surattense, Dodonaea viscosa, Rhazya stracta, Calotropis procera, and Artemisia scoparia showed good metal accumulation capacity grown in chromite mining impacted soils and could be used for phytoremediation.