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Development of Phytoremediation Technology for Reducing Hazardous Chemical Compounds in Food 2010-05-12 A new hope in mitigating soil and water heavy metal pollutants Along with industrial expansion, arable lands in most Asian countries have been gradually degraded by or contaminated with hazardous pollutants such as cadmium (Cd) and arsenate (As). In the last two decades, this trend became more evident, significantly diminishing the quality of soils and crops and posing great risks to human health and the environment in the region. Recently, Codex Alimentarius proposed a new standard of Cd concentration in major agricultural products such as rice grain, wheat, vegetable, and meat in the hope of better protecting the health of the consumers worldwide . Consequently, some countries in Asia modified their standard for critical concentrations of Cd in their soils and crops based on the new Codex standard. With rice being an important staple crop in many countries in the region, reducing Cd concentration in paddy soil and Cd content in rice grains to meet the Codex standard have become an urgent concern. Meanwhile, arsenic water pollution has also become a major problem in many Asian countries such as Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, India, and Pakistan. It has been reported that the mechanism of well-water pollution by arsenic is closely associated with agricultural practices, particularly irrigation. Phytoremediation Workshop Phytoremediation is the use of li ving green plants for in situ risk reduction and/or removal of contaminants from contaminated soil, water, sediments, and air. Specifically selected or engineered plants are used in the process. With the threat of a serious Cd and As contamination in soil and water in the region, FFTC collaborated with the National Institute for Agro-Environme ntal Sciences (NIAES), Japan in the conduct of a workshop session on Development of phytoremediation technology for reducing hazardous chemical compounds in food during the Monsoon Asia Agro-Environmental Research Consortium (MARCO)
