Soil remediation involves cleaning up polluted soils. There are many different ways to reduce exposure to contaminated soils, and remediation methods vary in how effective they are and how much they actually reduce the problem or simply move the problem from one place to another.

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Approaches for remediating contaminated soil

Remediation approaches are tailored to each site and situation. Different approaches could be combined at the same time or used one after another. Some factors that will affect which remediation approaches are most appropriate for a site:

• What contaminants are present: Inorganic contaminants like heavy metals (e.g., lead, arsenic)? Organic compounds like petroleum products?
• The level of contamination: Low, moderate, or high concentrations of contaminants?
• The size and depth of the area: A small part of a residential property? A community garden? A larger plot of land?
• And other factors, like the environmental conditions of the area (e.g., if you want to use plants for phytoremediation techniques, will the plants have enough sunlight and water to grow?), and the amount of time and money you have available for remediation.

Bioremediation

How bioremediation methods work:

Bioremediation methods use living things, like plants, fungi, and bacteria, to help reduce soil contamination. Some plants grown in contaminated soil can take up heavy metals into their roots and leaves, removing them from the soil. Some fungi and bacteria can break down organic contaminants in the soil into less toxic compounds.

For a comprehensive introduction to bioremediation, check out this excellent Bioremediation for Urban Gardeners factsheet created by @DanielleS with the Healing City Soils program out of BC, Canada. The factsheet covers: what bioremediation is, kinds of bioremediation and how they work on different contaminants, a list of plants for phytoremediation (bioremediation using plants), and a decision tree to determine if phytoremediation is right for your site. Plus much more. Most of the information in this section is informed by this fantastic factsheet.

Some different strategies:

Phytoremediation with living plants

Image: Diagram of a plant taking up heavy metals. Rona.fawzy19, CC BY SA

Phytoremediation involves growing certain plants in soils containing heavy metals. The plants take up the metals into their tissues as they grow, removing them from the soil over time. This particular process is phytoextraction.