Phytoremediation techniques can be used to clean up pesticide contaminated waters, as researchers have shown with the chemicals Atrazine and Metolachlor. Submerged and floating aquatic plants were added to contaminated waters and evaluated for their ability to accelerate the removal and break down of the herbicides. The three plants used were Ceratophyllum demersum (coontail), Elodea canadensis (American elodea), and Lemna minor (common duckweed). See below in order.
The submerged plants, C. demersum and E. canadensis, significantly reduced the concentration of the 2 herbicides, with C. demersum reducing slightly more of the chemicals. The floating plant, L. minor, did not significantly reduce the amount, and had about the same amount of chemicals left as the nonvegetated control water. The herbicide-reduction efficiencies of the aquatic plants were, from most efficient to least efficient, C. demersum > E. canadensis > L. minor for both the metolachlor- and atrazine-treated systems.
Several companies now offer bioremediation solutions to all sorts of chemical spill problems, including but not limited to pesticides, hydrocarbons and chlorinated compounds. Bioremediate.com, LLC, located in Florida, offers a solution to both hydrocarbon and pesticide spills: a unique solution that contains high levels of natural “oil-eating” petrophillic microbes. The solution uses bacterial digestion to consume the organic matter; the bacteria feed on the contamination for growth and reproduction. The wastes from the spill are completely used up or converted to less toxic substances, and the water is clear of the toxins and pathogens.
