INDIAN MUSTARD FOR MSW TREATMENT

There has been a significant increase in MSW (municipal solid waste) generation in India in the last few decades. This is largely because of rapid population growth and economic development in the country. Solid waste management has become a major environmental issue in India. The per capita of MSW generated daily, in India ranges from about 100g in small towns to 500 g in large towns. The growth in MSW in our urban centers has outpaced the population growth in recent years. This trend can be ascribed to our changing lifestyles, food habits, and change in living standards. The complexity and diversity in composition of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) makes it one of the most important urban sources of pollution which is posing a major threat to public health and the environment. The direct use of MSW as a source of organic manure is harmful since it contains different toxic metals, harmful pathogens and many other organic and inorganic pollutants that ultimately enter into the human food chain through plant products.

GITAM University environmental group headed by Dr.N.Srinivas conducted some scientific investigations on Visakhapatnam Municipal Waste. In Visakhapatnam every day about 600 to 700 tons of MSW is generated. The MSW contains heavy metal particularly Zink, Copper, Led, Nickel. The sources of these metals in MSW due to presence of batteries, e-waste and other modern house hold items. are found at high toxic levels .

PHYTOREMEDIATION..

In order to minimize chances of damage to public health, the present investigation was carried out to find out the applicability of phytoremediation to MSW for the removal of some of the harmful heavy metals. Phytoremediation is a low-cost alternative and the systematic use of plants for environmental contaminant treatment. Phytoremediation is a combination of technologies that use plant-influenced biological, chemical and physical processes that aid in the remediation of contaminated substrates.

GITAM Environmental group finally identified a plant which commonly available in our environment. The study group conducted several experiments on hyper accumulator plant such as BRASSICA JUNCEA. The BRASSICA JUNCEA is planted in pots with different concentrations of MSW amends and allowed plant to grow up to maturation stage. Out of the four heavy metals studied, it is found that the accumulation capacity of the plant for Zn and Pb is very high as compared with the control followed by Ni and Cu. The metal accumulation in the plants and particularly in the shoots depends on the degree of metal bio-concentration of the plant. This is a good index that phyto-remediate crops should be able to transport most of the contaminants to the shoots, which facilitates the removal of contaminants.
The mass balance of PB, Sn, Ni and Cu in the experimental soils on final harvest day clearly indicated that more than 90% of the metal content absorbed by the Indian mustard and hence, Brassica juncea is a potential species for phytoremediation of Municipal Solid Waste said by Dr.Srinivas.