Current remediation methods, such as soil excavation and pump and treatment of ground water, are labor-intensive and costly. The use of trees alone is often insufficient to remove contaminants like metals, oils, and hydrocarbons because the trees often die. But adding probiotics that fortify the trees against such toxins—a process known as phytoremediation—is showing promise, Kyle Kornack, manager of social innovation and enterprise at the Arbor Day Foundation, tells Fast Company.
There are 1,327 Superfund sites in the United States, and an estimated 400,000 “brownfield” sites that are seriously polluted by not subject to federal intervention.