Chapter 15
Cadmium as an Environmental Pollutant:
Ecotoxicological Effects, Health Hazards,
and Bioremediation Approaches for Its
Detoxification from Contaminated Sites
Sushila Saini and Geeta Dhania
Abstract Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal that enters the environment through
various natural and anthropogenic sources and is a potential threat to most organisms
including human beings. Cadmium is nondegradable in nature and hence once
released to the environment stays in circulation. With progressive industrialization,
the amount of this polluting toxic metal is increasing at an alarming rate. Humans get
exposed to cadmium by ingestion (drinking or eating) or inhalation (breathing).
Ailments such as bone disease, renal damage, and several forms of cancer are
attributed to overexposure to cadmium. Bioremediation is an innovative and promising technology for the removal of heavy metals in polluted water and lands and is
very attractive in comparison with physicochemical methods because of its lower
cost and higher efficiency at low metal concentrations. In microbial remediation,
microorganisms can be used at the site of contamination (in situ) or off the contamination site (ex situ) for remediation. Combining both microorganisms and plants is
an approach to bioremediation that ensures a possible solution for heavy metal
pollution since it includes sustainable remediation technologies to rectify and
re-establish the natural condition of soil.
Keywords Cadmium · Carcinogen · Renal damage · Itai-itai · Bioremediation ·
Phytoremediation
S. Saini
Department of Botany, Janta Vidya Mandir Ganpat Rai Rasiwasia (JVMGRR) College, Charkhi
Dadri, Haryana, India
G. Dhania (*)
Department of Environmental Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, India
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
R. N. Bharagava, G. Saxena (eds.), Bioremediation of Industrial Waste for
Environmental Safety, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3426-9_15
357
Cadmium as an Environmental Pollutant:
Ecotoxicological Effects, Health Hazards,
and Bioremediation Approaches for Its
Detoxification from Contaminated Sites
Sushila Saini and Geeta Dhania
Abstract Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal that enters the environment through
various natural and anthropogenic sources and is a potential threat to most organisms
including human beings. Cadmium is nondegradable in nature and hence once
released to the environment stays in circulation. With progressive industrialization,
the amount of this polluting toxic metal is increasing at an alarming rate. Humans get
exposed to cadmium by ingestion (drinking or eating) or inhalation (breathing).
Ailments such as bone disease, renal damage, and several forms of cancer are
attributed to overexposure to cadmium. Bioremediation is an innovative and promising technology for the removal of heavy metals in polluted water and lands and is
very attractive in comparison with physicochemical methods because of its lower
cost and higher efficiency at low metal concentrations. In microbial remediation,
microorganisms can be used at the site of contamination (in situ) or off the contamination site (ex situ) for remediation. Combining both microorganisms and plants is
an approach to bioremediation that ensures a possible solution for heavy metal
pollution since it includes sustainable remediation technologies to rectify and
re-establish the natural condition of soil.
Keywords Cadmium · Carcinogen · Renal damage · Itai-itai · Bioremediation ·
Phytoremediation
S. Saini
Department of Botany, Janta Vidya Mandir Ganpat Rai Rasiwasia (JVMGRR) College, Charkhi
Dadri, Haryana, India
G. Dhania (*)
Department of Environmental Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, India
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
R. N. Bharagava, G. Saxena (eds.), Bioremediation of Industrial Waste for
Environmental Safety, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3426-9_15
357