Uncommon Heavy Metals, Metalloids and Their Plant Toxicity: a Review
Environ Chem Lett (2008) 6:189–213 DOI 10.1007/s10311-008-0159-9 REVIEW Uncommon heavy metals, metalloids and their plant toxicity: a review Petr Babula Æ Vojtech Adam Æ Radka Opatrilova Æ Josef Zehnalek Æ Ladislav Havel Æ Rene Kizek Received: 8 April 2008 / Accepted: 29 April 2008 / Published online: 13 June 2008 Ó Springer-Verlag 2008 Abstract Heavy metals still represent a group of danger- gadolinium, holmium, lutetium, neodymium, promethium, ous pollutants, to which close attention is paid. Many heavy praseodymium, samarium, terbium, thulium and ytterbium. metals are essential as important constituents of pigments and enzymes, mainly zinc, nickel and copper. However, all Keywords Heavy metals Á Plant Á Phytoremediation metals, especially cadmium, lead, mercury and copper, are toxic at high concentration because of disrupting enzyme functions, replacing essential metals in pigments or pro- Introduction ducing reactive oxygen species. The toxicity of less common heavy metals and metalloids, such as thallium, arsenic, Fate of heavy metals in environment as well as their tox- chromium, antimony, selenium and bismuth, has been icity and other properties are still topical. This fact can be investigated. Here, we review the phytotoxicity of thallium, well documented in enhancing the count of article, where chromium, antimony, selenium, bismuth, and other rare ‘‘Plant and heavy metal’’ term has been found within article heavy metals and metalloids such as tellurium, germanium, titles, abstract and keywords (Fig. 1). The enhancement gallium, scandium, gold, platinum group metals (palladium, is probably related with concern, in ensuring sufficient platinum and rhodium), technetium, tungsten, uranium, foodstuffs. Moreover, there have been developing tech- thorium, and rare earth elements yttrium and lanthanum, and nologies to remediate environment polluted by heavy the 14 lanthanides cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, metals.
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