Phytoremediation as a Promising Method for the Treatment of Contaminated Sediments

Dredging activities are necessary to maintain the navigation depth of harbors and channels. Additionally,dredging can prevent the loss of water bodies. A large amount of extracted sediments is produced around theworld. Removed material is widely disposed at open seas or landfills. Much of the dredged material is pollutedand is classified as unsuitable for open-sea disposal. In Sweden, many dredging activities are taking placenowadays like that in Oskarshamn harbor, Inre harbor Norrköping municipality and Malmfjärden bay inKalmar. In this review, the potential of phytoremediation as a treatment method is discussed with focus onsuggested methods for reusing the treated sediments. Recycling or reusing of dredged and treated sedimentswill preserve Earth natural resources as well as reduce diffusion of contaminants to the environment.