Perspective on the heavy metal pollution and recent remediation strategies

Heavy metal (HM) pollution is extremely deleterious because of the toxicity they exert on human beings, animals, and plants. HMs are recalcitrant to degradation, and hence persistent in the environment for a longer duration adding to the concern. HMs at high concentrations have adverse effects on the production of food as they affect the metabolic activity of plants. HMs have serious implications for human health, reaching the tissue via direct ingestion, dermal contact, inhalation, and adsorption. Several methods have been explored for the eradication of HMs from the environment. Conventional methods of metal removal are constrained by the processing problems, expenses, and the generation of toxic sludge, therefore more research is now focused on the use of bacteria, fungi, plants, and diatoms for the removal of metal ions from the environment. In this context, this review article sheds light on the distribution of HMs in the environment, their sources, and the ecotoxicity they exert on the environment and living beings. The sustainable remedies to decontaminate the environment and the current knowledge and strategies to minimize HM toxicity are also discussed along with the recent developments in the use of nanoparticles and diatoms for HM removal.