Companies Envit and Arhel and have successfully completed an EU LIFE program funded project and demonstrated an innovative technology for soil remediation, fully developed in Slovenia.
Testing of the technology in a demonstration plant confirmed feasibility of remediation with proposed technology in a big scale. Remediated soil enables safe vegetable production. The demonstration plant at Prevalje will be further used for demonstration purposes. Remediation of smaller quantities of soil from local environment is also possible.
Uptake of heavy metals in plants grown on remediated soil was 5 to 14-times and 4 to 8-times lower for lead and cadmium, respectively. According to the legislation (Commission Regulation 1881/2006/EC, 2015/1005, 488/2014, setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs), the concentration of lead and cadmium in plants (spinach, corn salad and radicchio) grown on remediated soil, were below the limit values. The concentration of lead and cadmium in plants grown on contaminated soil exceeded the limit value for both metals. The results of the research have confirmed safe vegetable on remediated soil. Results were also confirmed by laboratory extraction methods for determination of bioavailability of pollutants in soil.