Nature Environment and Pollution Technology

Jitin Rahul ¹, Manish Kumar Jain ¹

Affiliations
1 Centre of Mining Environment, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad-826004, Jharkhand, IN

Abstract

Environmental pollution of heavy metals from automobiles has attained much attention in the recent past. Plants are known to bind carbon-dioxide (CO₂) through photosynthesis, and they have become an invaluable tool in attempts to minimize air pollution. In India, some highways and national highways are covered by common plant species, but the plants (Azadirachta indica, Bougainvillea spectabilis, Cassia fistula, Ficus religiosa and Polyalthia iongifolia) are subjected to air pollution by heavy metals (Ni, Pb, Cr, Zn, Cu, Cd). These metals are released during different operations of the road transport such as combustion, component wear, fluid leakage and corrosion of metals and other activities (minerals mining, stone crusher industries). The majority of the heavy metals are toxic to the living organisms and even those considered as essential can be toxic if present in excess. The heavy metals can impair important biochemical processes affecting the plant growth and development. Traffic-related pollutants have detrimental effects on the environment. However, the effect of these heavy metals on plants is not well known. The study aimed to comparatively analyse the anatomical and morphological changes in roadside plants and heavy metal accumulation in selective roadside plants.

Keywords

Heavy Metals, Roadside Plants, Morphology, Highways.

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