Phytoremediation, say what?

Phytoremediation, from the Ancient Greek word for ‘plant’, and the Latin for ‘restoring balance’, describes the treatment of environmental problems (bioremediation) through the use of plants that mitigate the problem without the need to excavate the contaminant material and dispose of it elsewhere. Plants are already a big key in many natural remedies, but they seem to have an ever increasing variety of healthy uses.

_Our office is all a buzz and a twitter over a recent article on the Wall Street Journal website describing the use of plants as air purifiers for your home.

We are particularly interested in any environmental control measures that can help with indoor air quality. Because of a renewed focus in the home building industry on insulation and weatherization, ventilation in homes can be a problem, see more of it. According to the article, we usually spend 90% of our time indoors where levels of common organic pollutants in the air can be 2 to 5 times higher than outdoors.

_One of the problems for researchers is trying to prove that there is a relationship between certain plants and cleaner indoor air. There is evidence, but studies are in the very early stages. According to the article:

_‘A growing body of global research is showing plants can reduce dust particles and contaminants, such as formaldehyde and benzene, that come from cigarette smoke, paint, furniture, building materials and other sources. Big growers such as Costa Farms, based in Goulds, Fla., and retailers Lowe’s and Home Depot now sell plants with tags promoting their air-cleaning abilities.’

_This is a well-rounded article that has created a couple of great discussions in our office, because improving the quality of indoor air is important for allergy and asthma sufferers. Environmental control is one of the main goals of our company and the products we sell. At this point, a quality HEPA air purifier is vital to improving indoor air quality, but articles like this open up a whole range of possibilities for everyone to improve their quality of life and breathe better.
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One thought on “Phytoremediation, say what?

  1. JoEllen April 9, 2011 / 4:14 pm

    I love this article, but have some problems and am looking for input. I used to have indoor plants for air quality and beauty until my son's allergist recommended removing them due to the problem of mold in the dirt from the moisture in it – the dirt itself and other things —I have tried cactus and aloe as that is all I can think of that might not be so bad. Does anyone know of any types of indoor plants that can improve indoor air quality while having less mold? Thanks..

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