Towards practical cadmium phytoextraction with Noccaea caerulescens.

A series of field trials were conducted to investigate the potential of Noccaea caerulescens F.K. Mey [syn.

Elevated levels of cadmium and zinc in paddy soils and elevated levels of cadmium in rice grain downstream of a zinc mineralized area in Thailand: implications for public health.

Prolonged consumption of rice containing elevated cadmium (Cd) levels is a significant health issue particularly in subsistence communities that are dependent on rice produced on-farm. This situation is further exacerbated in areas of known non-ferrous mineralization adjacent to rice-based agricultural systems where the opportunity for contamination of rice and its eventual entry into the food chain is high. In the current study, an assessment of the degree of soil Cd and Zn contamination and associated rice grain Cd contamination downstream of an actively mined zone of Zn mineralization in western Thailand was undertaken.