Review on Management of Heavy Metal Contaminated Sediment: Remediation Strategies and Reuse Potential

The accumulation of contaminants in aquatic sediments poses a significant threat to ecosystem health and human well-being. This review paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of contaminated sediment management and development of Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQG). The paper includes national and international scenario about contaminated sediment issues focusing on the sources, contaminants, and their environmental and economic impacts followed by characterization of contaminated sediments, reference methods, the need and development of sediment quality guidelines. Sediment management includes remediation strategies, remediation processes, discussion about the factors affecting remediation processes and the potential for reusing treated sediments. Further, use of nano remediation with nano Zero Valent Iron (nZVI) and bioremediation process are discussed in detail including advantages, disadvantages, and possible approaches. Valorisation of contaminated sediment is the latest trend and has been discussed with the approaches to Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of contaminated dredged sediments, which include consideration of environmental impact and carbon emissions involved in various remediation techniques and a comparison of the same to have an informed decision about the remedial measures to take.