**4. Conclusion**

Heavy metal pollution in water and soil has increased in the last few decades due to anthropogenic activities. For this reason, the issue of dealing with heavy metal pollution in environmental matrices still maintains its importance. Legal regulations are enforced by governments, and monitoring studies, assessment of environmental impacts, use of soluble and non-toxic compounds in environmental compartments (air, water, soil and plants) in industrial processes, heavy metalfree pesticides, appropriate wastewater treatment plants and renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels are priority measures to reduce the concentrations of heavy metals in the environment. In addition, heavy metals, which cause serious health problems even at very low concentrations due to their long-term persistence, must be removed from receiving environments in order to protect the integrity of the ecosystem and human health. As a bioremediation approach, removing toxic wastes from the environment by using bioaccumulatory organisms such as plants or mussels maintains its importance among studies aimed at recovery. Studies have shown that integrated methods - especially the combination of suitable plants and microorganisms - are very effective in mitigating the effects of heavy metals in the environment.

*Environmental Impacts of Heavy Metals and Their Bioremediation DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95103*
