Issues farmers face with soil degradation is the issues of soil toxicity and chemical imbalance caused by prolonged fertiliser and pesticide use.

Earthworms have been found to be a viable method of removing toxins from soils and enhance the remediation of agricultural lands polluted by chemicals the likes of for instance DDT.

Earthworms can live in highly contaminated soils.

They are generally  tolerant to many chemical contaminants including heavy metals and organic pollutants in soil and can bio-accumulate them in their tissues.

Earthworms species like Eisenia fetida have been found to through the use of a special detoxifying layer in their gut and specific metal binding proteins,   remove and isolate toxic heavy metals such as (Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, Zn, etc.) and also lipophilic organic micropollutants from soil.

Chemical contaminants are absorbed through their moist body walls  and  mouth and are either bio-transformed or biodegrade , rendering them harmless in their bodies.

This makes earthworms perfect for soil remediation in both agricultural and industrial settings.