Comments on: MichCon Cleanup Site

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:23:31 +0000

Thanks for the pointer to Pleurotus. This is a “white rot” wood-rotting fungus. White rot fungi secrete enzymes that can degrade lignin because they attack polycyclic and phenolic residues. (So the rotted wood looks white with the lignin gone.) Also, they are primarily not parasitic. It makes sense that they might be useful in degrading pollutants.

By: Black Swamp Mushroom

Black Swamp Mushroom — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 14:24:26 +0000

The term you are looking is "Mycoremediation" and one of the best species of fungi for use as a catalyst is Pleurotus ostreatus or commony known as oyster mushrooms [link]. A few links that will provide information: [video] [link] [link]

By: TJ

TJ — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 18:37:51 +0000

Great photos, and thanks for all the extra details in the comments. I have gone kayaking through the Cascades a couple of times in the past month, and noticed the hydrocarbon-ish smell. It will be interesting to note how much worse it gets before they are done.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 18:32:12 +0000

Steve, he has a number of TED talks. I listened to part of the one called “Six ways mushrooms can save the world” but couldn’t sit through all of it. He seems to be something of a fabulist. “The mycelium is sentient” “Fungi are the earth’s internet.” Admittedly in my previous life as a fungal physiologist I took a more reductionist approach, but I’d like to see some peer-reviewed study of any claim he makes.

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:34:30 +0000

Vivienne, so a Web search for Paul Stamets. He did a TED talk on it and probably has info on his web site.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:15:50 +0000

I did a little quick browsing after the mention of mycorrhizae. These are fungi which are obligately symbiotic (or one could say “parasitic” since they take carbohydrate from the plant) with green plants, most often woody plants. Some are very species-specific. That is why mushroom hunters often know to look under certain tree species for some mushrooms (many mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of mycorrhizal fungi).

My browsing turned up a couple of sites where mycorrhizal inoculation of soil was promoted to improve nutrient availability for plants, as I would expect. (Mycorrhizae make some mineral nutrients, especially phosphorus, more available to the host plant.) But I didn’t see any claims that these fungi can be used for cleanup of pollutants. Since they are obligate parasites, it seems an odd choice.

By: Judy Foy

Judy Foy — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:09:33 +0000

Kudos on the work of that new Chron’ reporter!

By: Edward Vielmetti

Edward Vielmetti — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 14:33:54 +0000

The Cliffs Dow site in Marquette was the site of a plant that turned wood into chemicals; the Ann Arbor MichCon site turned coal into manufactured gas. So there will be differences. I just know that the smell of creosote lingers a long, long time.

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 14:02:16 +0000

Ed, without looking into it, my guess is that the chemicals that Dow left behind are a different matter than the (mostly?) hydrocarbon compounds that are in the soil at the MichCon site, but it would be worth the effort to get more details.

By: Edward Vielmetti

Edward Vielmetti — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 05:11:11 +0000

This site reminds me of the old Cliffs Dow site along the shore of Lake Superior in Marquette. Based on the extensive and expensive ongoing remediation work on that site, I would strongly urge the city never to buy this land.