EM:/ Tons of Dow dioxin soil removed from park

These white rot fungi decompose the lignin (brownish) in wood leaving a
white mostly cellulosic residue behind.  Lignin is a polymer of aromatic
rings bearing some resemblance to dioxin and some other (but not all)
pollutants, and the enzymes that degrade lignin can also attack dioxin et
al.   I think the trick is to keep the fungi going in the polluted soil  I
do not know how well that is going.

On Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:40:39 -0400, "The Henry's" <gehenry at chartermi.net>
wrote:
> I've heard talks about that in the past, but don't think they have found
> anything yet that works well enough.
> 
> Kathy Henry
> www.trwnews.net 
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: James Lang 
>   To: Kathy & Gary Henry ; enviro-mich at great-lakes.net 
>   Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2009 9:54 AM
>   Subject: RE: EM:/ Tons of Dow dioxin soil removed from park
> 
> 
>   As long as Dow is allowed to dump dioxin in landfills, why not try
>   bioremediation?
> 
>   Removing soil or dredging doesn't make toxins go away.  It simply
removes
>   the contaminants from river bottoms, river banks and flood plains and
>   places them in slurry pits or landfills.
>    
>   Consider white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, named for the
>   white seams of pure cellulose the fungus separates in decomposing wood.

>   Several years ago, at the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute
>   in Walnut Creek, California, scientists took a long, hard look at white
>   rot fungus.  They found that, of the hundreds of enzymes in the fungus,
>   some are able to disassemble toxic chemicals like PCBs, PCP, PAHs and
>   dioxin.
>    
>   The operative word here is "disassemble."  Many plants absorb toxins
>   intact.  White rot fungus breaks down harmful compounds into benign
>   derivatives.  This trait has been attributed to some other fungi, as
>   well.
>    
>   We should harness this characteristic in a practical application to
>   eliminate dangerous chemicals in landfills, old industrial sites and
>   dredging pits once and for all.
> 
>   --  Jim Lang
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>   From: gehenry at chartermi.net
>   To: enviro-mich at great-lakes.net
>   Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:08:34 -0400
>   Subject: Re: EM:/ Tons of Dow dioxin soil removed from park
> 
> 
>   Yes, it's very sad.  EPA is allowing the dioxin to be dumped every
>   where.---
> 
> 
>   "EPA officials say that picnic tables have been painted, playground
>   equipment has been washed and 17,370 tons of dioxin-contaminated soil
has
>   been removed and dumped at Waste Management’s People’s landfill in
>   Birch Run".
> 
>  
http://michiganmessenger.com/23618/17370-tons-of-dow-dioxin-contaminated-soil-removed-from-park-hot-spot
> 
>   Dumped with regular garbage.  Let's spread the love..
> 
>   Kathy Henry
>     ----- Original Message ----- 
>