Fungi clean oil-polluted soil, study shows

Fungi can be harnessed to clean polluted soil which cannot be cleaned using traditional composting. This has been found by a researcher at Aalto University in Finland.

"Soil that has been polluted by organic pollutants such as oil can be treated by composting. However it is not effective against many other organic pollutants such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons and dioxins. Soil polluted with other organic pollutants than oil accounts for as much as 45 % of excavated contaminated soil. The compounds are found in areas where sawing is carried out and in areas where there is distribution of fuels, waste treatment and various kinds of industry," explains Aalto University researcher Erika Winquist.

In Finland during 2005 and 2006, almost 3 million tonnes of excavated, contaminated soil was transported into landfill sites and other treatment plants. Most of the soil ends up in landfills because at the moment, landfill sites accept it for the use of construction of field structures for new landfill sites.

A more sustainable practice would be to clean the polluted soil, rather than just take it to a landfill. At the moment putting it into a landfill is far too easy and cheap. In addition, there is limited use of other methods. For example, burning the soil at a high temperature (over 1,000 degrees) in an incinerator destroys the organic pollutants, but the process is expensive and there is insufficient incineration capacity in Finland to treat all the soil that requires burning.

Fungi could be used to expand bioremediation for the destruction of the more enduring organic pollutants too, states Winquist.