Richard Honour

Richard Honour

May 04, 2015

Group 6 Copy 56
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Ecosystem Interrupted

Sewage Sludge Disposal around here begins on a tree farm in the Snoqualmie Forests of eastern King County, WA, adjacent to wetlands, streams and the Snoqualmie River. The forest is a dumping ground for sewage sludge in need of quick disposal, by the thousands of tons per year.

The toxic sewage sludge kills most microbial representatives of the soil microbiome, which describes the forest soil microbial ecosphere, a self-sustaining, living ecosystem. This leaves but a few toxin-tolerant or toxin-metabolizing fungi to carry on the work.

The poisoned forest must now rely upon yet more doses of toxic sewage sludge for its nutrients and micronutrients, like an addict needing his heroin, as in, forever. The natural soil microbes are no longer there to decompose naturally the organic matter of the forest floor, which provides essential nutrients in the process; they are replaced now by alien microbes on a different mission.

The next step reveals colonization of the disposed toxic sludge by the few remaining natural fungi that can accommodate toxic insult, followed by the formation of fungal fruiting structures, or mushrooms, as a last-ditch effort at survival; they must reproduce in the face of death.

In meeting the objectives of the first Experiment.com project, we captured and identified the few toxic waste-accommodating fungi in these forests, and have them now growing in pure culture in the lab. While still puzzled by the trigger or key that will incite fruiting structure formation in this lab situation, we continue to learn the best culture media and methods that will be used in the next experiment.

Achieving in vitro culture was a very good day.

A well-sludged tree farm, but you can't see the sludge from here. Look closely.

Fresh sewage sludge on the forest floor; it will remain here for years.

Beginning fungal colonization of the fresh sewage sludge by toxin-tolerant fungi.

New Mycena spp. mushrooms, months after sludge disposal on the forest floor.

They often form mushrooms in clusters from a common base.

Mycena spp. mycelium growing in the lab in pure culture on sterilized woody debris.

Mycena spp. growing on sterilized wood pieces from the forest floor.

1 comment

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  • Gary Chandler
    Gary Chandler
    Great work, Richard. As you probably know, Washington State has the highest rate of Alzheimer's disease in the U.S. In fact, it exceeds the rate in Finland, which has the highest rate of Alzheimer's disease in the world. Mismanaged sewage and sewage disposal throughout our watersheds is part of the equation. http://alzheimerdisease.tv/alzheimers-disease-spreading-faster-via-biosolids-reclaimed-water/ The threat to humans, wildlife and livestock is real. It's time for the truth. It's time for meaningful reforms and remediation around the world.
    May 05, 2015
  • Richard Honour
    Richard HonourResearcher
    Gary: Yes, of course, and you have done the research most recently for your article. I have relied on your article for some of my postings, and will do so more, including later today. I have been working on this matter of land-disposed sewage sludge, which constitutes "Open-Dumping" under RCRA, for decades, and in many locations. One of the needs is for better communications with the public, with the aim of enhancing political pressure. Commerce and the agencies run the billions of dollar sewage sludge industry in the US and Canada, so all of our collective work has been for little improvement. Please contact me by email for additional exchange of ideas. Thank you, Richard rhono@precautionarygroup.org
    May 05, 2015

About This Project

The Precautionary Group

We've discovered a few new mushrooms thriving in this harsh environment of land-disposed sewage sludge in Snoqualmie, Washington. We're testing these mushrooms for new antimicrobial properties. Microbes that survive exposure to toxic sewage sludge engage adaptive mechanisms that transform toxins into secondary metabolites.

Blast off!

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