A Plymouth State grad who lives in Merrimack is running her own test, with state approval, of whether mushrooms can help clean up some of the PFAS around the closed Saint Gobain factory.
New Hampshire Bulletin has a story (here it is): “The pilot will focus on one type of forever chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and it’s not yet clear how much contamination could be removed through this method.”
There’s a varied history of attempts to use plants to remove toxins, including heavy metals, from the ground. There’s lots of anecdotal discussion of the effectiveness but I’m not sure how much serious work is done with it.
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I read the article by NH Bulletin, and understand some of the possible complications of whether or not mycoremediation can break various PFAS (in this case PFOA) molecular bonds. It seems at least worth a try for Angela Graves to conduct her proposed study. Assuming that white rot fungus might at least absorb PFAS molecules, even if it does not break the molecular bonds, then it seems plausible as a start for removing such forever chemicals in the top soil. Then the fungus could be “harvested” and incinerated at especially high temperatures.
Of course, I am not a scientist, and therfore do not know all the technical details, but I hope Miss Graves will be granted approval to conduct her study. I want to know whether or not the mycoremediation will have some positive effect on PFAS absorption thus allowing potential removal from the environment.