Page 15 - Sonoma County Gazette - January 2018

BIOREMEDIATION cont’d from page 14
The compost in the bioremediation wattles provides a rich community of microorganisms, both bacteria and fungi. These microbes see many of the carbon-based toxins as a food source. To get to the energy of the carbon, the microorganisms release enzymes to break down the toxic compounds. The inoculation of the wattles with fungi gives an extra boost, as the branching hyphae of the fungi greatly increase the surface area of treatment.
While the heat of the re may destroy or evaporate a lot, a cocktail of substances stays behind and new toxins never produced by man may be formed. We may nd fuel and oil products, pesticides, fertilizers, dioxins from burned plastics, heavy metals, and many other environmentally hazardous byproducts. Bioremediation e ectively addresses this problem.
Part of the Solution
It’s been wonderful to see everyone step up to support our community after the devastating res. Government, nonpro ts, businesses, and residents have come together, showing resilience and a resolve to rise from this historical disaster. Sonoma County has earned its rank as truly exceptional — for its land and its generous, intelligent, and supportive residents. But, of course, the road
Program is a big step in the right direction, and one I’m honored to be part of. At this point, however, there is still a missing link: to assess the e ects of the bioremediation we have put in place along Co ey Creek and hope to install along Pauline Creek. This would require testing. UC Davis is able to test water, air, soil, and plant tissue through non-target high-
More Work Ahead of Us
to recovery is long.
The Bioremediation Wattle
resolution mass spectrometry. They can test for toxic compounds formed during the high heat and map what toxins are present, thereby helping determine which toxins need to be addressed. Not surprisingly, such analyses are not cheap, about $1,500 per test.
We anticipate the program to continue throughout the rainy season. And, although not good for re risk, this dry spell we have had has been wonderful for the cleanup, reducing the amount of toxins on the ground before they are washed away. The e ect of the remediation wattles has been ampli ed by our team placing them alongside the existing conventional wattles. This way the inoculated wattles also inoculate the adjacent standard wattles.
Sonoma Compost, West Marin Compost, and Gourmet Mushroom are currently working together on developing a speci c strain of fungi that is more targeted to the feedstock produced at the compost site. All the bioremediation wattles for public cleanup e orts have been donated; however, soon wattles will be made available for sale to individuals who want them for their private use.
If you would like more information or to help in these continuing efforts to protect the watershed after the fire, please visit Fire Remediation Action Coalition on Facebook.
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