USING MUSHROOMS AS BIOACCUMULATORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has seen a recent increase in Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling activities. Natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing methods pose a potential risk for environmental contamination. Mushrooms are known bioaccumulators of heavy metals and other environmental contaminants. The chemical analysis of mushrooms provides a relatively simple and cost-effective method to survey a local environment, and to monitor areas of accidental spills or incidents of illegal dumping.

Experiments were designed to determine the extent at which mushrooms accumulate barium, a common heavy metal contaminant in Marcellus Shale drilling muds and hydraulic fracturing fluids. A protocol was developed for the preparation of a mushroom sample for analysis of barium and other heavy metals.

Espresso Oyster Mushrooms were grown in 2.5 gallon pails filled with coffee ground soil. Barium was introduced to the soil by daily watering of aqueous solutions with known concentrations of BaCl₂. The concentrations included: 0 mg/L (control), 100 mg/L, 250mg/L, 500 mg/L, and 1000 mg/L. The mushrooms were allowed to grow until they were fully matured. Mushrooms were picked and then placed in a food dehydrator for 24 hours. The dehydrated mushrooms were sectioned and analyzed using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with an Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) Spectrometer. No concentrations of barium were detected in the first test group, most likely due to the low concentration of BaCl₂ in watering solutions. Previous research indicates that Marcellus Shale drilling mud waste products may contain as much as 26 wt. % barium. Further testing has begun using higher concentrations of barium solutions that more closely simulate previously detected levels of barium in drilling mud waste products.