Field evaluation of the lignin-degrading fungus Phanerochaete sordida to treat creosote-contaminated soil

A field study to determine the ability of selected lignin-degrading fungi to remediate soil contaminated with creosote was performed at a wood-treating facility in south central Mississippi in the autumn of 1991. The effects of solid-phase bioremediation with Phanerochaete sordida and of two control treatments on soil concentrations of 14 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) components of creosote were followed for 56 days. PAH analytes containing greater than or equal to 5 rings persisted at their original concentrations in all treatments. However, depletion of 3-ring (85-95%) and 4-ring (24-72%) analytes after 56 days was greater in the fungal treatment than in control treatments in all cases. This finding demonstrates the potential of lignin-degrading fungi in the solid-phase bioremediation of creosote-contaminated soils. However, the persistence of the larger analytes represents a significant challenge to this developing technology.