Article: For dioxin cleanup, town turns to mushrooms

Annie Correal The New York Times Media Group
International Herald Tribune
04-28-2008
For dioxin cleanup, town turns to mushrooms
Byline: Annie Correal The New York Times Media Group
Edition: 1
Section: NEWS

FORT BRAGG, California --

On a warm April evening, 90 people crowded into the cafeteria of Redwood Elementary School here to meet with representatives of the State Department of Toxic Substances Control.

The substance at issue was dioxin, which contaminates the site of a former lumber mill in this town 130 miles, or about 200 kilometers, north of San Francisco. And the method of cleanup being proposed was a novel one: mushrooms.
Mushrooms have been used to clean up oil spills, in a process ...