Integrated Bioremediation: A New Beginning

Tundra Cemetery Quinhagak | Photos : Sprouse

Multimedia Journalism by Robert Lundahl | Nature and Technology Part 3, ©Copyright 2020 Agence RLA, LLC

As the past informs the present, so is it in Quinhagak.

If Warren Jones "put Quinhagak on the map" he and others will have to work together to keep it there.

People like Howard Sprouse are drawn to Native communities for a variety of reasons. One unique aspect of such relationships is a collaborative spirit.

"Due to the remoteness of our Alaskan sites, Mycoremediation and The Integrated Biological Approach is highly suited as an effective remediation solution. It allows the contamination to be treated on site, without expensive and complicated technology or by digging up and sending away."
–Howard Sprouse

[Developer of mycoremediation technologies since the 1990s. Mr. Sprouse has worked as a consultant to Battelle’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Sequim, Washington. His work assisted projects aimed towards remediation of petroleum hydrocarbons, biological agents, pathogen degradation, and biofiltration of agricultural runoff.

Howard has worked for the Department of Botany, University of Washington, conducting fungal ecology research in Olympic National Park and is a well known lecturer on the subject throughout the Pacific West and Alaska.

He is working with Intrinsyx Technologies at the NASA-Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California on the Integrated Biological Approach, which combines phytoremediation and mycoremediation systems.]

Warren Jones and Grace Hill of Qanirtuuq Incorporated cut the ribbon at the opening of the Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Center in Quinhagak The center holds 60,000 artifacts found at a site called Nunelleq near Quinhagak. (Photo : KYUK)

Makeshift Containment (Quinhagak)–Howard Sprouse with John Hunter.

Fungi are natures’ recyclers. They secrete enzymes into their environment that break down organic compounds. These compounds are chemically broken down into simpler ones which then become available to the growing fungi and other organisms.

The degradation of lignin and cellulose are primarysources of energy for most fungi and lignin is a natural analogue of petroleum based hydrocarbons.

(Below) Wood chips being inoculated with fungi microbes.

Visitors at Nunalleq Culture And Archaeology Center

"Our ongoing development that we see now is the result of years of improvements to our technology, first incorporating ‘vegetative caps’ of plants we use as cover, which provides better performance and longevity."

Technologies of Nature–Bio Char and Clover

"Eventually by using plants and trees selected for their specific ability to remove and concentrate toxins and microbes, which benefit plant growth as well as decontaminate many toxins, we now have a system that can be tailored to meet site specific requirements."
–Howard Sprouse

Robert LundahlDecember 11, 2022