Guest guest Posted July 9, 2004 Report Share Posted July 9, 2004 The yellow oozing stuff on wood chips (also referred to as dog vomit slime mould, among other names) is most likely the slime mould called Fuligo septica. Fuligo septica is not a fungus (or mould) like the well-known wood-rotting basidiomycetes. It belongs in the phylum Myxomycota in the Kingdom Protozoa. Fuligo septica appears as a “disgusting thing " in bark/wood mulch and many people get concerned. It is commonly seen during summer on playgrounds or flowerbeds mulched with wood chips or bark. The wood chips support the slime moulds indirectly in that slime moulds thrive on other micro-organisms such as fungi, bacteria and protozoa that occur on wet or damp mulch. There is no easy way of eliminating slime moulds. The best approach is to try changing the growth conditions. Slime moulds, like other organisms they feed, on will not grow well in dry situations. Therefore, avoiding excessive wetness of the mulch and ensuring proper aeration by say raking to loosen the mulch may help. The raking of mulch as a control of slime mould may be more effective before the formation of spores. The spores of slime moulds are extremely resistant to unfavourable growth conditions. It is believed some spores can stay dormant for many years and then germinate. Slime moulds also form survival structures called sclerotia. These hard-walled structures protect the dormant cells inside until suitable conditions for growth return. Currently, there is no documented danger to humans or other animals from inhaling the spores or ingesting this organism. Slime moulds pose no threat to plants either. Kung'u, PhD Pinchin Environmental Microbiology Laboratory http://www.pinchin.com --- Carlson wrote: > A couple of years ago I was called by a local city > to look at one of their > playgrounds. Just as you described, bright yellow > stuff was oozing out of > the ground...people were wondering if they built the > playground on an old > graveyard or something. I took the organism to the > University of Minnesota, > they identified it as some kind of > basidiomyces...just a very evil looking > mushroom. No real hazard (unless some tot tries to > eat it, I suppose). > > As far as I know they still have the stuff in the > playground. The city was > reluctant to switch to an inorganic surface (pea > gravel or the like) because > it wouldn't be ADA compliant. This wood chip mixture > was supposedly > " engineered " to allow wheelchair travel, while > retaining cushioning > properties. Sure got the neighborhood stirred up, > though, when this > happened. I simply advised them to remove the > 'shrooms with a shovel and > re-open the playground...in general terms there is > already plenty of mold > floating around outside. If you are sensitive to a > specific mold predominant > in the mulch then you might have a problem, though. > > D. Carlson, CIAQC, CMRS > Liesch Associates, Inc. > > Playground mulch > Sensitivity: Private > > Group, > > Anyone have an opinion on the use of wood mulch > around playground equipment? > In the eternal quest for the ideal material to use > around playground > equipment to reduce the injuries from falls, wood > mulch seems to be the > current favorite. Schools, park departments, and > individual homeowners are > replacing sand (fills shoes, popular with cats), and > tire crumbs (steel > cords a problem, doesn't mix into surrounding area > well) with wood mulch > (nice and " cushiony " , readily available, relatively > inexpensive). > > Jumping on the bandwagon, even I used wood mulch > (specially prepared - > double screened to eliminate dirt and fines) for a > play area for my kids. > Now being somewhat knowledgeable about mold, I even > took the extra > precaution of carefully grading the area with a > slight fall, placing about > two inches of coarse sand on top of the dirt for a > drainage layer, and > topping the sand with commercial grade weed barrier > fabric, before dumping > in about six inches of " playground mulch " . > > My conclusion one year later after all this hard > work is that I was an > idiot. Masses of bright yellow colored and salmon > colored fungi (looks like > someone vomited) show up overnight and mushrooms > abound. Just a fraction of > an inch below the surface of the mulch, the wood > fibers are covered in a > white powdery " fuzz " . Admittedly I'm somewhat > sensitized to mold because of > my line of work, but within about fifteen minutes of > pushing my kids on the > swings, my sinuses are reacting and I've got a > screaming headache. Later in > the day, my kids will be complaining of runny nose > and sinus congestion. > > The local media has run stories on playground > equipment with lead-based > paint or constructed of CCA treated wood. They have > also aired what we > thought was an ill advised story (their sampling > methodology was really > inappropriate) on possible arsenic contamination in > playground wood mulch > (from shredded CCA). Each of these stories had an > element of risk, but > pretty minor in my opinion. Could there be > significant risk, though, from > mold covered wood mulch? Aren't we basically > creating compost piles for our > kids to play in? Anyone else with personal > experience they could share? Or > what about " professional opinion " based on what you > know about mold? (I've > already freely admitted to being an idiot, so > opinions - professional or > otherwise - on that subject will not be necessary!) > > Curtis Redington, RS, DAD > Environmental Quality Specialist > City of Wichita Dept. of Environmental Health > 1900 E. Ninth Street > Wichita KS 67214 > > > > > > FAIR USE NOTICE: > > This site contains copyrighted material the use of > which has not always been > specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We > are making such material > available in our efforts to advance understanding of > environmental, > political, human rights, economic, democracy, > scientific, and social justice > issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair > use' of any such > copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 > of the US Copyright Law. > In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the > material on this site is > distributed without profit to those who have > expressed a prior interest in > receiving the included information for research and > educational purposes. > For more information go to: > http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. > <http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.> > If you wish to use > copyrighted material from this site for purposes of > your own that go beyond > 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the > copyright owner. > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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