C13

• C13, also written as Carbon-13, is one of two stable isotopes of carbon. C13 makes up 1.11% of all natural carbon. Due to its ability to absorb radio waves, C13 is used in nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry in order to study organic compounds. Petroleum, being a hydrocarbon, contains C13 as well as other carbon isotopes.
  
  

Fungus

• The oyster mushroom can break down hydrocarbons.yellow oyster mushrooms image by TMLP from Fotolia.com
  
  According to Paul Stamets of Fungi.com, Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mushrooms have proven successful at "eating" unwanted crude oil on the ocean's surface, as well as polluted soil. However, Oyster mushrooms may not be the only fungus suited to oil cleanup; it is simply the most thoroughly tested solution. Other types of fungus could actually end up being more efficient at oil cleanup, but more research will have to be done to determine the most efficient type of fungus. Due to its efficiency at "eating" crude oil, Oyster mushrooms are considered a type of C13 fungus, as would any type of fungus adept at oil cleanup.
  
  

Features

• Part of the reason why Oyster mushrooms have proven effective is that the mycelium, or hair-like fibers, of the mushrooms are adept at degrading the hydrocarbons of oil on the molecular level. The mushrooms are better at degrading lighter hydrocarbons than heavy ones; however, the heavier hydrocarbons, like C13, are degraded eventually because the mushroom's mycelial enzymes have the ability to reduce heavy hydrocarbons to lighter ones. By allowing time for multiple generations of mushrooms, hydrocarbons of all weights are affected.
  
  

Advantages

• Mushrooms are cheap to raise, colonize an area quickly and are easy to find. Paul Stamets' team found that in addition to breaking down hydrocarbons, the Oyster mushrooms drew dangerous heavy metals out of the soil. Perhaps best of all, the Oyster mushrooms are so resilient that once introduced to the toxic waste or oil, they can propagate quickly without further maintenance or feeding.
  
  

Warnings

• Despite the advantages of using mushrooms for cleanup, there is a lot that scientists don't know about them. Mushrooms or plants grown from formerly toxic soil may still not be safe to eat long after the initial spill or pollution. Oil contains such a large variety of toxins, many of them carcinogens, that more study will have to be done before C13 fungus can be relied upon as a mainstay cleanup method.