Fungi shock as favourite CDs destroyed

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By JOHN LOIZOU September 27, 2002

Geologist John Earthrowl was shocked to find his favourite CDs disintergrating.

Now - thanks to Spanish geologist Javier Garcia Guinea - the site manager of the Browns project at Batchelor knows the cause.

His compact discs were eaten by fungi.

"I want to warn other people that it could happen to them," Mr Earthrowl said yesterday.

"For many, it could be important information and data rather than music."

Mr Earthrowl found his explanation of the destruction in a scientific paper posted on the Internet by Mr Guinea, a geologist at the Earth Sciences Department of the Spanish Natural History Museum, Madrid.

The paper showed the tropical fungi, Geotrichum, had first been identified 175 years ago and was present in foodstuffs such as cereals, cheese, yeast and vegetables.

Although its attack on CDs had been reported in Africa, Asia and South America, it had not previously been reported from tropical Australia.

Could a CD affected by the fungus be saved? Mr Earthrowl hopefully asked his Spanish colleague.

"I'm afraid it's not possible to 'clean' a CD destroyed by fungi," was Mr Guinea's e-mailed answer.

Geotrichum fungi eats the polycarbonate base of the disc and the thin layer of aluminium collapses.

He warned that the CD fungi develops in high humidity and high temperature and the tropics were an ideal environment for it.

His solution?

Buy a second-hand refrigerator to store the CDs, he advised Mr Earthrowl.

-- Anonymous, September 27, 2002


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