WASHINGTON, D.C. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Many of our streams and rivers are contaminated with pollutants like pesticides, lead, arsenic and PCBs. It's a problem that's costly to clean up. Scientists are using a new, inexpensive way to fix the problem.
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Lurking in many rivers and streams are contaminants. Some you can see, and some you can't. Hidden chemicals ruin waterways and everything in it. To clean things up, biologists are teaming up with local high school students to dredge up clams to use as tiny detectives. They help by finding the source of toxic leaks.
"We're using them as pollutant traps," Harriette Phelps, Ph.D., a biologist at the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., told Ivanhoe.
Students put the clams in streams that lead to rivers. Clams then suck in water swept down from industrial parks and highways.
"It's been a great experience to actually come and see them and be the ones to pick them up out of the water," student Caitlin Virta told Ivanhoe.
Clams clean the water as they feed, absorbing toxins in their tissues. The clams are collected back from streams. Then, scientists pry open the clams and detach them from their shell. Later, lab tests reveals the clam's secret -- the kinds and quantities of pollutants in the water.
"We can trace them back to sources, and then hopefully we can go from there and get rid of the sources," Dr. Phelps said.
The clams detected a banned pesticide in Maryland, believed buried years ago and now slowly leaking.
"I thought it was really cool how you could tell the health of a stream from analyzing clam leftovers," Virta said.
It's a cool way to clean up the environment.
The American Geophysical Union contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.
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