Clams Clean Up Water

Courtesy of T Abele:

I read an article from Science Daily that was published on January 1,2009. The article was called “Biologists Clam Up Waterways To Determine Sources Of Pollution.” There was more than one author that contributed to this piece. The article focused on the contribution clams give to scientists and the natural ability for them to clean our waters.

There are a tremendous amount of toxins and pollutants in our environment, many of them being in out waters. Clams are a unique type of creature that helps solve this problem. They naturally clean water by absorbing the bad pollutants that contaminate our water. They do this by soaking water up through their tissue and also when they eat. Scientists have been placing them in several waters to eliminate toxins and to give data that can be studied. When scientists collect some of these clams they can study the type and amount of pollutants that theses clams absorb. Arsenics, pesticides, and PCB’s are all common types of pollutants that are in many of our rivers and water sources.

Scientists are nicknaming these creatures “pollutant traps.” These clams are so handy because depending on where they are collected they give scientists an accurate idea of what pollutants lay in certain areas. Scientists can have a better understanding of the majority of pollutants and the popular spots that are affected. Scientists are placing clams in Natural parks in an effort to keep their waters in the best shape possible. Clams are also being put on waters next to highways because they tend to be a large spot of pollution.

These clams have detected chemicals that were illegal for our environment. The state of Maryland was one state that got caught with illegal pollutants. The clam’s detected pollutants that were not recent and were beginning to spread into larger areas. This would have just spread more pollution.

This method that scientists are using is good for our environment and is also an inexpensive method. No pollution or dangerous materials are dumped into the environment during the process. This method is “eco friendly.” The clams are very beneficial to us not only for water sources but also for the fact that they are aiding marine life.