Young scientists clean up real good

[salvorhardin]

Three young scientists have discovered a novel way of cleaning polluted water with scallop shells. James Beaton-Johnson, Elias Fares and Amy Trottier, students at J.L. Ilsley High School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, were inspired by a documentary film about a Japanese fish farmer who threw oyster shells into a murky pond and found the water cleared. They tested their idea by soaking scallop shells in dirty dish water and observed that 24 hours later the water had cleared.

The students discovered that the shape and chemical makeup of the shells neutralizes the pH of water and filters out bacteria, sediment and heavy metals. They were able to successfully make use of their method to improve the water quality on a river flowing through their school's property and have won prizes at three different science fairs. Next week they will be presenting their findings at the World Youth Parliament for Water in Quebec City and are preparing to publish in a scientific journal. James, Elias, and Amy all plan to study science at university.

From Neural Gourmet via CBC News.

[sutz12]

1. In a similar vein....

I heard they are restocking Chesapeake Bay with oysters for this reason. The oysters were pretty much fished/picked out and that has led to increased pollution and toxicity. Don't have a link, but this sounds great, naturally recovering these bodies of water.

[northzax]

2. they've been trying for a couple of years

to restock the bay with virginius but the parasitical fungal infection tends to kill them after a couple of years. This year they are trying with an Asian oyster (can't remember the sci. name right now) which is larger, grows faster, lives in colonies and has some resistance to the infection.

[sutz12]

3. Thanx for the update. Hope they succeed. nt