Cheverly resident and Eleanor Roosevelt High School student Caitlin Virta is featured in this video with Harriette Phelps, Ph.D., a biologist at the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. FLBC contributed $500 to the research project which uses clams to detect pollutants. 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.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2009/0110-clam_cleanup.htm