Ben-Gurion University Researchers Advocate Using Seashells To Monitor Pollution A sampling near Orot Rabin Power Plant in Hadera, Israel. Foraminifera are found in vast numbers attached to macroalgae that cover the shallow hard rock flats. Credit: Prof. Abramovich/Ben-Gurion U. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers advocate using seashells to monitor currently undetected industrial pollution from factories and desalination plants along the Israeli coastline and worldwide. "We have accurately quantified trace amounts of heavy metal enrichment from desalination plants on the Mediterranean coast of Israel," says BGU Prof. Sigal Abramovich, of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and head of the Laboratory for Foraminiferal Research. "Our Israel field research and published studies demonstrate the potential of detecting heavy metal traces in foraminiferal shells as a tool for monitoring the coastal facilities industrial footprint. This includes areas that are considered clean marine reserves."