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Abstract

A toxicant detection system comprises at least one watertight chamber containing a mollusk. Water to be screened is introduced into the chamber. A sensing apparatus is provided which detects the position of the mollusk when the shell opens and closes. The sensing apparatus preferably includes a Hall effect transducer which co-acts with a magnet associated with the mollusk. The data derived from movement of the shell is used to determine the presence of toxicants in the water. The data is analyzed to detect initial pumping of the mollusk shell in response to rising levels of toxin. The variance of recent gapes of the mollusk may be used to derive a degree of alarm value. Neural nets may be trained according to the system to detect toxicants in general, or to identify individual toxicants in the water based on behavior of the mollusk.

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First Claim