Hi J Marcus,
The scary subject was brought up on the Pollution in China thread post #55.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1017102133.htm
You can't believe how happy I am that you posted some more info on it. Any creature and any thing which needs to bind calcium for survival will be at peril. It is mind-boggling to even think about it. Molluscs, and to be most relevant to the main subject of this forum, pearl bearing bivalves, will not be able to bind calcium for a crude calcite shell let alone very fine aragonite for a pearl!
Slraep