The Puget Sound Institute, a study partner, reportedly said that none of the opioid-tainted shellfish were in close proximity to commercial beds. The researchers said that the contaminants probably entered Puget Sound “through discharge from wastewater treatment plants”; i.e. According to the BBC, while mussels cannot process opioids, research has shown that some species of fish (such as zebrafish) can become dependent. “What we eat and what we excrete goes into the Puget Sound,” Lanksbury told KIRO 7. “It’s telling me there’s a lot of people taking oxycodone in the Puget Sound area.”

Source: National Post May 28, 2018 16:01 UTC