Environmental Geochemistry And Health

One of the main outcomes of the eleven meetings of the Working Party was the recognition of the importance of interdisciplinary studies linking regional geochemistry with plant, animal and human health. The effects of major element deficiencies or excesses on plant health are well known; this is not the case for trace elements. In fact, rapid and reliable analytical methods for determining trace element abundances have only recently become available, and it is to be expected that important new information on trace element levels will be forthcoming. This, however, is only part of the problem because other factors such as element speciation, uptake and transmission may be more significant than total concentration. The pathways of elements from crops to animals are relatively well defined, but the aetiology of diseases attributable to elemental inadequacies or excesses is generally quite complex. Nevertheless, there is good evidence for diseases in livestock in the British Isles induced by deficiencies of Cu, Se and Co and Mo excess. On a world scale there is also convincing data on the effect of Na, P and I deficiencies and F excess on animal health. What is generally lacking, however, is adequate interaction between geochemists and biochemists, veterinary scientists and other concerned with animal health. Interpretation of geochemical data is complex as are connections between elemental abundances and the health of animals.

Environmental Geochemistry: Site Characterization, Data Analysis and Case Histories, Second Edition, reviews the role of geochemistry in the environment and details state-of-the-art applications of these principles in the field, specifically in pollution and remediation situations. Chapters cover both philosophy and procedures, as well as applications, in an array of issues in environmental geochemistry including health problems related to environment pollution, waste disposal and data base management. This updated edition also includes illustrations of specific case histories of site characterization and remediation of brownfield sites. Covers numerous global case studies allowing readers to see principles in action Explores the environmental impacts on soils, water and air in terms of both inorganic and organic geochemistry Written by a well-respected author team, with over 100 years of experience combined Includes updated content on: urban geochemical mapping, chemical speciation, characterizing a brownsfield site and the relationship between heavy metal distributions and cancer mortality

This volume comprises the proceedings of a three-day meeting held at the Royal Society, London, UK on 22,23,24 April 1987. The combined second International Symposium on Geochemistry and Health and 5th European Meeting of the Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health was sponsored by the International Association of Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry, UMESCO, the Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health and Imperial College with additional finacial supposrt from the UK Department of the Environment, the Royal Society, London and the Southern California Edison Company.

This book includes a collection of chapters illustrating the application of geochemical methods to investigate the interactions between geological materials and fluids with humans. Examples include the incorporation and human health effects of inhaling lithogenic materials, the reactivity of biological fluids with geological materials, and the impact on nascent biomineral formation. Biomineralization is investigated in terms of mineralogy, morphology, bone chemistry, and pathological significance with a focus on the health impacts of "foreign" geological/environmental trace element incorporation. One of the contribution is devoted to particulate matter, the presence of metals and metalloids in the environment, and the possibility of using human hair as a biomarker between environmental/geological exposure and human bioincorporation. Other chapters focus on the last advances on the analytical methods and instrumentational approaches to investigating the chemistry of biological fluids and tissues.