Geology and Health Closing the Gap

by Skinner, H. Catherine W.; Berger, Antony R.

• ISBN13: 9780195162042
• ISBN10: 0195162048
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-03-20
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Geology and Health is an integration of papers from geo-bio-chemical scientists on health issues of concern to humankind worldwide, demonstrating how the health and well-being of populations now and in the future can benefit through coordinated scientific efforts. International examples on dusts, coal, arsenic, fluorine, lead, mercury, and water borne chemicals, that lead to health effects are documented and explored. They were selected to illustrate how hazards and potential hazards may be from natural materials and processes and how anthropomorphic changes may have contributed to disease and debilitation instead of solutions. Introductory essays by the editors highlight some of the progress toward scientific integration that could be applied to other geographic sites and research efforts. A global purview and integration of earth and health sciences expertise could benefit the future of populations from many countries. Effective solutions to combat present and future hazards will arise when the full scope of human interactions with the total environment is appreciated by the wide range of people in positions to make important and probably expensive decisions. A case to illustrate the point of necessary crossover between Geology and Health was the drilling of shallow tube wells in Bangladesh to provide non-contaminated ground water. This "good" solution unfortunately mobilized arsenic from rocks into the aquifer and created an unforeseen or 'silent' hazard: arsenic. Geologists produce maps of earth materials and are concerned with natural processes in the environment with long time-frame horizons. The health effects encountered through changing the water source might have been avoided if the hydrological characteristics of the Bangladesh delta had been known and any chemical hazards had been investigated and documented. A recurrence of this type of oversight should be avoidable when responsible parties, often government officials, appreciate the necessity of such integrated efforts. The book extols the virtues of cooperation between the earth, life and health sciences, as the most practical approach to better public health worldwide.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors

Introduction

Natural Geologic Hazards

Linking Health To Geology

Physical--Obvious and Immediate

Commentary

Natural Dust and Pneumoconiosis in High Asia

Human Sickness and Mortality Rates in Relation to the Distant Eruption of Volcanic Gases: Rural England and the 1783 Eruption of the Laki Fissure, Iceland

Chemical--"Silent" and Long Term

Commentary

Human Geophagy: a Review of Its Distribution, Causes, and Implications

Geogenic Arsenic and Associated Toxicity Problems in the Groundwater-Soil-Plant-Animal-Human Continuum

Geological Epidemiology: Coal Combustion in China

Mitigation of Endemic Arsenocosis with Selenium: an Example from China

Biogeochemical Cycling of Iodine and Selenium and Potential Geomedical Relevance

Environmental Iodine in Iodine Deficiency Disorders, with a Sri Lankan Example

Mercury, a Toxic Metal, and Dental Amalgam Removal

Nuclear Accumulation of Mercury in Neutrophil Granulocytes Associated with Exposure from Dental Amalgam

Cadmium Accumulation in Browse Vegetation, Alaska--Implications for Animal Health

Molybdenosis Leading to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Swedish Moose

Anthropogenic Changes to the Geologic Environment

Commentary

Surface and Groundwater Quality and Health, with a Focus on the United Kingdom

Breast and Prostate Cancer: Sources and Pathways of Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals

A Legacy of Empires? An Exploration of the Environmental and Medical Consequences of Metal Production in Wadi Faynan, Jordan

Life in a Copper Province

Health Problems Related to Environmental Fibrous Minerals

Anthropogenic Distribution of Lead

Identifying the Hazards

Commentary

Environmental Geochemistry on a Global Scale

Biogeochemical Monitoring in Medical Geology

Some Environmental Problems of Geomedical Relevance in East and Southern Africa

Geochemistry and Vertebrate Bones

Soil Nutrient Deficiencies in an Area of Endemic Osteoarthritis (Mseleni Joint Disease) and Dwarfism in Maputoland, South Africa

Minerals in Human Blood Vessels and Their Dissolution in Vitro

Organic Compounds Derived from Pliocene Lignite and the Etiology of Balkan Endemic Nephropathy

Summary

Glossary of Medical Terms

Index

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