Dublin Core
Title
Medical Geology: Impacts of the Natural Environment on Public Health
Subject
Public health
Description
All living organisms are composed of major, minor, and trace elements, given by nature
and supplied by geology. Medical geology is a rapidly growing discipline dealing with the
influence of natural geological and environmental risk factors on the distribution of health
problems in humans and animals [1–3]. As a multi-disciplinary scientific field, medical geology
has the potential of helping medical and public health communities all over the world in the
pursuit of solutions to a wide range of environmental and naturally induced health issues.
The natural environment can impact health in a variety of ways. The composition of rocks
and minerals are imprinted on the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, and the food
that we eat. For many people this transference of minerals and the trace elements they contain
is beneficial as it is the primary source of nutrients (such as calcium, iron, magnesium,
potassium, and about a dozen other elements) that are essential for a healthy life. However,
sometimes the local geology may contain minerals than contain certain elements that naturally
dissolve under oxidizing/reducing conditions in groundwater. In excess, these elements can
cause significant health problems because there is an insufficient amount of an essential
element, or an excess of such elements (such as arsenic, mercury, lead, fluorine, etc.), or
gaseous combinations, such as methane gas, an over abundance of dust-sized airborne
particles of asbestos, quartz or pyrite, or certain naturally occurring organic compounds. The
latter includes findings reported by the U.S. Geological Survey that even groundwater passing
through some lignite beds can dissolve PAHs in sufficient concentrations to cause serious
health issues
and supplied by geology. Medical geology is a rapidly growing discipline dealing with the
influence of natural geological and environmental risk factors on the distribution of health
problems in humans and animals [1–3]. As a multi-disciplinary scientific field, medical geology
has the potential of helping medical and public health communities all over the world in the
pursuit of solutions to a wide range of environmental and naturally induced health issues.
The natural environment can impact health in a variety of ways. The composition of rocks
and minerals are imprinted on the air that we breathe, the water that we drink, and the food
that we eat. For many people this transference of minerals and the trace elements they contain
is beneficial as it is the primary source of nutrients (such as calcium, iron, magnesium,
potassium, and about a dozen other elements) that are essential for a healthy life. However,
sometimes the local geology may contain minerals than contain certain elements that naturally
dissolve under oxidizing/reducing conditions in groundwater. In excess, these elements can
cause significant health problems because there is an insufficient amount of an essential
element, or an excess of such elements (such as arsenic, mercury, lead, fluorine, etc.), or
gaseous combinations, such as methane gas, an over abundance of dust-sized airborne
particles of asbestos, quartz or pyrite, or certain naturally occurring organic compounds. The
latter includes findings reported by the U.S. Geological Survey that even groundwater passing
through some lignite beds can dissolve PAHs in sufficient concentrations to cause serious
health issues
Creator
Jose A. Centeno (Editor)
Robert B. Finkelman (Editor)
Olle Selinus (Editor)
Source
https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/52998
Publisher
MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Date
2016
Contributor
Sukma Kartikasari
Rights
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Textbooks
Identifier
ISBN: 9783038421986, 9783038421979
Coverage
Public Health