Medical Geology En route to One Health

The key to understanding the relationship between the geological environment and human health

Medical geology deals with of the impact of environmental factors on the health of individual human beings and communities. In particular, it studies environmental exposure to both macro- and micronutrients in the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere—respectively, soil, water, and airborne dust—which may positively or negatively impact human growth, development, and overall health. The insights contributed by this burgeoning field can aid not only in individual medical cases, but also in assessing disproportionately impacted communities and addressing global medical inequality.

Medical Geology: En route to One Health is among the first books to address this vital subject by summarizing recent research in this field. It also serves as an introduction to the multidisciplinary One Health methodology, which unites medical, geological, and environmental insights in one continuous approach to public health.

Medical Geology readers will also find:

• An explanation of the influence of the environment on nutrient availability
• Case studies of well-documented links between endemic diseases and environmental conditions
• A systematic analysis of the causes of essential element deficiencies in different world regions

Medical Geology is an essential overview of the field, for advanced students as well as medical, environmental, or geological researchers who wish to understand the complex relationship between the geological environment and human health.

M. N. V. Prasad, PhD, is Emeritus Professor at the School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, India. His awards include the Pitamber Pant National Environment Fellowship (2007) and the Excellent Scholar Award from the XIX Interational Botanical Congress (2017). He has nearly forty years of experience teaching environmental science, and has published extensively on related subjects.

Meththika Vithanage, PhD, is Professor and founding director of the Ecosphere Resilience Centre, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. She is a Young Affiliate of the Third World Academy of Sciences and Chairperson of the Young Scientists forum, and has received awards including the General Research Committee award from the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (2019). She received her Ph.D. in Hydrogeology from the University of Copenhagen in 2009, and has published extensively on subjects related to medical geology.

Contributors

Preface

Section I: Geochemistry and Health

This section provides introductory remarks on medical geology. Biogeochemical interactions, bioavailability, dissolution and release of mineral components and the anthropogenic influences such as over exploitation of groundwater, climate change influence etc. will be discussed in detail. Basic features of the geosphere and the influence on human and animal health will be introduced with theory.

1. Medical geology: Geosphere, human and animal interface – MNV Prasad, University of Hyderabad, India
2. Biogeochemistry: Essential link between geosphere and biosphere – CB Dissanayake, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
3. Geochemical release and environmental interfaces – Martinus Th. van Genuchten, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
4. Anthropocene influence in natural cycles: Effect on medical geology – Manish Kumar, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, India

Section II: Medical Geology of the Aerosphere

Mineral dust particles are found in the atmosphere, which contains mineral particles, particle bound trace metals and microbes. Dust storms give way to silicosis whereas heavy metals and asbestos in dust particles may induce lung diseases whereas radon in indoor air can lead to health issues. The mechanisms of disease occurrences will be discussed in detail in this section.

     5.   Dust storms and health – Yusef Omidi Khaniabadi, Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Iran
     6.   Minerogenic dust: Trace elements – JC De Witt, East Carolina University, USA  
     7.   Silicosis and asbestosis - Pierpaolo Ferrante, Italian National Workers’ Compensation Authority, Italy
     8.   Radon and health - Mustafa Al-Zoughool, University of Ottawa, Canada

Section III: Medical Geology of the Hydrosphere

This section is focused primarily on “Pathways and Exposures,” of pollutants and their transport through water. Hydrosphere concepts are integrated with medical, chemical, and geological processes influencing human exposure to specific elements, such as arsenic, fluoride, radon, uranium, selenium, and iodine are discussed extensively in this section.

    9. Water-rock interactions: Mineral dissolution - Elango Lakshmanan, Anna University, India
    10.  Water hardness and health - IR Lake, University of East Anglia, UK
    11.  Medical geology of Fluoride – Meththika Vithanage, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
    12.  Iodine deficiency disorders – Rohana Chandrajith, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
    13.  Metalloids and medical geology - Nabeel Khan Niazi, University of Agriculture, Pakistan
    14.  Potentially toxic metals and health - Irshad Bibi, University of Bremen, Germany

Section IV: Medical Pedology: Health Effects from Soils and Sediments

Various mineralogical components are in the soil due to weathering and hence, some elements can be in high or deficient levels, which can create health issues to the plants, animals, and people. In some regions, people and animals consume soils to reduce micronutrient deficiencies. Bioavailability of various ions are the governing factor for the medical pedology as it may either transport to water sources or uptake by plants and finally end up in human systems. The availability of macro- and microelements in the soil, their flow through food chain and the health effects are discussed here in this section, based on different elements.

    15.  Bioavailability of trace elements in soils - Sabry Shaheen, Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt
    16.  Medical geology of Selenium, Thallium – Tangfu Xiao, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
    17.  Cobalt and copper deficiency and molybdenosis - Anna Erickson, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Australia
    18.  Geophagia, Kaposi's sarcoma and podoconiosis - Veronica M Ngole-Jeme, University of South Africa, South Africa
    19.  Geomedicine - Maged N. Kamel Boulos, University of the Highlands and Islands, UK

Section V: Case studies

Different regions experience unique diseases due to the distinctive geology, weathering conditions etc. discussed here in this section with examples, hypotheses, mechanisms, and effects.

20.  Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology in humid tropics - MWC Dharma-wardana, Universit ìe de Montreal, Canada
21.  Lessons from African continent - Hassina Mouri, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
22.  Black Foot Disease - Chin-Hsiao Tseng, Taiwan National Hospital, Taiwan
23.  Fluorosis – Prosun Bhattacharya, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

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