{{B}}Geology and Health{{/B}}
1. The importance of particular metals in the human diet has been realised within the past few decades, and the idea that geology might be related to health has been recognized for a number of elements such as iodine, zinc and selenium. For example, soils with low iodine contents produce crops and animals deficient in iodine. A lack of iodine in the human diet leads to some serious diseases.
2. The ultimate source of metals within the human body is rocks, which weather into soil, gaining or losing some of their chemical constituents. The crops we eat selectively remove from the soil the elements that they require for growth. The water we drink contains trace elements leached from rock and soil. Thus the geology and geochemistry of the environment have effects on the chemistry and health of plants, animals and people.
3. So far there is no data to suggest that people living on metal-rich soils experience a potential health hazard. The levels of metals within naturally contaminated soils are generally not high enough to cause serious health problems. Living on metal-rich soils does not represent a health risk unless large quantities of soil are digested or metal-rich dust is inhaled. However, small children are particularly exposed to metal-rich dust topsoil in playgrounds and gardens. They are also the most likely ones to eat potentially dangerous metal-rich soil.
4. Heavy metals are persistent: they do not break down to other chemicals in the environment. Industrially polluted sites usually undergo intensive clean-up and rehabilitation because heavy metals are a health concern once they enter the food chain. Some trace metals are alleged to cause cancer and are also known to cause poisoning.
5. In contrast naturally contaminated soils have not been subject to risk assessment studies and rehabilitation measures, despite the fact that they frequently possess metal concentrations well above those of such polluted by humans and above environmental quality criteria.
6. There is a vital need to understand the potential risks and long-term health effects of living on naturally contaminated soils. Future environmental investigations of naturally polluted soils should concentrate on the potential pathways of metals into the food chain and human body. Geologists should be part of such studies as they can provide the essential background information on rock and soil chemistry as well as the chemical forms of heavy metal pollution.