Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
Processes
Robert B. Finkelman
INTRODUCTION
The reemerging field of medical geology is concerned with the impacts of geologic
materials and geologic processes on animal and human health. Most medical geology
research has been focused on health problems caused by excess or deficiency of trace
elements, exposure to ambient dust, and on other geologically related health problems
or health problems for which geoscience tools, techniques, or databases could be app-
lied. Little, if any, attention has been focused on the beneficial health effects of rocks,
minerals, and geologic processes. These beneficial effects may have been recognized
as long as 2 million years ago and include emotional, mental, and physical health
benefits. Some of the earliest known medicines were derived from rocks and min-
erals. For thousands of years various clays have been used as an antidote for poisons.
“Terra sigillata,” still in use today, may have been the first patented medicine. Many
trace elements, rocks, and minerals are used today in a wide variety of pharmaceuti-
cals and health care products. There is also a segment of society that believes in the
curative and preventative properties of crystals (talismans and amulets). Metals and
trace elements are being used in some of today's most sophisticated medical applica-
tions. Other recent examples of beneficial effects of geologic materials and processes
include epidemiological studies in Japan that have identified a wide range of health
problems (such as muscle and joint pain, hemorrhoids, burns, gout, etc.) that may be
treated by one or more of nine chemically distinct types of hot springs, and a study in
China indicating that residential coal combustion may be mobilizing sufficient iodine
to prevent iodine deficiency disease.
Medical geology--the impacts of geologic materials and geologic processes on
animal and human health--has been enjoying resurgence in recent years. Several
topics on this subject have been published within the past few years (Komatina, 2004;
Selinus, in press; Skinner and Berger 2003), numerous articles on medical geology
have appeared in various journals (Berger et al., 2001; Bowman et al., 2003; Bunnell,
2004; Ceruti et al., 2001; Dissanayake, 2005; Dissanayake and Chandrajith, 1999;
Earthwise, 2001; Finkelman et al., 2001; Selinus et al., 2004) and a number of sympo-
sia (Natural Science and Public Health, 2003) have been devoted to this topic. Nearly
all of these topics, articles, and symposia have focused on the health problems caused
by geologic materials such as exposure to elements such as arsenic, mercury, lead, fl u-
orine, selenium, and uranium; minerals such as asbestos, quartz, pyrite; and geologic
processes such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The list of geologic materials
