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Environmental Geochemistry and Health with special reference to developing countries Geological Society Special Publications Series Editor A. J. FLEET GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 113 Environmental Geochemistry and Health with special reference to developing countries EDITED BY J. D. APPLETON British Geological Survey Nottingham, UK R. FUGE Institute of Earth Studies University of Wales Aberystwyth, UK and G. J. H. McCALL Department of Earth Studies Liverpool University, UK 1996 Published by The Geological Society London THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY The Society was founded in 1807 as The Geological Society of London and is the oldest geological society in the world. It received its Royal Charter in 1825 for the purpose of 'investigating the mineral structure of the Earth'. The Society is Britain's national society for geology with a membership of around 8000. It has countrywide coverage and approximately 1000 members reside overseas. The Society is responsible for all aspects of the geological sciences including professional matters. The Society has its own publishing house, which produces the Society's international journals, books and maps, and which acts as the European distributor for publications of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, SEPM and the Geological Society of America. Fellowship is open to those holding a recognized honours degree in geology or cognate subject and who have at least two years' relevant postgraduate experience, or who have not less than six years' relevant experience in geology or a cognate subject. A Fellow who has not less than five years' relevant postgraduate experience in the practice of geology may apply for validation and, subject to approval, may be able to use the designatory letters C Geol (Chartered Geologist). Further information about the Society is available from the Membership Manager, The Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London WlV 0JU, UK. The Society is a Registered Charity, No. 210161. Published by The Geological Society from: Distributors The Geological Society Publishing House USA Unit 7, Brassmill Enterprise Centre AAPG Bookstore Brassmill Lane PO Box 979 Bath BA1 3JN Tulsa UK OK 74101-0979 (Orders: Tel. 01225 445046 USA Fax 01225 442836) (Orders: Tel. (918) 584-2555 Fax (918) 584-2652) First published 1996 Australia The publishers make no representation, express or Australian Mineral Foundation implied, with regard to the accuracy of the informa- 63 Conyngham Street tion contained in this book and cannot accept any Glenside legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that South Australia 5065 may be made. Australia (Orders: Tel. (08) 379-0444 (cid:14)9 The Geological Society 1996. All rights reserved. Fax (08) 379-4634) No reproduction, copy or transmission of this pub- lication may be made without written permission. No India paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, Affiliated East-West Press PVT Ltd copied or transmitted save with the provisions of the G-l/16 Ansari Road Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court New Delhi 110 002 Road, London W1P 9HE. Users registered with the India Copyright Clearance Center, 27 Congress Street, (Orders: Tel. (11) 327-9113 Salem, MA 01970, USA: the item-fee code for this Fax (11) 326-0538) publication is 0305-8719/96/$7.00. Japan British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Kanda Book Trading Co. A catalogue record for this book is available from the Tanikawa Building British Library. 3-2 Kanda Surugadai Chiyoda-Ku ISBN 1-897799-64-0 Tokyo 101 ISSN 0305-8719 Japan (Orders: Tel. (03) 3255-3497 Fax (03) 3255-3495) Typeset by Bath Typesetting, Bath, UK Printed by The Alden Press, Osney Mead, Oxford, UK Contents Preface vii MILLS, C. F. Geochemical aspects of the aetiology of trace element related diseases 1 PLANT, J. A., BALDOCK, J. W. & SMITH, B. The role of geochemistry in environmental and epidemiological studies in developing countries: a review FORDVCE, F. M., MASARA, D. & APPLETON, J. D. Stream sediment, soil and forage chemistry as indicators of cattle mineral status in northeast Zimbabwe 23 JUMBA, I. O., StrrrLE, N. F., HUNTER, E. A. & WANOIGA, S. O. Effects of botanical composition, soil origin and composition on mineral concentrations in dry season pastures in western Kenya 39 MASKALL, J. & THORmON, I. The distribution of trace and major elements in Kenyan soil profiles and implications for wildlife nutrition 47 BOWELL, R. J., WARREN, A. & REDMONO, I. Formation of cave salts and utilization by elephants in the Mount Elgon Region, Kenya 63 SELINUS, O. FRAr~, A. & GALOAN, V. Biogeochemistry and metal biology 81 EDMUrCDS, W. M. & SMEDLEV, P. L. Groundwater geochemistry and health: an overview 91 BOWELL, R. J., McELDoWr,mv, S., WARREN, A., MATHEW, B. & BwAr~tJZO, M. Biogeochemical factors affecting groundwater quality in central Tanzania 107 DISSANAVAKE, C. B. Water quality and dental health in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka 131 SMITH, B., BREWARD, N., CRAWFORD,M . B., GALIMAKA, D., MUSHIRI, S. M. & R~EDER, S. The environmental geochemistry of aluminium in tropical terrains and its implications to health 141 THORrCroN, I. Sources and pathways of arsenic in the geochemical environment: health implications 153 SMEDLEY, P. L., EDMtmDS, W. M. & PELIG-BA,K . B. Mobility of arsenic in groundwater in the Obuasi gold-mining area of Ghana: some implications for human health 163 HELIOS RYBICI~,, E. Environmental impact of mining and smelting industries in Poland 183 NlCrIOLSON, K. Lacustrine sediment geochemistry as a tool in retrospective environmental impact assessment of mining and urban development in tropical environments: examples from Papua New Guinea 195 FUGE, R. Geochemistry of iodine in relation to iodine deficiency diseases 201 DISSANAVAKE, C. B. & CHANDRAJITH, R. L. R. Iodine in the environment and endemic goitre in Sri Lanka 213 STEWART, A. G. & PrIAROAH, P. O. D. Clinical and epidemiological correlates of iodine deficiency disorders 223 NAm, M. G., MAXWELL, S. M. & BRABIN, B. J. The protective role of trace elements in preventing aflatoxin induced damage: a review 231 NICHOLSON, R. A., ROBERTS, P. D. & BAXTER,P . J. Preliminary studies of acid and gas contamination at Poas volcano, Costa Rica 239 OLIVER, M. A. Kriging: a method of estimation for environmental and rare disease data 245 vi CONTENTS HARVEY, R., POWELL, J. J. & THOMPSON, R. P. H. A review of the geochemical factors linked to Podoconiosis 255 Index 261 Preface Environmental geochemistry has long been known to influence human and animal health, the links being recognized possibly as long ago as the 4th century At) by the Chinese. While early recognized problems such as endemic goitre were clearly due to natural geochemical variations within the environment, more recently anthropo- genic perturbations of the environment have been shown to exert a strong influence on human and animal well being. Although some health problems related to environmental geochemistry manifest themselves in the developed world, they are more keenly felt in the developing countries due to the added stress of such factors as poverty and malnutrition. In addition, while most of the population of the developed world have diets which include food sources from geographically diverse regions, in the developing countries this is frequently not so. Many people in developing countries are dependent on very localized sources of food and water and any geochemical anomaly (enrichment or depletion) within these local environments will have a marked influence on the well-being of the inhabitants. The latest World Health Organisation figures indicate that more than 800 million people in the developing countries are at risk from iodine deficiency, which is the cause of goitre and cretinism, a severe form of mental retardation. 350 million people in developing countries are estimated to suffer from severe iron deficiency and recent studies have provided evidence that cancer and heart disease are related to selenium deficiencies. High natural environmental concentrations of fluorine cause mottling of teeth and crippling bone and joint deformities in both humans and cattle. Excessive dietary intakes of aluminium, arsenic and lead derived from both natural sources and as a result of industrial pollution are also associated with ill- health in humans. Concern over this issue is increasing as a result of rapid economic and population growth in the developing world. Multidisciplinary studies involving epidemiologists and biochemists as well as environmental and nutritional specialists are essential if the impact of trace element levels on ill-health in developing countries is to be properly addressed and remedies implemented. The main aim of this volume is to discuss the application of geochemistry to the study of human and animal health problems in developing countries. It stems from a conference held at the Geological Society, Burlington House, London, UK on 20-21 October 1993 which was organized by the Joint Association of Geoscientists for International Development (JAGID) and the Society for Environmental Geochem- istry and Health (SEGH): The conference provided a forum for the exchange of ideas, information and experience between geochemists, nutritionists, medical and veterinary researchers and brought together researchers from UK, Poland and Sweden as well as a range of developing countries including India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Sri Lanka. Of the 34 papers presented at the meeting, 20 are published in this volume while two invited contributions have been added. Abstracts of the other 14 papers are published in Environmental Geochemistry and Health in Developing Countries, October 1993: Abstracts Volume. This is available (price code I) from BGS Publications (Tel: 0115 936 3241). Subjects covered in the volume reflect the breadth of the topic under discussion, ranging through animal and human health issues related to soil, plant, water and viii PREFACE volcanic gas chemistry. The role of natural and anthropogenic influences on the environment are covered as are the roles of geochemical mapping, monitoring and baseline identification. The first two papers in the volume set the scene, with considerations of the aetiology of geochemically related nutritional diseases (Mills) and the role of geochemistry in environmental and epidemiological studies in developing countries (Plant et al.). The next group of five papers concern animal nutrition in Zimbabwe (Fordyee et al.), Kenya (Jumba et al; Maskall & Thornton) and the Kenya-Uganda border area (Bowell et al.). Finally in this section Selinus et al. present a Swedish view of environmental monitoring using aquatic mosses, roots of aquatic plants and organ tissues from the moose. Health aspects of groundwater chemistry are reviewed by Edmunds & Smedley followed by contributions on biogeochemical factors affecting groundwater quality in Tanzania (Bowell et al.), water quality and dental fluorine in Sri Lanka (Dissanayake), and the geochemistry of aluminium and its potential toxicity in Uganda (Smith et al.). The environmental behaviour of arsenic is reviewed by Thornton, while Smedley et al. consider the health implications of this element in groundwater in a gold-mining area in Ghana. The population theme is continued with a consideration of the impacts of mining and smelting on the Polish environment (Helios Rybicka) and on the use of lake sediments to assess mining and urban contamination in Papua New Guinea (Nicholson). Iodine with its long recognized link to health is the subject of three papers, beginning with a consideration of its geochemistry (Fuge). Papers on the aetiology of endemic goitre in Sri Lanka (Dissanayake & Chandrajith) and on the epidemiology of iodine deficiency disorders (Stewart & Pharoah) consider the role of iodine and other factors in these diseases. The role of trace elements in preventing aflatoxin induced cell damage and disease and the potential influence of geographical variations in trace element levels on disease patterns is discussed by Nair et al. Nicholson et al. consider the negative environmental impacts of acidic volcanic gas emissions in Costa Rica on crops, buildings and the health of domestic livestock and people. The penultimate paper demonstrates how a geostatistical method (kriging) can be used to investigate the links between the geographical distribution of disease and environmental factors (Oliver), while the final paper is a review of geochemical factors which may influence the distribution of Podoconiosis, or non-filarial elephantiasis, in tropical Africa (Harvey et al.). The editors are particularly grateful to JAGID, SEGH, the British Council (Kenya) and the Overseas Development Administration who provided support which facilitated the attendance of some of the participants from developing countries. We wish to express our thanks to the authors for their patience and collaboration and to the many reviewers whose suggestions and comments helped to ensure that the papers published here maintain the consistently high standards of Geological Society Special Publications. The considerable efforts of the production editor, David Ogden, and other staff at the Geological Society Publishing House, Bath, are much appreciated. Don Appleton Ron Fuge Joe McCall March 1996 Geochemical aspects of the aetiology of trace element related diseases C. F. MILLS Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB, UK Abstract: Deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in the supply of inorganic elements from dietary sources can have an important influence on animal and human health and susceptibility to disease. Many such situations arise from anomalies in the inorganic element composition of food chains. These, in turn, are frequently attributable to the composition of the geochemical environment as modified by the influence of soil composition and botanical or cultural variables upon the inorganic composition of the diet. Appreciation of the epidemiological importance of such factors in the aetiology of nutritional diseases can contribute, very significantly, to their detection and effective control. Although the agricultural relevance of geochemical data is firmly established and widely appreciated, investigation of its value in the context of anticipation and control of major human nutritional diseases in the third world has yet to be undertaken adequately. Until the middle of the 19th century, convictions excessive or deficient element supply. This, and that geographically related features of the the frequency with which antagonistic interac- natural environment were associated with local tions arising from inorganic element imbalances differences in susceptibility to ill health of are involved in the aetiology of disorders human communities and their livestock were attributable to deficiencies or toxicities (Mills based, almost entirely, upon anecdote. Never- 1995) illustrate why multi-element geochemical theless, many formed the basis of community survey data can provide information invaluable legislation for land use, animal management or to the nutritional epidemiologist (Aggett & Mills cultural practices, and are now supported by 1996). This brief contribution will endeavour to firm evidence derived from our growing under- illustrate the potential of geochemical studies in standing of the significance of inorganic ele- this context, while also emphasizing the need for ments for human and animal health. The consideration of those multi-disciplinary aspects traditional restriction of common grazing rights that describe the influence of variables modify- to maintain animal health on the 'machair' lands ing relationships between the chemical composi- of the Outer Hebrides is one such example; the tion of the environment and its influence on distribution of communities issuing such legis- susceptibility to nutritional disease. lation closely reflects the distribution of cobalt deficient soils. Many such established relation- The influence of geochemical and soil ships reflect, directly or indirectly, anomalies in compositional variables the geochemical environment that influence the flow of inorganic elements into and through the Experience with nutritional disorders in domes- food chain of human subjects and the animals ticated animals points to many situations in and crops upon which they depend. which soil geochemical data can contribute to Recent developments in geochemical survey the identification of problems of health or techniques are providing an increasing volume productivity related to trace element supply. of data which can make a significant contribu- Areas with high intrinsic risks of deficiencies of tion to understanding the significance and likely copper, selenium, cobalt, iodine and of toxicities causes of those inorganic element-related dis- of fluorine, lead and selenium have thus been eases which are attributable either to deficiencies identified (SAC/SARI 1982; Mills 1984). Such or excesses of inorganic elements in diets or investigations have also produced evidence that drinking water. The growth of information on changes in soil and crop management can this topic is particularly welcome (Aggett et al. markedly modify trace element uptake by food 1990). Thus the detection and control of such crops and thus change trace element disease diseases is often complicated by the fact that patterns in livestock. High soil pH, whether signs of a general malaise rather than the arising from calcareous soil parent materials or appearance of diagnostically specific signs are induced by liming, restricts the supply of frequently the most typical manifestations of available zinc, iron and cobalt but can promote From Appleton, J. D., Fuge, R. & McCall, G. J. H. (eds), 1996, Environmental Geochemistry and Health Geological Society Special Publication No. 113, pp. 1-5

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