Other Applications of Medical Geology

• Trace Element Exposure- As, Hg, F, Se, Zn, Al• Dust- Asbestos, African, Valley Fever, Silicosis, CWP,VOG• Radionuclides - Radon, Radium, Uranium• Organics - VOCs, MTBE, PAHs, Antibiotics, Pesticides • Microbes, Pathogens - West Nile Encephalitis,

LaCrosse Encephalitis, Plague, Hantavirus, Rift Valley Fever, Lyme disease, etc.

• Global Climate Change

Medical Geology-Range of Issue

Other Medical Geology Issues

• Volcanism

• Organics (BEN)

• Radioactivity

• Pathogens and Microbes

• Occupational Health

• Nutrition

 

 

Health effects of eruptive events

• Lava flows• Pyroclastic flows

The health effects of tephra dispersal

Volcanic tephra dispersal

• Mucous membrane irritation

• Silicosis

• Adsorbed toxins

Silicotic nodule in the lung tissue with disruption of surrounding alveoli

Calcium fluorosilicate (CaSiF6)

The health effects of volcanic gas emissions

Inert asphyxiants Carbon dioxide, CO2

Lake Nyos, Cameroon

Irritant gases

• Hydrofluoric acid, HF /hydrochloric acid, HCl – Mucosal irritation

– Cutaneous burns

– Respiratory disease

• Sulphur dioxide, SO2

- Asthma

- Acid rain

G e o g r a p h i c A n a l y s i s o f D i s e a s e R i s k

• W h e r e a r e t h e p o t e n t i a l a r e a s o f d i s e a s e ?

• W h o a r e t h e p o p u l a t i o n s a t r i s k n o w a n d i n t h e f u t u r e ?

• W h e n m i g h t a n o u t b r e a k o c c u r ?

• H o w c a n o u t b r e a k s b e m i t i g a t e d ?

Locating Mosquito Breeding Sites

Mosquito trap

Use land characteristics, FEMA flood maps, and imagery to identify locations of potential Culiseta melanura habitat, but still accessible by roads or trails, where mosquito traps may be placed; determine risk to human health.

Mosquito trap

geology

geochemistry

soils

remote sensing interpretation

elevation

Valley Fever favorableness

….spatial datai

Valley Fever: Geological/Ecological occurrence modeling

A n a l y s i s o f L y m e D i s e a s e

Plague Cases in the SW United StatesNORTH AMERICAN SEASONAL LANDCOVER

REGIONS (5 km buffer)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7 50 58 62 65 74 77 82 101

124

133

141

147

155

169

180

184

205

Total

#65 - Mixed Rangeland

#82 - Desert Shrubland & Grassland

#148 -Ponderosa Pine

#184 -Pinyon Juniper

Spread of West Nile Virus 1999-2002

(Avian Mortality)

Medical Geology and Occupational Health

• Hard Rock Mining

• Coal Mining

• Asbestos Mining and Processing

• Ore Processing

• Farming

• Power Plant Workers

Mseleni Joint Disease

• Multiple epiphyseal displasia (long bones have malformed growth)

• Polyarticular osteoarthritis (arthritis of several joints)

• Protrusio acetabuli (hip disorder)

• Dwarfism

Disease Progression

- Onset unknown- Overall 39% women, 11% men - >19, 66% women, 25% men

Prevalence

Prior Geochemical Research

• Soils

- Deficient: N, P, K, S, Ca, Zn, Cu, and B

- Suspected: Mo

- Not studied: F, I, V and Se

Grey Fernwood Sand

• Near neutral pHH2O 6.9

• < 4% clay (kaolinite and quartz)

• Low organic C ~1.6%

• CEC 2.0 cmolc kg-1