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Article: Geology and health. (Research Initiatives).
- Article from:
- Environmental Health Perspectives
- Article date:
- June 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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If you don't consider geologists to be environmental health experts, think again. Earth scientists collect data on some of the planet's naturally occurring health hazards--including pathogens, radon, arsenic, coal, zinc, volcanic releases, dust, cadmium, and asbestos--and work with public health and biomedical scientists to mitigate the effects of these potent pollutants. These contributions to environmental health research were the topic of an April 2003 meeting, "Natural Science and Public Health: Prescription for a Better Environment."
In rural villages across the world, geologists are linking environmental contaminants to local diseases. William Orem, a USGS ...