Essentials of Medical Geology reviews the essential concepts and practical tools required to tackle environmental and public health problems. It is organized into four main sections. The first section deals with the fundamentals of environmental biology, the natural and anthropogenic sources of health elements that impact health and illustrate key biogeochemical transformations. The second section looks at the geological processes influencing human exposure to specific elements, such as radon, arsenic, fluorine, selenium and iodine. The third section presents the concepts and techniques of pathology, toxicology and epidemiology that underpin investigations into the human health effects of exposure to naturally occurring elements. The last section provides a toolbox of analytical approaches to environmental research and medical geology investigations.
Essentials of Medical Geology was first published in 2005 and has since won three prestigious rewards. The book has been recognized as a key book in both medical and geology fields and is widely used as textbook and reference book in these fields.
For this revised edition, editors and authors have updated the content that evolved a lot during 2005 and added two new chapters, on public health, and agriculture and health. This updated volume can now continue to be used as a textbook and reference book for all who are interested in this important topic and its impacts the health and wellbeing of many millions of people all over the world.
· Addresses key topics at the intersection of environmental science and human health
· Developed by 60 international experts from 20 countries and edited by professionals from the International Medical Geology Association (IMGA)
· Written in non-technical language for a broad spectrum of readers, ranging from students and professional researchers to policymakers and the general public
· Includescolor illustrations throughout, references for further investigation and other aids to the reader
Dr. Olle Selinus is a Ph.D. geologist working with the Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU). During the 1960s and 1970s he worked in mineral exploration and since the beginning of the 1980s his research work has been focused on environmental geochemistry, including research on medical geology. He has served as the organizer of several international conferences in this field, is vice president for the International Geological Congress in Oslo in 2008 and has published over 90 manuscripts. Dr. Selinus is currently the dep. Head of the Geochemical Division at SGU and in charge of research and development at the geological survey. He serves as Editor-in-Chief for the book on Essentials of Medical Geology, and as president of the International Medical Geology Association. He has received several international awards and has been appointed Geologist of the Year (2005) in Sweden because of Medical Geology. He is also chairing the Earth and Health team of the United Nations initiative International Year of Planet Earth, member of the organising committee and vice president for the 33 International Geological Congress in Oslo in 2008, vice chairman of the National Committee of Geology at Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, chairman of the Swedish National Committee of the International Year of Planet Earth at the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences.
