Medical geology

BGS Research

A handheld monitoring device is being pressed against a pile of soil and gravel

Medical geology is the study of the relationships between geoenvironmental factors and the health of plants, animals and humans. BGS has extensive expertise researching medical geology issues in the UK and internationally and the association between environmental geochemistry and health in particular.

Geochemistry and health issues can arise as a consequence of a lack of essential nutrients in geological materials such as soil and water, resulting in inadequate uptake into plants, animals and humans via the food chain. The ability of the natural environment to provide adequate essential nutrients is of prime importance to agricultural management. Issues can also be caused by exposure to high concentrations of potentially harmful chemical substances in the environment (air; dust; soil; water; foodstuffs). Elevated concentrations of potentially harmful substances can occur naturally, as a consequence of geological and other environmental processes, or as a result of pollution by human activities.

Medical geology and geochemistry and health investigations examine the source, dispersion, behaviour, uptake and health impacts of chemical substances in the environment to aid ecosystem management and health protection. In the UK, much of this work has been carried out using the G-BASE and TellusNI  geochemistry datasets. 

      BGS is an international leader in the development of methods for the measurement, modelling and understanding of the mobility of chemical substances in the environment and in the determination of the bioaccessibility of potentially harmful substances to aid health hazard assessments.

      In addition, extensive medical geology programmes are carried out by the Centre for Environmental Geochemistry  (access the centre’s publications) and by the BGS Groundwater programme.

      Our research

      Medical geology – measurement of geochemical hazards 

       

      Selected UK-based bioaccessibility studies

      Lead bioaccessibility in topsoils from lead mineralisation and urban domains, UK.

      Modelling lead bioaccessibility in urban topsoils based on data from Glasgow, London, Northampton and Swansea, UK

      Anthropogenic and geogenic impacts on arsenic bioaccessibility in UK topsoils

      Bioaccessibility of trace elements in soils in Northern Ireland.

      Determination of the bioaccessibility of chromium in Glasgow soil and the implications for human health risk assessment

      Measurement modelling and mapping of arsenic bioaccessibility in Northampton, United Kingdom

      The importance of solid-phase distribution on the oral bioaccessibility of Ni and Cr in soils overlying Palaeogene basalt lavas, Northern Ireland

      A lead isotopic study of the human bioaccessibility of lead in urban soils from Glasgow, Scotland

      Kelleher, A M. 1999. Assessment of Lead and Arsenic Bioavailability in Surface Soils in the Cardiff Area. MSc Thesis. Cardiff University.

      Lability of Pb in soil: effects of soil properties and contaminant source

      The effects of lead sources on oral bioaccessibility in soil and implications for contaminated land risk management

      Linking selective chemical extraction of iron oxyhydroxides to arsenic bioaccessibility in soil

      Bioaccessibility of arsenic in soils developed over Jurassic ironstones in eastern England

      Linkage between solid-phase apportionment and bioaccessible arsenic, chromium and lead in soil from Glasgow, Scotland, UK

      The solid phase distribution and bioaccessibility of arsenic, chromium, and nickel in natural ironstone soils in the UK

      The Link between Soil Geochemistry in South-West England and Human Exposure to Soil Arsenic

      Modelling and Mapping Total and Bioaccessible Arsenic and Lead in Stoke-on-Trent and Their Relationships with Industry

      Bacterial Diversity in House Dust: Characterisation of a Core Indoor Microbiome

      For groundwater geochemistry and health studies see Groundwater and Health

      Find out more about our research

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      Measuring geochemical hazards

      Understanding and assessing geochemical hazards in the environment has been a part of the BGS portfolio of research for over 50 years.

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      Bioaccessibility ©iStock.com/pixologicstudio

      Contaminant bioaccessibility

      People are exposed to potentially harmful elements in soil and dust during everyday activities, such as gardening, and from dust inhalation.

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      Data modelling

      Data modelling is an important part of the wider research around the environment and human health.

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      Geochemical hazards and deprivation

      Can soil contamination affect deprivation or even crime?

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      Geological controls of soil element toxicity on human health

      Measuring the concentration of potentially harmful elements in soils and sediments is an important tool for monitoring environmental pollution.

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      Need more information?

      Please contact the head of medical geology

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      Centre for Environmental Geochemistry

      Focusing on the use of geochemistry in research, training and teaching.

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      Groundwater research

      Addressing issues related to the sustainability of water resources and quality, and the effects of environmental change on the water cycle, natural hazards, and human health.

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      G-BASE: environmental geochemistry

      In addition to expertise in geochemical mapping, BGS geochemists are involved in numerous activities and research that relate to the collection of geochemical samples, the use of geochemical baseline data and the interpretation of those as part of a wide range of geoscientific and environmental studies.

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