C.C. Johnson

The geochemistry of iodine - a review.

Iodine has long been recognised as an important element environmentally. Despite this there are many gaps in our knowledge of its geochemistry and even where information is available much of this is based on old data which, in the light of recent data, are suspect.Iodine forms few independent minerals and is unlikely to enter most rock-forming minerals. In igneous rocks its concentration is fairly uniform and averages 0.24 mg/kg. Sedimentary rocks tend to have higher concentrations with average iodine contents of:-recent sediments 5–200 mg/kg, carbonates 2.7 mg/kg, shales 2.3 mg/kg and sandstones 0.8 mg/kg. Organic-rich sediments are particularly enriched in iodine.Soils, generally, are much richer in iodine than the parent rocks with the actual level being decided mainly by soil type and locality. Little soil iodine is water-soluble and much iodine is thought to be associated with organic matter, clays and aluminium and iron oxides. Most iodine in soils is derived from the atmosphere where, in turn, it has been derived from the oceans. Seawater has a mean iodine content of 58 μg/L, while non-saline surface waters have lower and very variable levels. Subsurface brines and mineral waters are generally strongly enriched in iodine.Marine plants are frequently enriched in iodine while terrestrial plants have generally low contents. Iodine is essential for all mammals.Consideration of the geochemical cycle of iodine reveals that its transfer from the oceans to the atmosphere is probably the most important process in its geochemistry.

G-BASE : baseline geochemical mapping of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The Geochemical Baseline Survey of the Environment is a long-established, high-resolution regional geochemical mapping project run by the British Geological Survey. A project initially stimulated by mineral exploration and to assist geological mapping has successfully evolved into a survey that has many environmental applications. Much of the current demand for surface geochemical data is driven by legislation. The geochemical mapping, originally based on the collection of drainage samples, has expanded to include soils and a further suite of determinands in stream waters. The methodology of the project and application of the baseline data are described and issues common to worldwide geochemical mapping programmes are discussed.

Symposium on 'Geographical and geological influences on nutrition' Factors controlling the distribution of selenium in the environment and their impact on health and nutrition

Se is essential to human and animal health but can be toxic in excess. An interest in its geochemistry has developed alongside a greater understanding of its function in a number of health conditions. Geology exerts a strong control on the Se status of the surface environment; low-Se rock-types (0.05-0.09 mg Se/kg) make up the majority of rocks occurring at the Earths surface, which in turn account for the generally low levels of Se in most soils. However, there are exceptions such as associations with sulfide mineralisation and in some types of sedimentary rocks (e.g. black shales) in which contents of Se can be much higher. Baseline geochemical data now enable a comparison to be made between environmental and human Se status, although a direct link is only likely to be seen if the population is dependent on the local environment for sustenance. This situation is demonstrated with an example from the work of the British Geological Survey in the Se-deficiency belt of China. The recent fall in the daily dietary Se intake in the UK is discussed in the context of human Se status and declining use of North American wheat in bread making. Generally, US wheat has ten times more Se than UK wheat, attributed to the fact that soils from the wheat-growing belt of America are more enriched in Se to a similar order of magnitude. In agriculture effective biofortification of crops with Se-rich fertilisers must be demonstrably safe to the environment and monitored appropriately and baseline geochemical data will enable this process to be done with confidence.

Selenium and iodine in soil, rice and drinking water in relation to endemic goitre in Sri Lanka

Endemic goitre has been reported in the climatic wet zone of south-west Sri Lanka for the past 50 years, but rarely occurs in the northern dry zone. Despite government-sponsored iodised salt programmes, endemic goitre is still prevalent. In recent years, it has been suggested that Se deficiency may be an important factor in the onset of goitre and other iodine deficiency disorders (IDD). Prior to the present study, environmental concentrations of Se in Sri Lanka and the possible relationships between Se deficiency and endemic goitre had not been investigated. During the present study, chemical differences in the environment (measured in soil, rice and drinking water) and the Se-status of the human population (demonstrated by hair samples from women) were determined for 15 villages. The villages were characterised by low (< 10%), moderate (10-25%) and high (> 25%) goitre incidence (NIDD, MIDD and HIDD, respectively). Results show that concentrations of soil total Se and iodine are highest in the HIDD villages, however, the soil clay and organic matter content appear to inhibit the bioavailability of these elements. Concentrations of iodine in rice are low (< or = 58 ng/g) and rice does not provide a significant source of iodine in the Sri Lankan diet. High concentrations of iodine (up to 84 microg/l) in drinking water in the dry zone may, in part, explain why goitre is uncommon in this area. This study has shown for the first time that significant proportions of the Sri Lankan female population may be Se deficient (24, 24 and 40% in the NIDD, MIDD and HIDD villages, respectively). Although Se deficiency is not restricted to areas where goitre is prevalent, a combination of iodine and Se deficiency could be involved in the pathogenesis of goitre in Sri Lanka. The distribution of red rice cultivation in Sri Lanka is coincident with the HIDD villages. Varieties of red rice grown in other countries contain anthocyanins and procyanidins, compounds which in other foodstuffs are known goitrogens. The potential goitrogenic properties of red rice in Sri Lanka are presently unknown and require further investigation. It is likely that the incidence of goitre in Sri Lanka is multi-factorial, involving trace element deficiencies and other factors such as poor nutrition and goitrogens in foodstuffs.

Selenium distribution in the local environment of selected villages of the Keshan Disease belt, Zhangjiakou District, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China

Abstract The distribution of Se in cultivated topsoils, grains, human hair and drinking water has been studied in 15 villages from a Keshan disease area of the Peoples Republic of China, villages being classified into 3 groups according to the Keshan disease incidence in the local population. In grain, hair and water the total Se follows expected trends; i.e. the highest concentrations are found in the villages where there is no incidence of Keshan disease. However, the soils from the high-incidence Keshan disease villages have the highest total Se content, an apparent contradiction, as Keshan disease is a response to a Se deficient environment. Soil analyses suggest that the organic content of the soils is a major factor in controlling the availability of Se and it is the high-incidence Keshan disease villages that have the most organic-rich soils. Although higher in total Se, the organic-rich soils have little bioavailable Se resulting in a Se deficient food chain. Soil pH is also seen to be a related factor in restricting the availability of Se and all the grain samples collected on soils with a pH

GSUE: urban geochemical mapping in Great Britain

The British Geological Survey is responsible for the national strategic geochemical survey of Great Britain. As part of this programme, the Geochemical Surveys of Urban Environments (GSUE) project was initiated in 1992 and to date, 21 cities have been mapped. Urban sampling is based upon the collection of top (0.05 to 0.20 m) and deeper (0.35 to 0.50 m) soil samples on a 500 m grid across the built environment (one sample per 0.25 km2). Samples are analysed for c. 46 total element concentrations by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, pH and loss on ignition as an indicator of organic matter content. The data provide an overview of the urban geochemical signature and because they are collected as part of a national baseline programme, can be readily compared with soils in the rural hinterland to assess the extent of urban contamination. The data are of direct relevance to current UK land use planning, urban regeneration and contaminated land legislative regimes. An overview of the project and applications of the data to human health risk assessment, water quality protection and contaminant source identification are presented.

Urban geochemical mapping studies: how and why we do them

Geochemical mapping is a technique rooted in mineral exploration but has now found worldwide application in studies of the urban environment. Such studies, involving multidisciplinary teams including geochemists, have to present their results in a way that nongeochemists can comprehend. A legislatively driven demand for urban geochemical data in connection with the need to identify contaminated land and subsequent health risk assessments has given rise to a greater worldwide interest in the urban geochemical environment. Herein, the aims and objectives of some urban studies are reviewed and commonly used terms such as baseline and background are defined. Geochemists need to better consider what is meant by the term urban. Whilst the unique make up of every city precludes a single recommended approach to a geochemical mapping strategy, more should be done to standardise the sampling and analytical methods. How (from a strategic and presentational point of view) and why we do geochemical mapping studies is discussed.

Chlorine and iodine, potential pathfinder elements in exploration geochemistry

Abstract Consideration of the geochemistry of Cl and I suggests that both elements would be useful pathfinders for hydrothermal mineralization. The results of published case studies indicate that these halogens form broad dispersion patterns in rocks and soils around many types of such mineral deposits. Simple and reliable automated photometric methods for the determination of these elements have been developed and sample preparation techniques are easily adapted to the rapid throughput of the large numbers of samples required for geochemical prospecting. Cold water extractable Cl and I in soils show strong correlation with total Cl and I concentrations and provide a rapid mthod for the detection of anomalies associated with mineralization.

Distribution of iodine in soils of Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT Using ED(P)-XRFS (Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry) analytical methodology, iodine is now routinely determined as part of a multi-element XRFS analysis package on samples (soils and stream sediments) collected for regional geochemical baseline mapping in the United Kingdom. For the first time, a high density regional geochemical map of iodine in soils is presented. These new data for iodine greatly increase the worldwide database for iodine in soils and the regional map of iodine offers an opportunity to better understand the factors that control its distribution in the surface environment. Iodine is often cited as the classic example of how a trace element deficiency in the environment affects human health, in the case of iodine endemic diseases collectively referred to as iodine deficiency disorders. The proximity to the sea coast, providing a supply of iodine via the atmosphere, and the organic content of the soil are seen as the two most important factors in determining the iodine status of the soil.

THE COLLECTION OF DRAINAGE SAMPLES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSES FROM ACTIVE STREAM CHANNELS

The collection of drainage samples from active stream channels for geochemical mapping is now a well-established procedure that has readily been adapted for environmental studies. This account details the sampling methods used by the British Geological Survey in order to establish a geochemical baseline for the land area of Great Britain. This involves the collection of stream sediments, waters and panned heavy mineral concentrates for inorganic chemical analysis. The methods have been adapted and used in many different environments around the world. Detailed sampling protocols are given and sampling strategy, equipment and quality control are discussed.