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Geochemistry and the Environment VOLUME I THE RELATION OF SELECTED TRACE ELEMENTS TO HEALTH AND DISEASE A Report of the Workshop at the Asilomar Conference Grounds Pacific Grove, California February 7-12, 1972 under the Auspices of the Subcommittee on the Geochemical Environment in Relation to Health and Disease U.S. National Committee for Geochemistry Division of Earth Sciences National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES WASHINGTON, D.C. 1974 !; ll r, 2 c 1974 . , ......
NOTICE: The project which is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, acting in behalf of the National Academy of Sciences. Such approval reflects the Board's judgment that the project is of national importance and ap- propriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. The members of the committee selected to undertake this project and prepare this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. Responsibility for the detailed aspects of this report rests with that committee. Each report issuing from a study committee of the National Research Council is reviewed by an independent group of qualified individuals according to procedures established and monitored by the Report Review Committee of the National Academy of Sciences. Distribution of the report is approved, by the President of the Academy, upon satisfactory completion of the review process. Table 27 in Chapter IX, Copper and Molybdenum, is reproduced with permission: Copyright© 1969, Midwest Plan Service, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Libmy of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Asilomar Workshop on the Geochemical Environment in Relation to Health and Disease, 1972. The relation of selected trace elements to health and disease. (Geochemistry and the environment, v. 1) "Under the auspices of the Subcommittee on the Geochemical Environment in Relation to Health and Disease, U.S. National Committee for Geochemistry. "Made possible by the National Science Foundation under contract NSF.C310, task order 206." Includes bibliographies. 1. Environment health-Congresses. 2. Trace elements-Congresses. 3. Medical geography-Congresses. I. U.S. National Committee for Geochemistry. Subcommittee on the Geochemical Environment in Relation to Health and Disease. U. Tide. 111. Series. [DNLM: 1. Geology- Congresses. 2. Trace elements-Congresses. QU130 G341 1972) RAS6S.G4S volt (RAS6S.Al) 612'.01S24'08s [612'.01524) ISBN 0-309~2223·1 74-13309 A vaiUJble from Printing and Publishing Office, National Academy of Sciences 2101 Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20418 Printed in the United States of America.
SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE GEOCHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT IN RELATION TO HEALTH AND DISEASE Membership at 1ime of Workshop Helen L. Cannon, Co-Chainnan Howard C. Hopps, Co-Chairman James E. Banta Kenneth C. Beeson George K. Davis Michael Fleischer L. Schuyler Fonaroff Carl Marienfeld Walter Mertz Paul M. Newberne Albert N. Bove, Executive Secretary Present Membership Ernest E. Angino, Co-Chairman Howard C. Hopps, Co-Chairman Helen L. Cannon George K. Davis K. Michael Hambidge Joe Kubota Walter Mertz Paul M. Newberne Harold H. Sandstead Raymond Siever Bobby G. Wixson William L. Petrie, Executive Secretary Biogeochemist Pathologist Epidemiologist Soil scientist Biochemist Geochemist Medical geographer Pediatrician/ epidemiologist Physician/nutritionist Veterinarian Geochemist Pathologist Biogeochemist Biochemist Pediatrician/nutritionist SoU scientist Physician/nutritionist Veterinarian Physician/nutritionist Geochemist Bioengineer U.S. Geological Survey, Denver University of Missouri Medical Center, Columbia University of Hawaii, Honolulu Sun City, Arizona University of Florida, Gainesville U.S. Geological Survey, Washington University of Maryland, College Park University of Missouri, Columbia Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge University of Kansas, Lawrence University of Missouri Medical Center, Columbia U.S. Geological Survey, Denver University of Florida, Gainesville University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver Soil Conservation Service, Ithaca Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks Harvard University, Cambridge University of Missouri, Rolla U.S. NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR GEOCHEMISTRY Klaus Keil, Chairman Ernest E. Angino Hubert L. Barnes Robert N. Clayton Stanley R. Hart Heinrich D. Holland JohnM. Hunt George W. Reed, Jr. George R. Tilton Hatten S. Yoder, Jr. Liaison Members Jon J. Connor M. Grant Gross Staff William L. Petrie June R. Galke University of New Mexico University of Kansas Pennsylvania State University University of Chicago Carnegie Institution of Washington Harvard University Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Argonne National Laboratory University of California, Santa Barbara Carnegie Institution of Washington U.S. Geological Survey, Denver National Science Foundation Executive Secretary Secretary iii
Preface This volume, which considers possible relationships be- tween the geographic distribution of certain elements and patterns of disease, is the fust of a trilogy on the environ- ment undertaken by the NAS-NRC Subcommittee on the Geochemical Environment in Relation to Health and Dis- ease. These studies are the outgrowth of the Dallas meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci- ence (AAAS) in 1968, where a few individuals resolved to further interdisciplinary consideration of ways to prove or disprove causal relationships between chemical elements in the environment and animal (including human) health. From the date of this original meeting, interest in the nat- ural and man-made occurrence of trace substances in the environment and their possible effect on health has grown by leaps and bounds. The Society for Environmental Geo- chemistry and Health has been established; a NAS-NRC subcommittee for furthering this interdisciplinary study has been set up; and a number of National Science Founda- tion grants and contracts have been made on trace contami- nants under the Research Applied to National Needs (RANN) program. Several symposia have been held and papers published, which furnish background information that may be of interest to the readers of this volume. These include the following titles: Cannon, H. L., and D. F. Davidson [eds]. 1967. ReltJ. tion of Geology and Trace Elements to Nutrition. (Sympo- v sium held at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America, New York, 1963.) Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Pap. No. 90. 67 pp. (Available at $4.25 from The Geological Society of America, 3300 Penrose Place, Boulder, Colorado 80301.) Cannon, H. L., and H. C. Hopps [eds]. 1971. Environ- mental Geochemistry in Health and Disease. (Symposium held at the AAAS meetings, Dallas, 1968.) Geol. Soc. Am. Mem. No. 123. 230 pp. (Available at $14 from The Geo- logical Society of America, 3300 Penrose Place, Boulder, Colorado 80301.) Hopps, H. C., and H. L. Cannon [eds]. 1972. Geochemi· col Environment in Relation to Health and Disease. (Con- ference held by the New York Academy of Sciences, New York, 1971.) Annals of the New York Academy of Sci- ences, Vol. 199. 352 pp. (Available at $25 + $0.35 postage from the New York Academy of Sciences, 2 East 63rd Street, New York 10021.) Cannon, H. L., and H. C. Hopps [eds]. 1972. Geochem- ical Environment in Relation to Health and Disease. (Sym- posium held at the AAAS meeting, Chicago, 1970.) Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Pap. No. 140. 77 pp. (Available at $4.00 from The Geological Society of America, 3300 Penrose Place, Boulder, Colorado 80301.) Hemphill, D. D. (ed]. Trace Substances in Environ- mental Health. (Annual Conferences held by the Univer- sity of Missouri Environmental Health Center, Columbia.
vi Preface Vol. I ( 1967). $2.00; Vol. II ( 1969), $3 .00; Vol. Ill ( 1970), $4.00; Vol. IV (1971), $5 .00; Vol. V (1972), $7.50; Vol. VI (1973), $7.50; Vol. VII (1974), $10.00. (Available from Publications Office B-9, Whitten Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65201.) Trace Elements The definition of a trace element depends on the point of view. Geologists and geochemists think of trace elements, in general, as those other than the eight abundant rock- forming elements found in the earth's crust (0, Si, AI, Fe, Ca, Na, K, and Mg). In minerals, trace elements are con- sidered to be those nonessential components found in small quantities, ordinarily comprising less than 1.0 percent of the mineral. Most biomedical researchers, however, consider trace elements to be those that are ordinarily present in plant or animal tissue in concentrations less than 0.01 per- cent of the organism. Although most trace elements are universally recognized as such, some of the abundant rock- forming elements, such as silicon and magnesium, are con- sidered trace elements in biomedical circles. To help avoid misunderstanding, the term "trace elements" is used in the biomedical sense in this report.
Acknowledgments The Asilomar Workshop on the Geochemical Environment in Relation to Health and Disease was made possible by the Division of Environmental Systems and Resources of the National Science Foundation under Contract NSF..C310, Task Order 206. The fmancial support provided by the Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. The Subcommittee acknowledges with special apprecia· tion the efforts of the manuscript reviewers-including Dr. Henry A. Schroeder, Dartmouth Medical School; Dr. Philip H. Abelson, Carnegie Institution of Washington; Dr. Jon J. Connor, U.S. Geological Survey-and other members of vii the Division of Earth Sciences, the U.S. National Committee for Geochemistry, and panel members of the Division of Medical Sciences. Their comments and suggestions have been invaluable. The Subcommittee wishes to thank the participants and the chairmen of the various work groups for their contribu- tions in time, effort, and scientific expertise without which this publication would not have been possible. The Tech· nical Editor, Paul M. Newbeme, was assisted by Mrs. Muriel Duggan and by members of the Subcommittee in editing the material derived from the workshop deliberations.
Contents INTRODUCTION Helen L. Cannon, Worlahop Cluzimuln 1 I OVERVIEW Howard C. Hopps, Cluzimuln 3 Ernest E. Angino, James E. Banta, Kenneth C. Beeson, Donald J. Horvath, Richard Janda, Everett A. Jenne, Robert Tardiff, and E. J. Underwood II FLUORINE Michael Fleischer, Chaimum 22 Richard M. Forbes, Robert C. Harriss, Lennart Krook, and Joe Kubota III IODINE Michael Fleischer, Chaimum 26 Richard M. Forbes, Robert C. Harriss, Lennart Krook, and Joe Kubota IV CHROMIUM Walter Mertz, Chairman 29 Ernest E. Angino, Helen L. Cannon, K. Michael Hambidge, and A. Wouter Voors v LITHIUM Walter Mertz, Chainnan 36 Ernest E. Angino, Helen L. Cannon, K. Michael Hambidge, and A. Wouter Voors VI CADMIUM, ZINC, Harold H. Sandstead, Chairman 43 AND LEAD William H. Allaway, Richard G. Burau, William Fulkerson, Herbert A. Laitinen, Paul M. Newberne, James 0. Pierce, and Bobby G. Wixson VII SELENIUM James E. Oldfield, Chairman 57 William H. Allaway, Herbert A. Laitinen, Hubert W. Lakin, and 0. H. Muth viii
