In the field of medical geology, bioavailability and risk assessments are two important aspects that need serious consideration. The mere presence of a toxic trace element or a species in a specific locality for example, does not necessarily imply a serious health hazard. The nature of the species concerned and the bioavailability of the species are the main factors that influence the impact of an environmental chemical species on human and animal health. The bioaccumulation of the species concerned is an important step in the food chain and the processes controlling it needs to be well understood.
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dissanayake, C., Chandrajith, R. (2009). Bioavailability of Trace Elements and Risk Assessment. In: Introduction to Medical Geology. Erlangen Earth Conference Series. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00485-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00485-8_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-00484-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-00485-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)