Welcome to the first edition of the Survey’s

electronic newsletter, dedicated to 

dissemination of current information on USGS 

health-related activities. The newsletter is 

intended to be an internal USGS document that 

will foster a sense of community among the 

many scientists and managers concerned with 

health-related issues. In future newsletters we 

will highlight some of the many exciting 

health-related research projects being 

conducted by USGS scientists. 

Epidemioecology (see box) is growing rapidly

within the USGS and within the geoscience 

community, as is evidenced by the signs of 

progress listed below. We are making visible 

progress in catching the attention of the public 

health community, beginning to have positive 

impact, and fully expect that interest in 

epidemioecology will continue to expand in the 

foreseeable future. 

USGS Director Chip Groat sent a very clear 

message of encouragement and support in his 

FY03 Director’s Annual Guidance. He said: 

 “We should look beyond what we are now 

describing as our human-health related 

activities to be sure we have identified all 

relevant efforts, and we should identify

opportunities, within existing funds, to expand 

the dimensions of this program.” 

Looking further to the future, the Director 

recommends a “Modest expansion of our 

human health initiative linked clearly to our 

core capabilities in environmental analysis and 

geospatial data systems.” 

Clearly, there is tremendous potential for the 

USGS to contrute to solutions for a wide range 

of environmental health problems. We hope 

that the Epidemioecology News may help with 

this effort by facilitating communications.

EPIDEMIOECOLOGY NEWS 

Volume 1, No. 1 May 2, 2002

What in the world is Epidemioecology?

We have been seeking a term that would adequately describe 

the health-related activities of the USGS. The challenge is 

finding a term that would include the wide range of scientific 

disciplines that the USGS embraces. We believe the term

epidemioecology is an appropriate, inclusive term that best 

describes what we are about.

Epidemiology is the branch of science that deals with the

incidence, distribution, and control of disease. It seeks to 

identify the factors controlling the presence or absence of 

disease or pathogens. Ecology is the branch of science 

concerned with the interrelationships between organisms and

their environment. Taken together, Epidemioecology is our 

term for the branch of science that seeks to identify the 

environmental factors that cause or control disease in living

they are not inclusive. 

y suggestions of terms that 

may better describe what we all do. 

organisms. 

Medical Geology, Medical Geography, etc. are valid terms

describing some of what we do but

We welcome your comments and an

Field Test kit 

for Arsenic in 

coal. An 

example of a 

practical 

solution to an 

environmental 

health 

problem. 

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Signs of Progress 

* A proposal for a National Conference on USGS Health-Related Research was one of eight 

activities selected for funding under the FY 2002 Collaborative Research Proposals process 

(Director’s Venture Capital fund). The conference will be held in Washington, D.C. in April, 

2003. A second health-related proposal, Integration of USGS data sets to support 

epidemiological research in agricultural chemical exposure and incidence of cancer in Iowa, 

was also selected for Venture Capital funding in FY 02. 

**Volunteers needed to help plan the Human Health Conference!!! 

If you’re interested please contact: Jan Hren 703-648-4480 or 

jhren@usgs.gov **

* The President’s FY 03 budget request includes a $1,000,000 increase for USGS to fund research 

on environmental health issues along the U.S.-Mexico border in collaboration with the National 

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. 

* The November 2001 issue of the GEOTIMES trade journal features "Geosciences and Human 

Health." The widely circulated magazine included a number of articles and stories about 

environmental health issues caused by geologic materials. 

* In the February 2002 issue of Scientific American, the term "Medical Geology" was used for the 

first time in a news note about USGS research on the health problems caused by residential coal 

combustion in China. 

* At the Annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in November 2001, the first 

symposium, on “Medical Geology,” was offered: The Emerging Discipline of Medical Geology

At the October 2002 annual meeting in Denver, the GSA will offer another symposium entitled 

Human Health Science and Geosciences: Bridging the Gap. And at a regional meeting in 

Lexington, KY(in April), there was a session on Geology and Public Health. 

* The Geological Survey of Japan and Geosciences Australia have asked the USGS to help them

develop “Medical Geology” programs. 

* The demand for health-related workshops has not abated. Jose Centeno of the Armed Forces 

Institute of Pathology, Bob Finkelman, USGS, and others presented two workshops on the 

“Health Impacts of Trace Elements” in Christchurch, NZ this past December. Workshops 

scheduled for Indonesia in February were postponed because of security concerns. Workshops 

will be presented at the University of Chile at Santiago and at Concepcion in April 2002. This 

will be the first workshop supported by the International Union of Geological Societies (IUGS) 

Medical Geology Working Group. Funding is coming from the grant that the International 

Committee on Scientific Unions gave to the IUGS.

* A Medical Geology text book being edited by Olle Selinus of the Swedish Geological Survey is 

making progress. Several USGS scientists are participating in this ground-breaking publication, 

scheduled date for publication in early 2003. 

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* The George Washington University in the nation’s Capital is planning to offer a certificate 

program in Medical Geology. The program will be a joint offering of the Department of Earth 

and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, 

USGS scientists have been involved on curriculum development. 

* Jose Centeno reports that the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology received approval from the 

American Registry of Pathology to establish a medical registry on medical geology. The Registry 

on Medical Geology serves as the liaison between the medical/pathology community and the 

earth sciences, environmental and public health professionals. The aims of the Registry on 

Medical Geology are to: 

1. facilitate the interactions between the medical/public health community and earth 

scientists, toxicologists, and specialists from other related areas; 

2. provide a centralized facility for the sharing of information, materials 

 and research projects on medical geology; 

3. provide opportunities for training (i.e., postdoctoral, postmedical, 

 visiting scientist/professor, etc.) on medical research with particular 

 emphasis on medical geology, environmental and environmental 

 epidemiology research; and 

4. develop educational materials, publications and activities (courses, 

 workshops, symposia, conference) on medical geology research topics. 

 

Jose says “This is an exciting opportunity that will provide us with the vehicle for spreading the 

word among the medical, clinical and public health scientists. To develop the objectives of this 

unique Registry in a timely fashion, I may call upon your assistance.” 

* The USGS was invited to participate in a workshop on “Environmental Health Indicators: 

Bridging the Chasm of Public Health and the Environment”. The workshop, sponsored by the 

National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine’s Roundtable on Environmental Health 

Sciences, Research, and Medicine, was held April 10-11 at the NAS auditorium in Washington, 

D.C. Pat Leahy, Associate Director for Geology, represented the USGS Director; Chip Groat, 

highlighting how earth science technology can assist public health. Other speakers included the 

honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Senator, and Dr. Eve Slater, assistant secretary, U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services. 

Recent Epidemioecology Newspaper Articles 

* Koreans Suffocating on China’s Desert Dust (The New York Times, April 14). 

* Study Says 8 Utilities’ Pollution Causes Premature Deaths (The Washington Post, April 18). 

* Arsenic Gets a Makeover – Arsenic, the Classic Poison, is Shaking off its Disreputable 

History Through Use in Drugs (Chilean News Review, April 5). 

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Upcoming Events 

1) The International Society for Ecosystem Health will host a conference in Washington, D.C. June 6-

11. The anticipated product is a document including a set of recommendations, clearly delineating 

the above interactively derived outcomes, to be published in a special issue of Ecosystem Health, the 

official journal of the International Society of Ecosystem Health. Anyone interested in attending the 

conference or participating in the Medical Geology Working Group contact Joe Bunnell 

(jbunnell@usgs.gov). This high-profile meeting will bring together a diverse group of natural and 

earth scientists, social scientists and economists -- approximately 1,000 registered participants are 

anticipated. Plenary speakers include E.O. Wilson, Paul Ehrlich, Theo Colborn, Andrew Dobson, 

David Schindler, Virginia Dale, and Bob Finkelman; David Suzuki will be giving the banquet 

keynote address. The conference will feature a Medical Geology Working Group. Participants will 

identify lessons learned, research gaps, priorities and directions for the future. The goals of the 

working group are to: 

* introduce the concept of Medical Geology as a legitimate 

 sub-discipline and familiarize participants with this emerging field’s 

 principles and approaches 

* present several key Case Studies as examples of early successes 

* engage participants in thorough discussions that will: 

1. identify lessons learned 

2. seek consensus on establishing research priorities

2) The Seventh International Symposium on Metal Ions in Biology and Medicine will be held in St 

Petersburg, Russia in May. 

3) The Sixth International Symposium on Environmental Geochemistry will be held in Edinburgh, 

Scotland 7-11 September, 2003. This should be a major conference bringing together scientists from

many different disciplines and societies all interested in epidemioecology (even if they don’t know it 

yet). 

____________________________________________________________________________________ 

**These websites have pertinent information on Epidemioecology**

* The Medical Geology website is supported by UNESCO and the International Union of 

Geological Sciences 

http://home.swipnet.se/medicalgeology

* The USGS Human Health website provides an opportunity to highlight and provide access to 

information about USGS health-related publications, project and programs, databases, and 

meetings/conferences. Please send any updates to or comments about the web site to Jan Hren 

(jhren@usgs.gov) 

http://www.usgs.gov/themes/environment_human_health.html

* Environmental Studies of the World Trade Center area after September 

http://greenwood.cr.usgs.gov/pub/open-file-reports/ofr-01-0429/

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The editors of this newsletter welcome 

* Suggestions on what to include in future newsletters 

* Suggestions on the newsletter format 

* E-mail addresses of USGS people who may be interested in receiving copies of the newsletter. 

(Note: subscribers will receive e-mail notification of future editions of the newsletter which will 

be posted on a USGS web site.) 

* Contributions

For comments or contributions contact Bob Finkelman (RBF@usgs.gov, x-6412) or Samara Holtzman 

(sholtzman@usgs.gov, x-6479).

These two 

mummies, several 

hundred to several 

thousand years old, 

are the remains of 

people who suffered 

from arsenosis in 

Chile and from air 

pollution in Europe. 

Without doubt, we

are but the latest in a 

long line of 

epidemioecologists. 

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