HR: 0830h
AN: V51D-0315    [PDF]
TI: Mineralogical Studies Related to Endemic Diseases in Rural P. R. China
AU: * Belkin, H E
EM: hbelkin@usgs.gov
AF: U.S. Geological Survey, 956 National Center, Reston, VA 20192 United States
AU: Zheng, B
AF: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemisty, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, GZ 550002 China
AU: Finkelman, R B
EM: rbf@usgs.gov
AF: U.S. Geological Survey, 956 National Center, Reston, VA 20192 United States
AB: Domestic combustion of coal for heating and cooking is mostly confined to the world's developing countries and probably involves about 1 billion persons in China, India, Indonesia, and Africa. Various endemic diseases affecting millions of people involving arsenic, selenium, and fluorine poisoning have been associated with domestic coal combustion in rural China. We have investigated the relationship between mineralized coals (and stone coals) and disease occurrences in Guizhou and Hubei Provinces. The mineralogy of the coals has been studied by a wide variety of techniques, including optical petrography, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, ion probe, Synchrotron XANES-EXAFS, and Raman spectroscopy. Arsenic enrichment (up to 3 weight percent) in Upper Permian Longtan Formation coals, southwestern Guizhou Province, occurs in both 3+ and 5+ valence states. Arsenic occurs in arsenopyrite, pyrite, Al-phosphate, scorodite, Fe-oxides, and as an organically-bound species. Fluorine poisoning, much more widespread than arsenic-poisoning, is related to burning F-rich coals and F-rich clays as admixtures. Mineralogical and chemical analysis suggests that the clays contain the fluorine probably substituting for the hydroxyl group. Localized selenium poisoning in Hubei Province is related to Se-rich stone coals. The selenium occurs as a native element and in rare mandarinoite. In these three cases, knowledge of the paragenesis and mineralogy of the element enrichment in coal was vital to help understand and mitigate the endemic diseases. For the situation concerning arsenic and selenium poisoning, suspect coals have been identified and mining from these deposits has been curtailed. Fluorine has been a much more difficult problem for the local public health officials as both the coal and clay in the burning admixture can contain high fluorine. Regional geochemical and mineralogical studies will help to define coal and clay with low fluorine, suitable for domestic use.
DE: 3625 Descriptive mineralogy
DE: 3699 General or miscellaneous
DE: 4857 Pollution
DE: 9320 Asia
SC: Volcanology, Geochemistry, Petrology [V]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting