The elimination of negative impact of geological compound of the environment on health status of residents in the Krupina district, the Slovak Republic

Character of geological environment is generally reflected in diverse geochemical background, emitting chemical elements of different composition into groundwater, soils, food chain. These elements have either a positive or... [ view full abstract ]

Character of geological environment is generally reflected in diverse geochemical background, emitting chemical elements of different composition into groundwater, soils, food chain. These elements have either a positive or negative impact on human health. The Krupina district is located among Neogene volcanics identified by previous studies as the most unfavourable geological environment for human health due to deficit contents of Ca and Mg in groundwater / soils. This is probably reflected in worse health state of population in the Krupina district identified as one of the most unfavourable in Slovakia (increased mortality for cardiovascular and oncological diseases).
The main objective of the project is to improve the health state of the population of the Krupina district. The basic datasets for further analysis consist of environmental indicators (contents of chemicals in groundwater and soils) and health indicators (data on mortality).Through linking of both datasets (via neural networks) limit values for drinking (ground) water and soils, maximum acceptable and minimum contents necessary for human organism, will be defined. Biomonitoring including hair / nail analysis and arterial stiffness measurements is realized to confirm relationship between geological environment and health state residents. Implementation of set of measures including realization of simple technological actions to increase Ca and Mg content in drinking water, legislative measures and increase of public awareness through dissemination will lead to the improvement of the health state of the residents.
The project is supported by the EU Life+ programme (LIFE12 ENV/SK/094) and Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic.