Aa. Kist et al., MAPPING OF ECOLOGICALLY UNFAVORABLE TERRITORIES BASED ON HUMAN HAIR COMPOSITION, Biological trace element research, 64(1-3), 1998, pp. 1-12
As was shown (1), analysis of human hair on the population level and m
apping of large territories using hair elemental composition are promi
sing approaches for estimation of both the environmental situation and
the population health status. In (1,2) the map of Uzbekistan (samplin
g in 1981) was discussed. Ten years later (1991), samples from the ter
ritory in the vicinity of the drying out Aral Sea were taken again. Sa
mples were analyzed for 24 elements using instrumental neutron activat
ion analysis. Comparison of the data and maps drawn for 1981 and 1991
and their comparison with changes of the health status have shown that
repeated mapping of territories using data on human hair elemental co
mposition could be used in medical geography, especially for predictio
n of health status changes in ecologically unfavorable areas.