This volume highlights important links existing between soils and human health which up to now are not fully realized by the public. Soil materials may have deleterious, beneficial or no impacts on human health; therefore, understanding the complex relationships between diverse soil materials and human health will encourage creative cooperation between soil and environmental sciences and medicine. The topics covered in this book will be of immense value to a wide range of readers, including soil scientists, medical scientists and practitioners, nursing scientists and staff, toxicologists, ecologists, agronomists, geologists, geochemists, public health professionals, planners and several others.

Chapter 1. Soil quality and human health.- Chapter 2. Medicinal uses of soil components, geophagia and podoconiosis.- Chapter 3. Impacts of soilborne particles on the environment and on humans.- Chapter 4. Soilborne gases and their influence on environment and human health.- Chapter 5. Impacts of reactive water-soluble forms of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus on environment and human health.- Chapter 6. Role of macro- and secondary elements for human health.- Chapter 7. Microelements and their role for human health.- Chapter 8. Role of potentially toxic elements in soils.- Chapter 9. Health risks associated with radionuclides in soil materials.- Chapter 10. Health risks associated with pesticides in soils.- Chapter 11. Health risks associated with organic pollutants in soils.- Chapter 12. Occurrence and fate of human and veterinary medicinal products.- Chapter 13. Soil as a transmitter of human pathogens.- Chapter 14. Soil as an environmental reservoir of prion diseases.