PRELIMINARY STUDY OF NATURALLY OCCURRING ASBESTOSES EXPOSURE AND ITS ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS IN NORTH GEORGIA USING GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY

Medical Geology examines relationships between earth materials, geological processes, and their geospatial impacts on human health. The health effects of asbestos exposure has been studied for many years. Asbestos occurs in nature as fibrous silicate minerals. It is released into the environment when exposed fibers are crushed or broken which can cause adverse health effects when inhaled or ingested. Asbestos is considered harmless when undisturbed. Deforestation can release microscopic fibers into the air creating an environmental exposure of asbestos. These particles can get trapped in the lungs when inhaled. Overtime, scar tissue can build up and cancer could develop. Release of asbestos into the environment by deforestation could become a significant health risk to the people living in the North Georgia's Blue Ridge.

The goal of the project is to identify areas of newly exposed asbestos in North Georgia and determine the impact of deforestation in the Blue Ridge Region. Possible relationships between the exposure of asbestos containing soils and adverse environmental and health related effects will be investigated.

In Georgia, there are 52 locations for naturally occurring asbestos that have been identified by the United States Geological Survey. A kernel density map was created to show where the asbestos is concentrated in Georgia. Of the 52 asbestos sites located, 32 of those are within only four adjoining counties in Georgia's Blue Ridge making this the most abundant occurrence of asbestos in the eastern United States. This project’s area of interest include Rabun, White, Habersham, and Towns counties.

Satellite imagery, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, published geologic maps, and field studies are being used to locate the asbestos outcrops, visualize the effects of deforested areas, create a hotspot map, and select locations suitable for air sample collection and analysis by TEM to determine the risk for developing serious health problems related to asbestos exposure. Results will be used to determine life-time cancer risk for individuals living in the area.