Humic substances and chemical speciation—implications on environmental geochemistry and health

Abstract

Humic substances in the environment play a major role in the speciation and geochemical mobility of chemical elements. The conversion of chemical species into toxic or non‐toxic forms has important implications on the health of individuals living in a particular geochemical habitat. The clear association of certain metals in the environment with the organic groups of humic substances has been studied from the point of view of the incidence of some geographically distributed diseases such as cancer, where selenium and molybdenum appear to play an important role.