Cannon H L, Petrie W L
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1979 Dec 11;288(1026):137-49. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1979.0096.
Either an overabundance or a deficiency of trace metals in the food chain can ultimately affect adversely the health of livestock and man. Increasing interest in the United States in the distribution of metals in the environment and in metal pollutants has led to widespread interdisciplinary research sponsored by governmental, private and academic groups concerning the availability of trace elements for absorption by plants and animals, and the effects of trace elements throughout the food chain. The state of the art and the needs for research are reviewed by interdisciplinary committees in the National Academy of Sciences and in many government agencies. Research is encouraged through contracts and grants awarded by federal and state agencies and the National Science Foundation to universities for studies of specific metals, specific diseases and correlations between metals and health in specific geographic areas. Effects on the environment of coal-fired power plants, the mining and processing of metals, asbestos, and phosphate, and the disposal of industrial and nuclear wastes have also received much attention in the past few years.
食物链中微量金属的过量或缺乏最终都会对牲畜和人类的健康产生不利影响。美国对环境中金属分布和金属污染物的兴趣日益浓厚，这引发了由政府、私人和学术团体赞助的广泛跨学科研究，内容涉及植物和动物吸收微量元素的有效性以及微量元素在整个食物链中的影响。美国国家科学院和许多政府机构的跨学科委员会对当前的技术水平和研究需求进行了审查。联邦和州机构以及美国国家科学基金会通过合同和拨款鼓励大学开展研究，以研究特定金属、特定疾病以及特定地理区域内金属与健康之间的相关性。过去几年，燃煤发电厂、金属的开采和加工、石棉、磷酸盐以及工业和核废料处置对环境的影响也受到了广泛关注。
