Russia

IMGA Regional Division Russia- NIS

The first Regional Division established in July 2006

ROSGEO MEDICAL GEOLOGY DIVISION

In implementation of the decisions of the XXXII session of the International Geological Congress by the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia (Deputy Director of the Department of Geology and Mineral Resources and State Policy and Regulation, Nickolai V. Miletenko), the Russian Geological Society (RosGeo, President Victor P. Orlov, Vice-President Evgeny G. Farrahov), Fedorovsky All-Russian Research Institute for Mineral Resources (VIMS, Deputy Director Dr. Igor G. Pechenkin, Science Secretary Dr. Iosif F. Volfson, Dr. Georgy V. Ostroumov, Dr. Galina A. Sidorenko) and subdivisions of the Russian Academy of the Medical Sciences (RAMS) and the Russian Medical Society (RMS, President of RAMS and RMS Academician Valentin Pokrovsky), Russian State Medical University (RGMU, Rector Academician Vladimir N. Yarygin, Dr. Yelena V. Kremkova), Sysin Scientific-Research Institute of Human Ecology and Environmental Hygiene (Director, Academician of RAMS Youri A. Rakhmanin, Deputy Director, Member Correspondent of RAMS Nickolai V. Rusakov), the creation of MEDICAL GEOLOGY DIVISION on the base of RosGeo was initiated.

The RosGeo MEDICAL GEOLOGY DIVISION (MGD) was created on March 2005 at a meeting between the representatives of geological and medical communities, which took place in Fedorovsky All-Russian Research Institute for Mineral Resources (VIMS, Moscow), and which coincided with memories of professor Nathan I. Ginzburgh, a famous Russian mineralogist. MGS was established on the basis of an initial agreement between Russian Geological Society (RosGeo) and Russian Medical Society (RMS). The agreement is accompanied with six sections related to:
a. Scopes and Ranges of the MGS.
b. Organizational structure.
c. List of presidium and section members.
d. Procedure by which members of the presidium and/or of the section are elected.
e. Basic organizations.
f. Foreign scientists, practitioners, and membership of citizens in MGS.

MGS is a single organization, legally accredited to represent the Russian Federation in International Medical-Geology Association (IMGA), a coordinating organ which was founded on decision XXXII session of the International Geological Congress at August 2004 in Florence (Italy).

MGS is a voluntary association of the scientists – geologists, geochemists, mineralogists, geophysicists, physicians, chemists, biologists, microbiologists, and others who study the affects of geological processes, objects, phenomena, materials (minerals, ores, volcano emissions, atmospheric dust, water and elements, falling into their composition and etc.) and other natural as well as terms under which such affect becomes possible.

The purpose of MGS is not to compete with other associations of scientists. Instead, it strives to bring together specialists, scientists and practitioners working in different areas of knowledge, unite their efforts, and fill the new content given the rapidly developing direction of the science.

The main purpose of MGS RosGeo activities is to comprehensively support the studies in the field of medical geology on territory of the Russian Federation. The primary tasks of MGS are:
Organization and assistance of, and participation WITH, Russian scientists and practitioners in actions, planned and realized by International Medical Geology Association (IMGA);
Development and realization of the measures on financial support of the research programs in the field of medicine and geology in Russia;
Realization of the regional and international cooperation in the field of medicine, geology and health,
Fundamental basis development and preparation for teaching in both higher medical and geological schools of the subject “Medical Geology”;
Realization of the measures of financial support for students and young scientists, occupied by studies in the field of medicine and geology;
Training programs, manual development and undertaking of workshops and courses on Medical Geology in the system of postgraduate education for persons responsible for decision making in the field of environmental protection and health of the people;
Making the terms for expanding the achievements of Russian and foreign scientists, working in geological and adjacent fields, through publications in Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia, Ministry of Health Protection of Russia, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences editions and issues with the following preparing its own periodic magazine;
Preparation and publishing of a collective monograph on medical geology.

THE 3-d SYMPOSIUM ON "BIO-INERT INTERACTIONS: LIFE AND ROCK". 26-27 JUNE 2007. SAINT-PETERSBURG, RUSSIA.

The third Symposium on "Bio-Inert Interactions: Life and Rock" held on 26-27 June 2007 at the State Saint-Petersburg University. This highly successful series started in Saint-Petersburg (Russia) in 2002 and held in 2004. This event became one of the most remarkable in the IMGA list of activities on 2007. Symposium has become true due to active scientific and organizing activity of our dear colleagues from Saint-Petersburg Society of Naturalists (established in 1868, President of Society Dr. Archil Dondua) and from State Saint-Petersburg University, Geochemistry Chair (Head of the Chair, Dr. Vladimir Gavrilenko, Science Secretary, Dr. Elena Panova), done so much that symposium has got the status regularly conducted international scientific forum.

This forum has become very popular with scientist and practical person from Russia, N.I.S. and many foreign countries. More than 50 scientists have arrived to participate at Symposium this summer - geologists, environmentalists, microbiologists, chemists, soil scientists, physicians from Ukraine, Germany, and from Russian scientific centers of Moscow, Kazan, Omsk, Tomsk, Syktyvkar and etc. Besides, author's list counts more than 160 persons, supported this forum with their participation in the form of thesis on declared themes, which were contributed into symposium proceedings.
The greetings for participants from International Medical Geology Association Chair Dr. Olle Selinus and from President of Russian Geological Society, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Dr. Victor Orlov were presented before forum start. Greetings were perceived participants with thanks.

Another remarkable event, included in the programme of Symposium, became presentation of monographic "Bio-Inert Interactions: Life and Rock" for scientific community. Composed on the basis of materials of preceding symposia, taken place in 2002 and in 2004, presented book contains for the first time in N.I.S., a chapter titled as "Medical geology", which highlights the significance of urgent and fast developing scientific branch.
The Symposium theme: "Stone in living organism. Mineralogy - medicine - pharmacology" with new branch – “Medical geology” had also big success with participants.

Medical geology attempts to unite different branches of medicine and geology into a comprehensive system of knowledge and inquiry in order to study the health of living organisms. Currently the most important fields within Russia – NIS are: geological and geochemical aspects of medical geology, development of methods of monitoring researches in medical geology, medical mineralogy, medical radiogeology and etc.

Geological and geochemical aspects of medical geology were presented in oral presentations titled as “Hydrogenic ore-forming process as element of medical and geological mapping”, by IMGA RD Russia – NIS Chair Dr. Iosif Volfson in cooperation with Dr. Igor Pechenkin, Dr. Evgenii Farrakhov (all from Moscow), and Dr. Julia Plotkina (Saint-Petersburg), and in oral presentations titled as “Geological activity of the Earth is main disaster to humanity”, by Dr. Felix Roisenman, Berlin.

Unlike deserted underpopulated territories of the South Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, the consequences of the toxic elements effect such, as U, Se, Mo, As, Tl, Cd, Hg, methane and etc., which arrive to the subsurface geosphere from deep bowels, on the people health, is not so obviously, population of the number of the regions of the World, geographically gravitated to active tectonic belts of the Earth: India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Chile, Mexico, Serbia and others, are subjected to the influence of natural toxicants, which cause integer spectrum of the diseases: skin lesions, neurological, oncological, urological, diabetes and etc. The geodynamic situations of the West-Turkmen trough and the Kopetdag thrust, conditioning high concentration of natural тoxic elements and compounds formation, can be used for the modeling and geological and ecological mapping of the most dangerous areas for permanent and temporary residence identification in connection with manifestation of geological factors and objects which affect human health.

Geological factors in the framework of the problem of geological hazard related to environmental and social problem, as well as human health was represented by Dr. F. Roisenman. He has highlighted the relationship and strong dependence between geological processes and geological activity of different periods of geological history of the Earth, from one side, with the human history and human society development, from the other side. .
Development of methods of monitoring researches in medical geology was demonstrated on the basis of results got by Ukrainian researchers. Our colleagues from Ukraine (Dr. Igor Komov, Dr. Ivan Schramenko) revealed that anomalously high level of aeroions can manifest and direct on the presence of sources of ionizing emission and, first of all, radon in the certain accommodation. For their researches Dr. Igor l. Komov, and Dr. Ivan Schramenko were awarded with the Premium of the Government of Republic of Ukraine.

Theme “Minerals in the human organism” has become one of the most popular with participants. The results of research of gallstones, dental and salivary calculi, urinolithes with the help of thermodynamic calculation of conditions formation of stones, ICP MS, NAA and many other methods allowed to reveal dependence in quantity of microelements of different geochemical associations in pathogenic mineral formations of patients living in rural and urban areas, or in accordance of their professional occupation. The got results of the study of mineral and element composition of pathogenic minerals in human organism have allowed to the authors to make a conclusion about possible contribution of the environmental factors in the origin of cholelithiasis, kidney diseases, urine tract diseases and etc.

Big attention of participants was shared to the problem of medical mineralogy in term of nanomineralogy (minerals and their nano forms effect on human health). The analysis of world data on new scientific and technical branches of applied nanotechnology for the decision of environmental and human health problems is conducted. The extremely important current problem is nanogeochemistry, nanomineralogy and nanotechnology development in the aspect of preventive measures and treatments efficiency main environmental, occupational and associated diseases, pharmacology, decision-making, improvement of the ecological situation.

A group of scientists from Tomsk (Siberia) Dr. Leonid Rikhvanov, Dr. Nina Volkova, Dr. Veniamin Volkov from Siberian State University and from Tomsk Polytechnic University, represented results of their investigation on the newest biomineralisation factor – nanobacterium, in the abstract titled as “Nanobacteria in drinking water is the urgent environmental factor”. A review contains the information on discovery and perspectives of investigations of the new class of bacteria covered with carbonate-apatite shell, which became known as nanobacteria in the recent time. Nanobacteria is widely spread in the nature. This phenomena had been discovered by the Professor of Geology of Texas University Robert Folk first and its discovery and identification in human being belonged to researchers from Finland (Kajander E.O. et al, 1998). This discovery gives opportunity and creates the wide perspectives to revise the nature of different diseases, including adenoma prostate, nephritis, endemic goiter and many others.
Therapeutic use of minerals is historically popular branch of medical geology with scientists and practical persons from Russia and NIS.
Therapeutic use of amber and clays was considered by Dr. Maxim Bogdasarov of Belarus in his abstract titled as “Use of amber in medicine”, by IMGA member, Dr. Abdulkhak Faiziev of Tajikistan in his abstract titled as “Medical aspects of appliance of Tadzhikistan bentonites”. Both authors emphasized the significance of natural mineral formations in prophylactics and treatment of integer spectrum of diseases including immune system disorders, neurological disorders, dental problems, diseases of gastrointestinal tract and etc.

Some words in conclusion of this review.
The Organizing Committee decision about that the fourth Symposium on "Bio-Inert Interactions: Life and Rock" will be organized in June of 2010 was accepted all participants with approval. Symposium becomes regularly conducted scientific forum.
One of the notable event of the forum, which have just applied, will become geological excursion to the South Finland.
On behalf of Organizing Committee I invite all of the Readers and their colleagues to participate in the International Symposium, which will take place in 2010 for the fourth time, in Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

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Written by Iosif Volfson and Katya Shelekhova
(IMGA RD Russia – NIS)
International Links of IMGA RD Russia – NIS.
Some words about the Scientist.

Who are you, Dr. Paul?

On the April 24, 2007 in the Vernadsky State Geological Museum (Moscow, Russia) there passed a meeting of the representatives of Russian geological community with widely known scientist, geologist, public and religious figure Dr. Wolfgang Paul (USA), where the presentation of his book Mining Lore - An Illustrated Composition and Documentary Compilation With Emphasis on the Spirit and History of Mining took place.

Everyone, who came this day in the Vernadsky State Geological Museum, has felt the amazing metamorphoses. It was created a sense of the holiday - a Day of European Mining Man. Before an official part of the meeting has started, a hero of the day, dressed in the uniform of European Mining Man - a black tunic with gilt button, cape, velvet blackening oversea cap with hummers and the golden cross on bosom, symbolizing attribute of the Christian miner’s mission attracted attention of geologists of different generations. Having cognitions in English, he easy got information in this language. If someone wanted to speak in French then there came a younger daughter of Wolfgang Heidi, a gifted woman, a school teacher and interpreter, with three languages, a poetess, who was accompanying her father in the trip. All attendees wanted the contacts. The desire of them was to do something good and pleasing to this elderly, but of very strong spirit representative of our profession.

Many of them, having recalled school lessons, with pleasure communicated with Wolfgang in German. This is because Wolfgang originally from Germany. In mid 1950-ies he moved to the USA from Austria, where he conducted successful scientific researches in the field of environmental geochemistry and medical geology, studying oil shale and deposits of moor, one of which, Neudharting, became the base of the world known international balneology and SPA-resort. On the basis of the results of his and colleagues researches he has written two books which are closely connected with medical geology – emerging fast growing branch of environmental geosciences and medical and biological sciences.

The one is a purely technical work, originally in ten separate volumes, now combined in one single tome, called: MINERALOGICAL AND BIO-GEO-CHEMICAL RESEARCH WORKS 1949-1959 (A Contribution to Mining Engineering and Health Research, By Wolfgang Paul in cooperation with Helmut Paul [Wolfgang’s brother], 2002 Edition.)

Another one, called: Healing Earth: Moor. (By Paul Wolfgang. Printed in the United States of America by Metropolitan Press, Portland, Oregon. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 77-93016, First Edition, 2000.) Certain kinds of earths have been successfully used for healing purposes down through the ages. However, only in recent years extensive scientific research in regard to therapeutic earths has taken place. The most (and dramatic) results are included in HEALING EARTH: MOOR. It includes translation of some 100 expert opinions and statements plus historical considerations and scientific, medical and general treaties in a condensed, concise form.

However we should return to a book Mining Lore. Its way to a reader was difficult. It has taken nearly ten years. This was a nonprofit project, required incredible tenacity, will, work on which the complicated circumstance of Wolfgan’s private life has coincided. His bride Ursula Edelman lived in the German Democratic Republic behind the Iron Curtain, not having possibility to get the exit visa in the USA. Paul has overcome circumstances by great efforts, got married and solved the problems with publishing the book, which has seen the light in 1970. Obviously so Wolfgang names it “Fruit of big Love”. Exactly this complimentary copy of his book, MINING LORE author presented to the Vernadskii State Geological Museum.

MINING LORE - An Illustrated Composition and Documentary Compilation With Emphasis on the Spirit and History of Mining, a 940-page reference work, including 450 pictures, many of them quite rare - a "spiritual mine of breadth and depth," representing, at the same time, a universal document, a general heritage of our profession going back to the very beginning. A significant part of the tome is devoted to history of Medical Geology, with great respect to Georgius Agricola, father of mineralogy and medical mineralogy.

The Geology and Mining Sciences are not the single area of interest of Dr. Paul. At young age in Germany he has outlived the war and miraculously along with his family has avoided to ruins, having become convinced antifacist and pacifist. He has written a lot on history and politics of European states and the USA. He studies different philosophical and historian-religious aspects of the development geological and adjacent branches. He is one of the founders of United European Mining and Metallurgical Associations (American Division), which members are 3.5 mln. geologists, miners and metalworker of the World, director of professional North-American subdivision of this organizations. He is a Pastor of Miner’s Christian Mission Celefodina (the Blessed Depths (Bowels), tr. from Latin). The scientists of Russia elected him as foreign member of Russian Geological Society Medical Geology Division, which is an official body, plenipotentiary to present Russia in the International Medical Geology Association.

His credo as public figure is concluded in that is geological community is international itself. In its frame spirit of the friendship, not knowing neither administrative, nor geographical borders was flourishing.

Answering the question, put in the title of the article, we now can give the unambiguous answer: Wolfgang Paul is a carrier of European cultural treasure, amongst which mining sciences with their history and spiritual tradition for many years before until current time has occupied a leading place.

Photo 1 (AUTHOR: ZOYA ANTONOVA): Dr. Wolfgang Paul presents his book MINING LORE
Photo 2-3(AUTHOR: ZOYA ANTONOVA): Dr. Wolfgang Paul and Dr. Gennadii KAlABIN, Director of the Vernadsky State Geological Museum, PROFESSOR (Moscow, Russia), after presentation.