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Helen L. Cannon

Publications and source records attributed to Helen L. Cannon.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1971

The geochemist’s involvement with the pollution problem

The geochemist can contribute much information of value toward assessing the effect of environment, including inorganic pollution, on health. The average composition of rocks, soils, plants, and water and also the increments of inorganic substances that can be expected in geologic environments of high-metal content are essential for comparison with metal contents of these components of the environment in areas contaminated by various types of inorganic air and water pollution. Background levels of lead, zinc, nickel, chromium, copper, and manganese in soils and in four classes of vegetation have been estimated from collections that were made in remote areas presumed to be free from inorganic contamination. The trace-metal content of soils and plants varies widely in different geologic provinces of the United States; in those areas of high natural mineralization, additions of metals from man-made pollution may compound a possible hazard. Results of sampling in urban areas show that contamination of vegetation by gasoline lead can be expected for at least 1000 ft back from transportation lanes, and that the lead burden is increasing greatly with time. Ore-treatment plants can also be a source of air contamination for several miles downwind and several thousand feet in other directions. Soils of naturally high metal content in a mining district may be further contaminated with both major and minor elements from smelting operations. Recent studies show that volatile elements are released directly to the air from ore deposits in place. Concentrations of mercury, for instance, may be as much as 20 times background for several hundred feet in altitude over ore deposits in which mercury occurs as a relatively minor constituent. The source of inorganic pollution in surface drainage and also in ground water is commonly geologic, as rivers may be contaminated from coal and metal deposits in place and also from mining and smelting operations. More information of the type illustrated should be accumulated and made available to scientists who are working in environmental health, and, in particular, to those involved in the pollution problem. Only by these means can we provide a scientific basis for the enactment of realistic and effective legislation for pollution control.

Book chapter↗
USGS1970

Minor metals of the geochemical environment, health and disease

The possibility of causal relationships between environmental factors and the occurrence of many degenerative diseases is slowly being recognized. One aspect of the environment -- that concerned with the geochemistry of the rocks, soils, plants, and water -- should be studied carefully and the distribution of minor elements be compared with geographic patterns of animal and human health and disease.

Science↗
USGS1962

Biogeochemistry of vanadium

Vanadium is known to occur in soils as vanadates of copper, zinc, lead, uranium, ferric iron, manganese, calcium, and potassium. Vanadium replaces aluminum in clays and occurs in porphyrin complexes in bituminous sediments. Small amounts of vanadium are stimulating to plants; large amounts are toxic. Ten to 20 ppm vanadium in nutrient solution is commonly harmful to plants, but larger amounts can be tolerated by specific legumes, which use vanadium in the nitrogen-fixation process. Old wood in vegetation contains more vanadium than young wood, and roots contain the greatest accumulations. Herbs are more efficient accumulators of vanadium than trees and shrubs. Allium and some species of Astragalus, Castilleja, and Chrysothamnus are shown to be accumulators of vanadium. The vanadium content of plants rooted in highly calcic soils is very low, and that of plants rooted in seleniferous soils is high. Outdoor plot experiments verify a decrease in the presence of selenium. The absorption and translocation of vanadium by several plant species was found to be in direct ratio to that of selenium. Plant species that absorb large amounts of calcium are most tolerant of high-vanadium soils as the vanadium is precipitated in the root. Vanadium occurs in all animals and is accumulated in large amounts by Ascidians and by Holothuroidians. Vanadium is probably essential to vertebrates. Vanadium has been shown to decrease dental caries in animals and children. Vanadium inhibits the biosynthesis of cholesterol in both animals and man. Seleniferous areas in the western conterminous United States may support vegetation that contains large amounts of vanadium. Many areas of this country on the other hand may be nutritionally deficient in vanadium.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1954

Botanical prospecting for uranium on La Ventana Mesa, Sandoval County, New Mexico

A botanical sampling program has been completed by the U.S. Geological Survey on La Ventana Mesa, Sandoval County, N. Mex. A uranium-bearing coal in the Allison-Gibson members of the Cretaceous Mesaverde formation crops out in erosional remnants of the mesa.The coal is capped by a well-fractured 65-foot sandstone bed through which roots of a pinyon-juniper forest penetrate. Samples of several hundred branches of trees growing on top of the mesa were collected and analyzed for uranium. The assays ranged from 0.1 part per million to 2.3 ppm uranium in the wood ash. Dead branches, which were found to contain more uranium in the ash than live branches, were sampled where possible. The results have been contoured to indicated probable areas of mineralized coal. Parts of the north butte are recommended as favorable for physical exploration.

New Mexico↗
USGS1951

Preliminary report on geobotanical exploration in the Yellow Cat District, Grand County, Utah

Two geobotanical methods of prospecting have been applied to the search for uranium deposits in the Yellow Cat district, Grand County, Utah. The first method is based on the absorption and accumulation of uranium by plants from underlying uranium deposits. To demonstrate this method, several hundred samples of Juniperus monosperma, Atriplex confert ifolia, and Cowania mexicana were collected in the district and analyzed for their uranium content. Plants containing significant amounts of uranium are considered to indicate mineralized ground. The second method of prospecting is based on the relation of selenium-indicator plants of the genera Astragalus and Stanleya to mineralized ground. Chemical analyses show that selenium is associated with the uranium and vanadium in the ore deposits. Distribution maps of the selenium-indicator plants, Astragalus confertiflorus. A. Pattersonii, A. Preussii var. arctus, and Stanleya pinnata, are included in this report. Outlines of favorable ground in the Yellow Cat district determined by these data are drawn on the maps.

Utah↗