A book review; "Rare earth elements in human and environmental health; at the crossroads between toxicity and safety"

Abstract

It is introduced an outstanding book about an important topic in occupational and environmental sciences i.e., the opportunities and challenges that may be connected with increasing the use and distribution of rare earth elements. These chemically similar elements, comprising the lanthanides, scandium, and yttrium, are involved in a number of essential technological applications, and their effects raise a number of human health issues of relevance to the occupational and environmental sciences. The book that I introduced here, "Rare Earth Elements in Human and Environmental Health; At the Crossroads between Toxicity and Safety" edited by Giovanni Pagano (Pan Stanford Publishing Pte. Ltd., Temasek Boulevard, Singapore) represents a break from that situation. It is essential to increase our knowledge about the environmental fate and biological effects of these technologically important metals in order to prevent unforeseen long-term manmade consequences to human health. This book is likely to become an important resource for scientists, engineers, and decision makers who understand the need for sensible exploitation of this resource.

Rare Earth Elements in Boletus edulis (King Bolete) Mushrooms from Lowland and Montane Areas in Poland

“…The term rare-earth elements (REEs) includes La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu—all of the lanthanides series [ 1 ]. Scandium (Sc) and yttrium (Y) are also studied in foods and environmental materials and considered together with the REEs [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The REEs, Sc and Y occur in soil at relatively low concentrations and their mineral deposits worldwide are limited, thus they are considered critical metals [ 5 , 6 ].…”