From water-rock interactions to the DNA: a review of selenium issues

Abstract

International audienceThe increase of the world population in the very near future with 9 billion individuals by 2050 that need to be fed, and soaring urbanization, leads to increasing pressure on water resources, both in terms of quantity and quality. Health and environmental concerns cross society as well as research; water-quality questions are important issues, and those related to selenium are increasingly so. Many discussions focus on the permissible quantities and value of the standard for drinking water of 10 µg.L-1 , because the safety margin between nutritional requirements and toxic effects is complex to establish. Transdisciplinary approaches integrating current scientific issues to provide consistent answers to the multiple questions arising on Se origins, mechanisms and toxicity are needed. New approaches involve multi-scales studies of Se dynamics and transfer processes from host rock to groundwater and, through the soil and drinking water, to the human population and an evaluation of its effects from deficiency to excess. Finally, the measures required to achieve water standards or recover quality in water bodies should also be assessed to evaluate the solutions from the indirect human health, economic and environmental aspects