Chapter 11 Clays, Environment and Health

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses clays and its affect on environment and health. Because of their large propensity for adsorbing and immobilizing extraneous species, clays and clay minerals can serve as materials for pollution control, carriers of pesticides, and liners in waste disposal and barriers in nuclear waste management. The peculiar surface properties of clays, such as the large specific surface area, layer charge, and swelling capacity, also make these materials generally beneficial to human health. The ability of clays and clay minerals to serve as active principles or excipients, in pharmaceutical formulations, spas, and aesthetic medicine is described in the chapter.