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The medical geology of serpentines is an emerging topic of research that requires an integration of earth sciences, public health and environmental sciences. As pointed out in an earlier paper, further research is required to address several knowledge gaps [4]. Addressing these knowledge gaps is key to risk assessment and mitigation of the human health risks associated with serpentine geological systems.

1 (1) Understanding the occurrence and spatial distribution of serpentines in various countries hosting serpentinitic geological environments through the application of geostatistical spatial analysis and remote sensing.

2 (2) Detailed understanding of the behavior and fate processes of toxic contaminants, including their speciation and partitioning into various phases through mass balance analysis and speciation modelling.

3 (3) Understanding the human toxicology and ecotoxicology of toxic contaminants, including determining key exposure routes, bioavailability and bioaccesibility, and daily intakes using established protocols for human health risk assessment.

4 (4) Comprehensive understanding of the relationship between toxic contaminants and human health outcomes through case-control epidemiological studies, particularly in Africa.

5 (5) Establishing environmental and human health surveillance systems to determine baseline conditions and current status of human and environmental health in serpentinitic geological environments.