“…In the Earth near-surface, iodine exists in multiple oxidation states ranging from −1 to þ5, which form inorganic (e.g., iodide, I − , and iodate, IO 3 − ) and organic (e.g., CH 3 I) species in gaseous (e.g., iodine, I 2 ), particle-reactive or soluble phases, all with widely divergent chemical behaviors (7) and facile interconversions. The most important iodine species in terrestrial systems are "organoiodine" (5,8), thought to be incorporated in aromatic moieties (9) but otherwise poorly characterized as to origin, reactivity, or fate. Coupled with the very low natural abundance of iodine (10), the complexity of iodine chemistry has historically challenged analytical capabilities (10, 7, 11) and continues to limit our understanding of diverse problems including the true hazards of nuclear energy production or amelioration of human iodine deficiency (12).…”