Fluoride Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Fluoride, including details on toothpaste, water, treatment, dangers. | ||||||||
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Assessment of potential hazards of fluoride contamination in drinking groundwater of an intensively cultivated district in West Bengal, India.Kundu MC, Mandal B Directorate of Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalyani, 741 235, West Bengal, India. mckundu@rediffmail.com We assessed the potential of fluoride (F) contamination in drinking groundwater of an intensively cultivated district in India as a function of its lithology and agricultural activities. Three hundred and eight groundwater samples were collected at different depths from various types of wells and analyzed for pH, EC, NO(3)-N load and F content. A typical litholog was constructed and database on fertilizer and pesticide uses were also recorded for the district. The water samples were almost neutral in reaction and non-saline in nature with low NO(3)-N content (0.02 to 4.56 microg mL(-1)). Fluoride content in water was also low (0.01 to 1.18 microg mL(-1)) with only 2.27% of them exceeding 1.0 microg mL(-1) posing a potential threat of fluorosis. On average, its content varied little spatially and along depth of sampling aquifers because of homogeneity in lithology of the district. The F content in these samples showed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.12, P < or = 0.05) with the amount of phosphatic fertilizer (single super phosphate) used for agriculture but no such relation either with the anthropogenic activities of pesticide use or NO(3)-N content, pH and EC values of the samples was found. The results suggest that the use of phosphatic fertilizer may have some role to play in F enrichment of groundwater. Published 27 March 2009 in Environ Monit Assess, 152(1): 97-103.
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