Fluoride content in well waters for human and animal consumption with reported high incidence levels of endemic fluorosis in Beni Meskine (Morocco)

Autor: Yahya Koulali, Hanane Maadid, El Houssine El Mzouri, Achraf Mabrouk
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: Euro-Mediterranean Journal for Environmental Integration. 2
ISSN: 2365-7448
2365-6433
DOI: 10.1007/s41207-017-0022-0
Popis: Groundwater is widely used as a source of drinking water in many rural areas of Morocco. Among those areas, there is Beni Meskine that is known for its residents’ high fluoride intake through drinking water. Many symptoms such as dental caries, teeth and skeletal effects are frequent and pronounced in this rural population. The objective of this study is to determine fluoride content in groundwater consumed by the local population and animals. A total of 152 samples were collected at different groundwater depths, and they were analyzed for fluoride, pH, and electrical conductivity. The concentrations of fluoride obtained by ion selective electrodes were in a range from 0.61 to 3 mg/L, and the highest values were attained in the plateau area of Beni Meskine, that is already known for its high fluoride concentrations. This part of the country is richer in phosphate rock compared to other regions. Fluoride content in drinking water varied with the wells’ depth: samples from wells deeper than 80 m show fluoride concentrations lower than the standard recommended by WHO, but the deeper the water in the wells, the higher the fluoride content. Fluoride levels in the groundwater were positively correlated with conductivity but negatively related to the water depth. In conclusion, the occurrence of fluorosis in human and animals may be reduced if the drinking water in rural areas is extracted from a depth in a water table of more than 80 m deep.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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