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A study to investigate fluoride contamination and fluoride exposure dose assessment in lateritic zones of West Bengal, India

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Abstract

To assess the status of severity of fluoride contamination in lateritic Bankura and Purulia districts of West Bengal, concentrations of fluoride in different water sources and agricultural field soils were investigated. The fluoride content (mg/l) was observed to differ with aquifer depths: 0.19–0.47 in dug wells, 0.01–0.17 in shallow tube wells, and 0.07–1.6 in deep tube wells. Fluoride within the World Health Organization (WHO) prescribed range (1.0–1.5 mg/l) was estimated only in ~17 % of the total collected water samples while ~67 % showed <0.7 mg/l fluoride and thus may impede in the production and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones of the residents, especially children. Fluoride in water was found to be significantly correlated (r = 0.63) with pH. The exposure dose of fluoride (mg/kg/day) from drinking water in infants, children, and adults was estimated in the ranges 0.02–0.53, 0.01–0.24, and 0.01–0.14, respectively against the standard value of 0.05. A clear risk of dental fluorosis is apparent in infants and children of the study area. The fluoride in soil (55–399 mg/kg) was detected to be significantly correlated with the fluoride content in deep tube wells and soil pH (r = 0.56 and 0.71, respectively). The relationships of soil fluoride with total hardness and that with phosphate were not significant. There is a high possibility of bioaccumulation of fluoride from contaminated soil and water of the study area to cultivated crops. This will enhance the quantity of fluoride intake into human food chain in addition to drinking water pathway.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Department of Environmental Science, University of Kalyani, West Bengal, India, for providing the laboratory facilities. This study would not have been possible without the help of many. Among them, the greatest help in preparing the samples prior to analysis came from Amrita Chaudhuri and Soume Pyne. Piyal Bhattacharya is thankful to Mousumi Bhattacharya for her cooperation during writing this article. The authors are also thankful to the critical comments of the anonymous reviewers that helped to improve the manuscript considerably.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science, University of Kalyani, West Bengal, 741 235, India

    Alok C. Samal, Anusaya Mallick, Md. Motakabber Ali, Jagadish Pyne & Subhas C. Santra

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Kanchrapara College, West Bengal, 743 145, India

    Piyal Bhattacharya

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  1. Alok C. Samal
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  2. Piyal Bhattacharya
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  3. Anusaya Mallick
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  4. Md. Motakabber Ali
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  6. Subhas C. Santra
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Correspondence to Piyal Bhattacharya.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Alok C. Samal and Piyal Bhattacharya contributed equally to the work

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Samal, A.C., Bhattacharya, P., Mallick, A. et al. A study to investigate fluoride contamination and fluoride exposure dose assessment in lateritic zones of West Bengal, India. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 6220–6229 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3817-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3817-4

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