Subhash Chandra Samad, Rakesh Kumar, Anjani Kumar, Amrit Kumar Jha, Rameswar Prasad Sah and Triyugi Nath
From the study area the groundwater samples mostly used for drinking and other domestic purposes were analyzed for fluoride (F) content and other water quality parameters such as pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Carbonate (CO3 2-), Bicarbonate (HCO3 -), Chloride (Cl-), Sodium (Na+), Calcium (Ca2+), Magnesium (Mg2+), and Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC). The F content in the ground water of the study area was found to vary between 0.52 to 7.62 mg/L and in about 24 % of water samples the F concentration exceeded the maximum permissible limits of 1.5 mg/L as laid down by World Health Organisation. The correlation study of F indicated that it has a significant (p < 0.05) positive relationship with pH (r = +0.46), Na+ (r = +0.33), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (r = +0.43), and RSC (r = 0.35). In infants (6 Kg body weight) the exposure dose of fluoride was found to vary from 0.17 to 2.57 mg/kg/day. F exposure dose in case of children (20 kg body weight) varied between 0.07 to 1.14 mg/kg/day, whereas in case of adults (60 kg body weight), it varied between 0.06 to 0.88 mg/kg/day, which is quite high against the standard value of 0.05 mg/kg/day, which is the minimum risk level (MRL) calculated by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
