Fluoride Ion Concentration in Ground Water of Bashiqa Area- Mosul City and Its Effects on Human Health

Hussein Al-Salim T, Rahman Ahmad N and Taha Al-Salim A

Published on: 2024-12-11

Abstract

Ground water may have opportunity to contacts of appreciable amounts of fluorides depending on geological conditions. It has been known that the natural composition of elements in our environment (bedrock, soils, water, and vegetation) may be the major cause of enrichment or depletion in these elements and may become a direct risk to human health. Fluoride may reach hazardous concentration in ground water as a result of geochemical processes and natural and human activities. The aim of this study is to give an over view of the presence, origin and sources of fluoride in ground water and its effect on health of inhabitants, through the chemical analysis of ground water samples of the study area. It was observed that groundwater of the study area contain fluoride and varied from 0.2 to 2.4 ppm. The origin of the fluoride was attributed to the contents of minerals in rocks consisting of pyroxene, hornblend, biotite, fluorapatite and glassy groundmass minerals. Intake of water from wells with fluoride >1.5 ppm causes dental fluorosis. Presence of fluoride in some of the groundwater wells of the study area, higher than the permissible level of the standard guide line values recommended by the World Health Organization (0.7 – 1.5 ppm), indicate the need to include fluoride determinations in groundwater on a routine basis and to develop interdisciplinary studies to assess the contaminant's sources in all enriched areas.