Spatial distribution and seasonal variation in fluoride enrichment in groundwater and its associated human health risk assessment in Telangana State, South India

ABSTRACT

Groundwater is a vital source of drinking water in Siddipet rural and urban regions of Central Telangana, South India and it is a major cause of fluoride toxicity in humans. The intake of elevated fluoride has a significant impact on human health, especially immediate problems that are seen in children's teeth. The primary aim of the study was to identify the seasonal variation in fluoride concentration and associated health risks in the residents of the study region. To assess the fluoride contamination in groundwater, a total of 158 samples were analyzed in two seasons. The mean concentrations of fluoride 1.26 mg/L and 2.21 mg/L were 1.46 and 2.8 times higher than the acceptable limit of 1.5 mg/L, before and after monsoon respectively. To estimate the human health risks due to the ingestion of elevated fluoride through drinking water, hazard quotient fluoride (HQ_Fluoride) was calculated using the United States Environmental Protection Agency method. HQ_Fluoride values were 0.44–2.44 and 0.89–4.67 for children, 0.36–2.00 and 0.73–3.82 for females, and 0.41–2.26 and 0.82–4.31 for males in pre- and post-monsoon seasons respectively, suggesting emphatically greater risk than the acceptable limits (HQ_Fluoride > 1), which generates health risks.

KEYWORDS:

• fluoride contamination
• groundwater
• human health risk assessment
• Siddipet region
• South India

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their kind comments which helped to increase the quality of the present work.

Additional information

Funding

The funding for this research was provided by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India, New Delhi under the Fast Track Young Scientist Scheme (No. SR/FTP/ES-13/2013) to the first author (Adimalla Narsimha), who would like to express his sincere gratitude and appreciation for the financial support.