title: Fluoride content of water, dust, soils and cereals in the endemic dental fluorosis area of Khouribga (Morocco).
abstract: The fluoride contents of drinking water, dust, soil, straw, raw barley (ears and stems) and barley grains in Khouribga were compared with those from Beni-Mellal, 90 km east of Khouribga where no fluorosis occurs. Identical fluoride levels were found in water samples from both areas, whereas high amounts of F- were in soil, dust, dried straw and dried barley grown in Khouribga. Equilibrated with water, large phosphate rock particles, probably of francolite, and smaller phosphate particles of clay-contaminated francolite, randomly collected in the factories of Khouribga never contained more than 1.2 parts/10(6) F-. Unwashed samples of straw and whole barley had a higher F- content than washed samples. The marked fluorosis in herbivores of the Khouribga area comes more from the ingestion of dust-contaminated food (unwashed straw and unwashed raw barley) with a high fluoride content than from inhalation of fluoride-containing dust. By contrast, the endemic human fluorosis in the same region is mostly due to inhalation of fluoride-containing phosphate dust, and not to fluoride in the drinking water and only exceptionally to fluoride deposited during storage onto cereals, because grains grown in Khouribga have a low fluoride content.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Haikel
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Voegel
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Frank
mesh_terms: D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000032:analysis*; D005459:Fluorides / Q000032:analysis*; D009050:Fluorosis, Dental / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D009018:Morocco; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D012987:Soil; D005459:Fluorides