title: Assessment of potential hazards of fluoride contamination in drinking groundwater of an intensively cultivated district in West Bengal, India.
abstract: We assessed the potential of fluoride (F) contamination in drinking groundwater of an intensively cultivated district in India as a function of its lithology and agricultural activities. Three hundred and eight groundwater samples were collected at different depths from various types of wells and analyzed for pH, EC, NO(3)-N load and F content. A typical litholog was constructed and database on fertilizer and pesticide uses were also recorded for the district. The water samples were almost neutral in reaction and non-saline in nature with low NO(3)-N content (0.02 to 4.56 microg mL(-1)). Fluoride content in water was also low (0.01 to 1.18 microg mL(-1)) with only 2.27% of them exceeding 1.0 microg mL(-1) posing a potential threat of fluorosis. On average, its content varied little spatially and along depth of sampling aquifers because of homogeneity in lithology of the district. The F content in these samples showed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.12, P < or = 0.05) with the amount of phosphatic fertilizer (single super phosphate) used for agriculture but no such relation either with the anthropogenic activities of pesticide use or NO(3)-N content, pH and EC values of the samples was found. The results suggest that the use of phosphatic fertilizer may have some role to play in F enrichment of groundwater.
authors.affiliation: Directorate of Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalyani, 741 235, West Bengal, India. mckundu@rediffmail.com
authors.forename: Manik Chandra
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kundu
authors.forename: Biswapati
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mandal
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005308:Fertilizers; D005459:Fluorides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007194:India; D009566:Nitrates / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D009566:Nitrates; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D005459:Fluorides