Fluoride Contamination in Drinking Water and its Impact on Human Health of Kishanganj, Bihar, India

This paper is aimed to analyze the fluoride concentration in groundwater, their resources and monitoring of the impact of fluoride on human health in kishanganj district, Bihar, India. In the present study the fluoride concentration varied from 0.61-3.74 mg/l in different groundwater resources of various villages. Among 150 hand pump/tap water samples of all 5 blocks of Kishanganj district 110 (73.33%) sites (villages and town areas) are safe, 28(18.67%) villages are under dental fluorosis and 12(8.0%) villages are under skeletal fluorosis, whereas among 150 open/ring water samples, 121 (81%) sites are safe, 14(14%) villages are under dental fluorosis and 8(5.0%) villages are under skeletal fluorosis. The results were on the basis of the questionnaire survey conducted in five blocks of Kishanganj district. During the study, 2500 people were examined, of which 53.6% people were affected by dental fluorosis and 11.2% people were suffering from skeletal fluorosis. Fluorosis was found to be high in males compared to females. High pH, low calcium concentrations and high temperatures of the study area may contribute to high fluoride concentrations in groundwater. Questionnaire survey results generally indicate that majority of residents of rural area were suffering from dental and skeletal fluorosis due to unawareness and lack of precautionary measures against fluoride. If people become aware of impact of fluoride and use pure and fluoride free water then the probability of dental and skeletal problems may be minimized.