Fluoride contamination
Topic: Water Resources of India: Availability, Use and Conservation · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Water Resources"
Meaning
Fluoride contamination is too much fluoride in groundwater. The fluoride comes from fluoride-bearing hard rocks in dry areas and dissolves into the water stored in them. When too much water is pumped out, the remaining water holds more fluoride, so the problem gets worse. Drinking it for years causes dental fluorosis (stained, damaged teeth) and skeletal fluorosis (stiff, bent and painful bones). Recharging aquifers with rainwater dilutes the fluoride.
Example
Nalgonda district in Telangana is a well-known fluoride-affected area. Over-withdrawal has also made the problem worse in Rajasthan and Maharashtra, and it affects parts of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka.
Don't confuse with
- Arsenic contamination: it comes from young alluvial sediments in the Ganga-Brahmaputra plains and causes skin lesions and cancer. Fluoride comes from hard rocks in dry areas and damages teeth and bones.
Related concepts
- Groundwater depletion
- Punjab groundwater crisis
- Arsenic contamination
- Groundwater contamination belts