Analysis of the fluoride levels of well water and tea consumed by the Moroccan population in different rural areas
Issam Essebbahi, Chadia Ouazzani, Abdellah Moustaghfir, Azzeddine Er-Ramly, Youssef El Baroudi, A. Dami, Lhoussine Balouch
Abstract
Fluoride plays a fundamental part in human health. However, continued ingestion of excessive fluoride may cause significant negative health effects on people, ranging from mild dental fluorosis to crippling skeletal fluorosis, depending on the level and time of exposure to fluorides. In provincial areas, the presence of fluoride in well water may be due to natural factors or human activities. The reason for our work was to evaluate the level of tainting of groundwater by fluorides from various areas in Morocco situated in rural and agricultural areas, where the main wellspring of consumable water is well water, and the reasons for fluorosis in this area. The 44 samples were taken in seven Moroccan regions: Had Soualem-Berrechid, Kenitra, Fez, Tit Mellil, Sidi Slimane-Sidi Kacem-Zirara, Larache, and Brachoua, and 12 samples of tea were taken from different souks and commercials in Morocco. Fluoride dosing measurements in well water were performed using the potentiometric technique using the fluoride-specific ion electrode (HI-4110) at room temperature, while the determination of fluorine in tea is done by the spectrophotometric method. The results of fluoride levels revealed in different well waters from different regions range from 0.2 to 6.58 mg/l. For the green and black tea samples, the fluorine content varies between 0.48 and 1.60 mg/l for the 10 min infusion and between 0.93 and 2.7 mg/l for the 30 min infusion. These results make it possible to warn the population facing the risk of developing dental fluorosis by limiting the amount of fluoride ingested by the consumed foods.