Spatial Distribution Variation and Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Exposure to Fluoride in Ground Water Supplies: A Case Study in an Endemic Fluorosis Region of Northwest Iran

Mahmood Yousefi, Farzaneh Baghal Asghari, Pietro Zuccarello, Gea Oliveri Conti, Aida Ejlali, Ali Akbar Mohammadi and Margherita Ferrante
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Mahmood Yousefi: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Farzaneh Baghal Asghari: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Pietro Zuccarello: Department of Medical Sciences, Surgical and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”–Hygiene and Public Health, Laboratory of Environmental and Food Hygiene (LIAA), University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Gea Oliveri Conti: Department of Medical Sciences, Surgical and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”–Hygiene and Public Health, Laboratory of Environmental and Food Hygiene (LIAA), University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy
Aida Ejlali: Health Center of Urmia, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
Ali Akbar Mohammadi: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences, Neyshabur, Iran
Margherita Ferrante: Department of Medical Sciences, Surgical and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”–Hygiene and Public Health, Laboratory of Environmental and Food Hygiene (LIAA), University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: Prevalence of fluorosis is a worldwide public health issue, especially in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate fluoride concentration in drinking water resources within Maku city, in both the warm and cold seasons, to perform a health risk assessment. Fluoride were measured using UV-visible spectrophotometry. The spatial distribution was calculated by the software ArcGIS and Hazard Quotients (HQs) were calculated according to the US EPA method. The fluoride concentrations ranged between 0.29 to 6.68 and 0.1 to 11.4 mg/L in the cold and warm seasons, respectively. Based on this report, 30.64 and 48.15% of the samples revealed a fluoride level higher than the permissible level in the cold and warm seasons, respectively. Moreover, results showed that the HQ value in the warm season for different age groups was higher than the HQ value in the cold season. In both seasons, the non-carcinogenic risks of fluoride for the four exposed populations varied according to the order: children > teenagers > adults > infants. The HQ values for three age groups (children, teenager and adults) for both seasons were higher than 1 with a high risk of fluorosis. The results of this study, support the requests that government authorities better manage water supplies to improve health quality.

Keywords: drinking water; fluoride; risk assessments; Hazard Quotient; spatial distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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