Fluoride Exposure and Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment Through Different Agricultural Food Crops From Fluoride Endemic Bankura and Purulia Districts of West Bengal, India

Abstract

The present study investigates the magnitude of fluoride (F−) contamination in agricultural land soil and food crops from F− endemic regions of Bankura and Purulia districts in West Bengal. Mean fluoride level in agricultural soil was 114 ± 59 mg/kg (n = 41) and 126 ± 65 mg/kg (n = 47) in Bankura and Purulia districts, respectively. Considering the food crops cultivated in Bankura (n = 79) and Purulia (n = 108), the mean fluoride concentration in nonleafy vegetables (18.1 ± 6.51 mg/kg and 15.6 ± 5.93 mg/kg) and leafy vegetables (12.8 ± 2.8 mg/kg and 18.4 ± 6.33 mg/kg) from the two studied districts was comparatively higher than that in the cereal (2 ± 1.05 mg/kg and 2.01 ± 1.01 mg/kg) and pulses (3.35 ± 1.42 mg/kg and 4.82 ± 1.19 mg/kg). The BCF values of fluoride in food crops (n = 27) from Bankura (range: 0.007–0.377) and Purulia (range: 0.005–0.319) were much lower than the optimum value of 1. Estimated daily intake (EDI) of fluoride was the highest for children in both Bankura (EDIcumulative = 0.0291 mg/kg bw/day) and Purulia (EDIcumulative = 0.0326 mg/kg bw/day) among all the studied age groups. The nonleafy vegetables contributed the highest exposure of fluoride (approximately 55.5%) to EDIcumulative among all the food crops. The uncertainty analysis for assessment of probabilistic health risk was carried out for all the studied age groups through hazard index (HI), total hazard index (THI), and lifetime noncarcinogenic risk (HILTNR). However, HI value was found to be <1 for all the age groups resulting in no such kind of potential health risk of fluorosis through consumption of individual food crops, and the trend of THI from all the food crops was found in the order of children > adults > adolescents > teenagers from both districts. The lifetime noncarcinogenic risk (HILTNR) of fluoride with percentile doses from P5 to P95 (exploring the model of Monte Carlo simulation) in all the studied age groups (4–70 years) was found to be >1 indicating that the inhabitants were more vulnerable for their total lifetime period of fluoride exposure through consumption of food crops.