Assessment of fluoride hazard in groundwater of Palghat District, Kerala: A GIS approach

Abstract

Fluoride contamination of groundwater is an emerging problem all over the world. Occurrence of fluoride in groundwater has drawn worldwide care due to its significant influence on human physiology. Fluoride is a vital element, which is good for the teeth enamel and helps to avoid dental and skeletal caries. In excessive doses, it leads to fluorosis. In India most of the people in rural areas are dependent on groundwater for drinking purposes and have a possible chance of developing fluorosis. In the present study, assessment of fluoride hazard of groundwater quality was carried out in Palghat District from January and December 2012. Assessed 64 groundwater sample locations were interpolated using inverse distance weighted (IDW) method in ArcGIS 9.3. The results shows that fluoride contamination in groundwater is high in month of January (>0.87 mg/l) compared to December (>0.69 mg/l). Among the 12 blocks of Palghat District, Kollengode block is highly affected by fluoride contamination in the month of January and Chittur block in December. Groundwater quality of Kollengode and Chittur blocks is highly affected and it is unhealthy for drinking with prior treatment.