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| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 15
| Issue : 4 | Page : 395-398 |
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Determination of fluoride level in drinking water from water samples in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
Sabita M Ram1, Vaibhav Pravin Thakkar2, Priyanka Machale1
1 Department of Prosthodontics, MGM Dental College and Hospital, Kamothe, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
2 Department of Public Health Dentistry, MGM Dental College and Hospital, Kamothe, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
| Date of Web Publication | 13-Dec-2017 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Vaibhav Pravin Thakkar
Department of Public Health Dentistry, MGM Dental College and Hospital, Kamothe, Navi Mumbai - 410 209, Maharashtra
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jiaphd.jiaphd_95_17
Introduction: The concentration of fluoride in drinking water influences the dental caries situation in the region. There are no studies reported determining the fluoride levels in drinking water supplies of Navi Mumbai. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the fluoride level in drinking water samples from different areas of Navi Mumbai region. Materials and Methods: In an in vitro experimental study, water samples were collected from seven different locations of Navi Mumbai region. Water samples were collected from the Morbe dam, water purification plant at Bhokarpada in Raigad district, and five randomly selected residential areas of Navi Mumbai region. A total of 35 water subsamples were analyzed for fluoride content using fluoride analysis kit (HiMedia AQUACheck Fluoride Testing Kit). Results: The mean concentration of fluoride level in water samples from dam, water purification plant, as well as the five random residential areas was 0.5 mg/L (1 mg/L = 1 ppm). The fluoride level remained constant throughout from the source till the end consumer. Conclusion: There was no effect of water purification process at the plant on fluoride content of water samples. Similarly, the fluoride content was constant in the distributed purified water to residential areas. In this study, it was observed that the fluoride level in drinking water of Navi Mumbai was below the recommended levels by the World Health Organization as well as the Ministry of Health, Government of India. Keywords: Analysis, dental caries, fluorides, in vitro, prevention, water fluoridation
How to cite this article:
Ram SM, Thakkar VP, Machale P. Determination of fluoride level in drinking water from water samples in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. J Indian Assoc Public Health Dent 2017;15:395-8 |
| Introduction | |  |
Water is the major element required by an individual for survival. The daily consumption of water from different sources exposes an individual to various elements present in water which can be either beneficial or harmful. The various parameters of drinking water are monitored on regular basis to ensure consumption of water with permissible limits of various elements present in the water.
The fluoride level in drinking water is an important parameter and has to be controlled to prevent dental and skeletal fluorosis.[1] Almost 200 million people from 25 countries are at risk of health problems for high concentration of fluoride in their drinking water.[2],[3] Many epidemiological studies have shown that long-term consumption of drinking water with a high-fluoride concentration (>4 ppm or mg/L) leads to many adverse effects on human including dental and skeletal fluorosis, so that the World Health Organization (WHO) sets the desirable level of fluoride in potable water as 0.5–1.5 ppm.[2],[4],[5],[6]
Fluoride ion in traces in drinking water helps in growth and development of healthy, resistant teeth, and bones.[7] The concentration of fluoride in drinking water is one of the factors strongly influencing the dental caries situation globally.
Fluoride levels are monitored in drinking water supplies to achieve the required safety.[8] Knowledge of fluoride level in potable water is important for health-care personnel and policymakers.[2] However, there are no studies on the level of fluoride in drinking water in Navi Mumbai. We therefore planned this study to determine the fluoride concentration in drinking water from five different residential sources in Navi Mumbai. The study also aimed at determining the fluoride content of the water at the dam which was the source of water supply to Navi Mumbai region and at the water purification plant.
| Materials and Methods | | |
An in vitro analysis of fluoride level in collected drinking water samples from various parts of Navi Mumbai was done. The collection and analysis of water samples were carried out over a period of 1 month in March 2017. The study commenced after approval from the Institutional Ethics and Research Committee. Permission was also obtained from the Central Research Laboratory to utilize the facilities available for analysis of fluoride content in drinking water.
The Navi Mumbai region is supplied by the water from the Morbe dam which is owned by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. It is a gravity dam on the Dhavari river near Khalapur, Raigad district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It can provide 450 MLD water, of which only 330 MLD is being utilized today. The water from the dam is purified at water purification plant situated in Bhokarpada, Raigad district.[9]
The water samples were collected from seven different locations of Navi Mumbai region. From each site, total five samples were collected to perform repeated analysis. First, five water samples were collected from the Morbe dam from where the water is supplied to Navi Mumbai. Five water samples were also collected from the water purification plant at Bhokarpada in Raigad district where the water is purified before supplying to the people residing in Navi Mumbai. Finally, five drinking water samples were collected randomly from five different residential areas each of Navi Mumbai [Figure 1]a and [Figure 1]b. A total of 35 water samples were analyzed for fluoride content. | Figure 1:(a) Collection of water samples from the Morbe dam. (b) Collection of water samples from water purification plant, Bhokarpada, Raigad district
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The water samples from each site were collected in sterile glass jars and transported immediately to the Central Research Laboratory for analysis of fluoride levels in them. The drinking water collected from the residential areas was not allowed to pass through any filter before collection.
The fluoride content was analyzed in total 35 water samples. This was done using fluoride analysis kit (HiMedia AQUACheck Fluoride Testing Kit-WT012).[10] The analysis of fluoride level in drinking water was done at the Central Research Laboratory, MGM University, Kamothe. The procedure for fluoride content analysis using HiMedia AQUACheck Fluoride Testing Kit-WT012 [Figure 2]a,[Figure 2]b,[Figure 2]c,[Figure 2]d,[Figure 2]e was as follows: | Figure 2:(a) The fluoride testing kit with one of the water samples. (b) HiMedia AQUACheck Fluoride Testing Kit-WT012. (c) Reagent 012A and reagent 012B from the kit. (d) Water sample after mixing with reagents and allowed to stand for 4–5 min. (e) Color comparator from the kit
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- Fill the aqua check test jar with 10 ml of sample
- Add three drops of reagent 012A. Mix the contents well
- Add eight drops of reagent 012B. Mix the contents and allow it to stand for 4–5 min.
The developed color of the sample was compared with color comparator chart provided with the kit (HiMedia fluoride color chart for WT012). The color chart had readings from 0 ppm to 2.5 ppm (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 ppm). Each fluoride level had a separate color comparator represented on the chart. To eliminate bias, the samples were collected in a labeled sterile container. The labeling was done for seven different locations from A to G [Figure 3]. | Figure 3: The water samples collected from seven different sources and labeled from A to G
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The collected data were entered and statistically analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 11.5 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The mean concentration of fluoride level in water samples from each site was calculated.
| Results | | |
It was observed that the mean concentration of fluoride level in water samples from dam, water purification plant, as well as the five random residential areas was 0.5 mg/L (1 mg/L = 1 ppm) [Figure 4] and [Table 1]. The mean concentration of fluoride level was calculated based on the comparison of final color of water samples after mixing with the reagents of HiMedia AQUACheck Fluoride Testing Kit-WT012 with the color comparator chart provided inside the kit. | Table 1: The mean concentration of fluoride level (in ppm) from seven different locations
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The fluoride level remained constant throughout from the source till the end consumer. The drinking water from the source underwent purification and distribution through pipes to the population of Navi Mumbai. During the entire process, the fluoride content of water remained unchanged. The purification and distribution process had no effect on the fluoride levels of the water.
| Discussion | | |
The current WHO guideline value for fluoride in drinking water is 1.5 mg/L (WHO, 2011).[11] In temperate regions, where water intake is low, fluoride level up to 1.5 mg/L is acceptable. The Ministry of Health (MOH), Government of India (GOI), has prescribed 1.0 mg F/L and 2.0 mg F/L as the permissive and excessive limits, respectively.[12] The in vitro analysis revealed that the mean concentration of fluoride level in water samples from dam and water purification plant as well as the five random residential areas was 0.5 mg/L, which was below the recommended levels by the WHO as well as the MOH, GOI.
The in vitro analysis in this study was done using HiMedia AQUACheck Fluoride Testing Kit-WT012. To eliminate bias, the samples were collected in a labeled sterile container. The person performing the analysis for fluoride content was unaware of the source of water of the samples. Collections of five different samples from each site were done, and the mean concentration of fluoride content was calculated. It was ensured that the water from the same source was being tested at each site. This was done by ensuring that the residential areas did not receive water supply from private water suppliers on day of sample collection.
There are few chemicals for which the contribution from drinking water to overall intake is an important factor in preventing disease. One example is the effect of fluoride in drinking water in protecting against dental caries. As per the WHO, the guideline value for fluoride content in drinking water is 1.5 mg/L (1500 μg/L). There is no evidence to suggest that the guideline value of 1.5 mg/L set in 1984 and reaffirmed in 1993 needs to be revised.[11]
Fluoride is usually determined by means of an ion-selective electrode. This study used HiMedia AQUACheck Fluoride Testing Kit-WT012 for analysis of fluoride content in samples of drinking water. This method is very simple, fast, and inexpensive depending on the color comparison with the standard chart provided in the kit. The readings present on the color chart were 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 ppm. The range is wide and sufficient to interpret the fluoride content in water sample related to its permissible and excessive concentration limits. Further studies can be done to determine the fluoride levels in the drinking water samples from Navi Mumbai region using fluoride ion electrode and check for reliability of HiMedia AQUACheck Fluoride Testing Kit-WT012.
In this study, it was observed that there was no effect of filtration process on fluoride content of water. The fluoride content before and after purification process at the purification plant remained constant. The effect of purification process at home was not determined in this study. Further studies can be planned in this direction, where the water samples can be collected from different RO filters at homes in random residential areas of Navi Mumbai. The water samples collected in this way after filtration will help us to determine whether these filters have any effect on the fluoride content of the water.
| Conclusion | | |
The mean concentration of fluoride level in water samples from dam, water purification plant, as well as the five random residential areas was 0.5 mg/L. There was no effect on fluoride content of water samples of water purification process at the plant as well as of the distribution of purified water to residential areas. The observed fluoride level in drinking water from all the sources was less than that recommended by the WHO as well as the MOH, GOI.
Declaration of patient consent
The authors certify that they have obtained all appropriate patient consent forms. In the form the patient(s) has/have given his/her/their consent for his/her/their images and other clinical information to be reported in the journal. The patients understand that their names and initials will not be published and due efforts will be made to conceal their identity, but anonymity cannot be guaranteed.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
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[Figure 1], [Figure 2], [Figure 3], [Figure 4]
[Table 1]
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