New Arsenic & Fluoride mapping tool

Posted on by RWSN Secretariat

The Eawag “Groundwater Assessment Platform”, funded by SDC, is now live: http://www.gapmaps.org/

“Over 300 million people worldwide use groundwater contaminated with arsenic or fluoride as a source of drinking water. The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) has developed a method whereby the risk of contamination in a given area can be estimated using geological, topographical and other environmental data without having to test samples from every single groundwater resource. The research group’s knowledge is now being made available free of charge on an interactive Groundwater Assessment Platform (GAP). enables authorities, NGOs and other professionals to upload their own data and generate hazard maps for their areas of interest.”  More.. 

Other interesting and recent research and reports on fluoride and arsenic in groundwater:

UPGro:

Coming very soon – the Africa Groundwater Atlas

Other

End of project workshop summary: Prospection for low-fluoride sources in Ethiopia

Posted on by RWSN Secretariat

The “Improving access to safe drinking water_prospection for low-fluoride sources Groundwater“ Catalyst project has released a summary report of the main findings, presented in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in August.

Continue reading End of project workshop summary: Prospection for low-fluoride sources in Ethiopia

Fluoridation vs. fluorosis: two faces of the same medal

Posted on by RWSN Secretariat

reposted with permission from http://www.thewaterchannel.tv/thewaterblog

Posted by Sara Datturi
June 30, 2014

Fluorine (F2 of F) is the element  # 9 in the Periodic Table. Due to its high reactivity, it is not found freely in nature, but it often combines with other elements. For instance, F represents 0.064% of the earth crust’s mass.  In nature, F is common found as fluoride anion in several minerals particularly in fluorite. 

Continue reading Fluoridation vs. fluorosis: two faces of the same medal

“FLUORIDE IN GROUNDWATER: A DEBILITATING SCOURGE” Catalyst Project Webinar, 2 May

Posted on by RWSN Secretariat

UPDATED 9 MAY

Watch recording

Part 1: Dr Seifu Kebede- Genesis of Fluoride in Groundwater in Ethiopia
Part 2: Sara Datturi- Fluorosis Mitigation in Ethiopian Central Rift Valley
Part 3: Q and A session

Fluorine is an element abundant in nature. In the right quantities, it is essential for the development of teeth and bones. However, under specific conditions, the concentration of fluoride (F) in ground and surface water can exceed safety levels and becomes toxic for human health. This may lead to skeletal and/or dental fluorosis, two chronic biogeochemical diseases that occur in various countries around the world.

Continue reading “FLUORIDE IN GROUNDWATER: A DEBILITATING SCOURGE” Catalyst Project Webinar, 2 May

UPGro research paper on Sketetal Fluorosis in Ethiopia

Posted on by RWSN Secretariat

etaMeytaDSCN4512New paper by Redda Tekle-Haimanot, Gebeyehu Haile, part of the “Improving access to safe drinking water_prospection for low-fluoride sources Groundwater” Catalyst Project

ABSTRACT This study compared the occurrence of skeletal fluorosis in chronic consumers of locally brewed alcoholic beverages and their matched controls in the Ethiopian Rift Valley. The study revealed that chronic alcohol consumers developed severe forms of crippling skeletal fluorosis quite early in life. The controls were either symptom-free or exhibited mild forms of the fluorosis. The study showed that crippling skeletal fluorosis was directly associated with the large volumes of the locally brewed beer and honey-mead consumption on a daily basis. Chemical analysis of the alcoholic beverages showed that high concentration of fluoride which was much higher than the fluoride in the water was used for the brewing process. From this study one would conclude that in communities residing in high fluoride areas, there should be awareness creation campaigns to point out the relationship of excessive consumption of locally brewed alcoholic drinks and skeletal fluorosis. Regulations should also be put in place to require producers of local alcoholic beverages to use low fluoride water for brewing.

Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 2014, 6, 149-155
Published Online February 2014 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/jwarp)
Download the paper here: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2014.62020