Water Supplies in Developing Countries: the West Africa Water Initiative as an Example

Apambire will provide an overview of global water and health. There is an unmet basic human need for access to an improved water supply and sanitation. He will outline the common water-related diseases. He will describe how water, sanitation, and hygiene will provide health and social benefits. Next, he will present an overview of the West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI), including the goals and objectives of the program, and outlook for the future.World Vision United States, Water and Sanitation Sector

A health risk assessment for fluoride in Central Europe

Like many elements, fluorine (which generally occurs in nature as fluoride) is beneficial to human health in trace amounts, but can be toxic in excess. The links between low intakes of fluoride and dental protection are well known; however, fluoride is a powerful calcium-seeking element and can interfere with the calcified structure of bones and teeth in the human body at higher concentrations causing dental or skeletal fluorosis. One of the main exposure routes is via drinking water and the World Health Organisation currently sets water quality guidelines for the element. In Central Europe, groundwater resources that exceed the guideline value of 1.5 mg l-1 are widespread and effects on health of high fluoride in water have been reported. The aim of the current project was to develop a geographic information system (GIS) to aid the identification of areas where high-fluoride waters and fluorosis may be a problem; hence, where water treatment technologies should be targeted. The development of the GIS was based upon the collation and digitisation of existing information relevant to fluoride risk in Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia assembled for the first time in a readily accessible form. In addition, geochemistry and health studies to examine in more detail the relationships between high-fluoride drinking waters and health effects in the population were carried out in Moldova and Ukraine demonstrating dental fluorosis prevalence rates of 60–90% in adolescents consuming water containing 2–7 mg l-1 fluoride

Environmental hydrogeochemistry and genesis of fluoride in groundwaters of Dindigul district, Tamilnadu (India)

Fluoride (F-) is an indispensable element for the human’s skeletal and dental health at prescribed levels and becomes lethal at higher levels. Spatial–temporal variability of F- and its geochemical control/association with other dissolved ions in groundwater in the Dindigul district of Tamilnadu (India) were conducted to describe the geochemical dynamics of F– in response to seasonal variability. High concentrations of fluoride (≥1.5 mg L-1) were observed in the northern region of the district. High levels of F- were observed in non-monsoon periods and low levels in monsoon, because of dilution by precipitation. Bicarbonate was well correlated with F- which explains that both ions were derived from the weathering. While F- has a very weak correlation with silica, this implies that the silicate weathering does not supply F- to the groundwater system. The F- pollution in Dindigul groundwaters is mainly driven by two factors: (1) the geogenic weathering inputs, the geology of this area mainly comprises fluoride bearing minerals (e.g. hornblende biotite gneiss and charnockite); (2) the anthropogenic inputs (agri-fertilizers and tannery waste). Further, F- in the study area is mainly attributed to geogenic sources during pre and postmonsoons and anthropogenic sources in monsoon periods