Study finds dangerously high fluoride levels in drinking water across 5 districts
Bhubaneswar: Alarmingly high fluoride levels in drinking water are jeopardising public health across the state's five districts, according to a recent study by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB).
The survey traces the contamination to natural geology in Cuttack and Nuapada while pinpointing industrial emissions from aluminium smelters, thermal power plants, geothermal activity and rock leaching as culprits in Angul, Khurda and Nayagarh.
The study links prolonged consumption of fluoride-laden water to widespread cases of dental and skeletal fluorosis. High fluoride levels in the groundwater of several Nuapada villages have left residents with chronic ailments.
According to the study, groundwater fluoride concentrations in Nuapada range from 1.3 mg per litre in areas such as Jampani to a staggering 9.4 mg per litre in Karlakot, far surpassing the WHO-recommended limit.
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Water samples from Bharuamunda High School in Sinapali block showed 5.25 mg per litre, posing significant health risks to students. The study added that more than 900 habitations in Nuapada are affected.
Additionally, villages such as Palsipani and Dhumabhata (Komna block) and Karlakot and Sukalpur (Boden block) record some of the highest readings in Nuapada. Sources said pipe-supplied drinking water proved to be the lone solution after which fluorosis cases dropped, but it is not enough. "About 500 tube wells were declared defunct, yet people still rely on them during peak summer," said Abani Panigrahi, a local social worker.
Nuapada has 648 villages, out of which around 500 were affected by fluoride content in water between 1996 and 2004, but things gradually improved with the state govt streamlining rural water supply.
In Angul, the presence of large industrial units—including National Aluminium Company (Nalco) smelters and several thermal power plants—has led to elevated fluoride levels in the environment, the study states. "Fluoride in groundwater ranges from 0.4 mg to 0.62 mg per litre in Angul. Dental and skeletal deficiencies are common in Angul, Nuapada and Khurda. In Khurda, industrial emissions are also to blame," the study notes.
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