FLUORIDE IN GROUNDWATER AND ITS IMPACT ON HUMAN HEALTH

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
The chemical structure of water makes it have special properties because of the way its atoms bond together to form the water molecule. This molecular structure gives the water molecule polarity, or a lopsided electrical charge that attracts other atoms. Due to that polarity, abstract comes a universal solvent for polar substances as they are easily dispersed uniformly within the water molecules. This dissolving power of water is very important for life as it enables it to harbour dissolved nutrients that support living things. The ability of water to split ionic compounds has contributed to 97% of the world’s water being salty (Soteris, 2005). Most of these salt ions occur naturally in the soil, sedimentary and igneous rocks in many places of the earth’s crust. They are leached into water out of land by rainwater and accumulated into ground water sources and other water bodies (Renault et al., 2009; Pique et al., 2010). This renders this vital commodity polluted with dissolved materials of both organic and inorganic origin. Among these pollutants, of serious concern is the fluoride ion (Suman and Anubha, 2014).
Most health studies focus on chronic fluoride exposure from drinking water, because that is the easiest pathway to quantify for a community served by a public water supply. However, food providers another potentially important pathway, as do toothpaste, and the atmosphere for those working in factories related to fluoride and it’s compounds. Consequently, part of the problem in studying the link between fluoride is the difficulty in finding study populations with definable fluoride exposure. Whereas such population existed more commonly in the European countries when fluoride study began, research efforts have now shifted largely to Third World developing nations, where people are more likely to remain in one place throughout their lives and to ingest water from a local source.
1.2 Statement of the problem
The negative effects of fluoride in groundwater outweighs the positive effects. Many individuals who use this source of water daily are unaware of this fact and this unawareness poses a problem whose origin seem unknown. Until of access to safe drinking water is a major concern due to negative health effects experienced by people in many parts of the world. The quality of such waters is mainly affected by pollutants from natural and anthropogenic sources when they get incorporated in the water sources. These pollutants are either organic or inorganic species. Among the inorganic pollutants are fluorides. Continuous consumption of high concentrations of fluoride ions leads to their accumulation in the body tissues which causes dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis and other non-skeletal disorders.
1.3 Aim of the study
In view of the inherent impacts of fluoride on human health, it is the desire of this study to consider the following objectives;

1. The level of fluoride in groundwater contamination in parts of Nigeria and Asia
2. The effects of fluoride in different human body system.
3. Compare the datas obtained in Nigeria, Africa (through research ) to the World Health Organization (WHO).
4. Give impetus for further research.

1.4 Scope of study
This study is designed to evaluate fluoride in ground health and possible remedies. The research spans wide across communities within Nigeria and outside the continent Africa