Monday 21 March 2016

A Simple Field Method For The Estimation Of Fluoride In Ground Waters For Common Man’s Use by S. V. Rao, Ritu Singh and S. C. Chaurasia

Fluoride is considered as an essential element forhuman beings. In potable waters, a fluorideconcentration of 1 μg/ml is necessary to preventtooth decay. However, at higher concentrations (>2μg/ml), it has adverse effects such as causingfluorosis. Fluoride toxicity is prevailant in variousparts of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh andGujarat. Due to natural as well as anthropogeniccauses, the levels of fluoride in ground waters canimpossible by government laboratories. In order tomonitor fluoride, there is a need for fast, simple andcost effective method, which can be easily adaptedby common man. Visual colorimetric methods wouldbe the most suited for such applications. The mostcommonly used visual method is based onbleaching of Zirconium-Alizarin complex. Thismethod requires one hour for colour developmentand moreover, in this method, change in colour withfluoride concentration is gradual and hence a seriesof standards need to be prepared for quantification.This requires a skilled and experienced person.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.