Deterministic health risk assessment, spatial analysis and hydrochemical assessment to toxic fluoride in groundwater of Dhar District, M.P, India

Fluoride contamination in India’s groundwater is nowadays widespread, with serious health consequences. We collected 205 water samples from both rural and urban areas of the Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh, India, to determine fluoride concentrations in drinking water supplies. According to the hydrochemical data, most values are over the acceptable limit of drinking water standards. Fluoride concentration in the Dhar district vary from 0.01 to 4.75 mg/L, including a mean of 0.50 mg/L. The health risk assessment by fluoride contamination was calculated using estimated daily intake (EDI) and the hazard quotient (HQ). Adults have a variation in EDI and HQ of 0.00–0.15 and 0.01–2.54 mg/kg/day, respectively. Teenagers have a variation of 0.00–0.19 and 0.01–2.17 mg/kg/day, children have a variation of 0.00–0.27 and 0.01–4.49 mg/kg/day, and infants have a variation of 0.00–0.04 mg/kg/day. Our studies revealed that among hydrochemical types in the Dhar district are mostly of Ca 2+ –HCO 3 ¯ and Ca 2+ –Cl¯ types, whereas samples with HCO 3 ¯–Na + and SO 4 2 ¯–Cl¯–Na + have high fluoride content. The characteristics of groundwater in Dhar are dominated by weathering of rocks. Proper groundwater monitoring and mitigation are thus required in the research region to protect residents from various diseases associated with drinking water with different fluoride levels. Using appropriate treatment technologies to reduce or remediate fluoride from drinking water, such as adsorption and electrocoagulation, would lessen the health hazards associated with groundwater fluoride exposure.