Fluoride in Environmental Compartments – A Comprehensive Review of Literature

Fluoride occurs naturally within many types of rock that has health importance. However, excessive fluoride contamination in drinking water due to natural and anthropogenic activities has been reported as one of the major health related problems worldwide, with the developing world being no exception. In view of this a comprehensive literature review was carried out to determine the current body of knowledge pertaining to fluoride related research work with focus on the environment and human health related aspects. The literature published in the standard journals was used for the purpose of this study and it (literature) was reviewed by following the principles of deductive reasoning. The literature shows that In India, several states are affected with excess fluoride in groundwater and pose a serious health threat to the inhabitants of these regions. Hence, it is important that specific region specific studies should be carried out to generate more and more data, which can help in delineating meaningful and efficient strategies for mitigating fluoride related problems. Also, the literature shows that there is scope for developing the region specific technologies for addressing the fluoride contamination in water in general and groundwater in particular.