Abstract: (7482 Views)
Background and purpose: Fluoride is one of the most important elements in the composition
of teeth and bones. Itcan enter the body through different ways. The main means of absorption is drinking
water. This study was done to determine the amount of fluorine in drinking-water resources of rural areas
in Mazandaran province.
Material and methods: This retrospective descriptive study was carried out in rural drinking
waterresources in 15 cities of Mazandaran province, Iran, 2011. A total of 642 samples was analyzed in
four seasons. In each season, about 160 water samples were taken from ground or elevated reservoirs. The
maximum and minimum numbers of seasonal water samples were 183 and 144, respectively. All samples
were transferred to various laboratories affiliated withWater and SewageCompany and were analyzed
according to standardreferences.
Results: Out of 642 samples, 94.23% was less than the standard level and 5.77% was in standard
level. The meanof fluorine concentration inruralareas of Mazandaran province was significantly different.
The highestamount of fluorine in drinking water at rural areas was 0.6 mg/l in spring and the lowest level
was observed in summer (0.06 mg/l). The mean concentration offluorine in drinking water of the rural
areas of Mazandaran province was 0.31 mg/l.
Conclusion: The amount of fluorine in all water resources of rural areas in Mazandaran province
is lower than the recommended minimum value, so it is an urgent necessity to plan for solving this
problem.