STUDY OF FLUORIDE LEVEL IN THE GROUND WATER OF ALAGILAT CITY, LIBYA: CORRELATION WITH PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS

Abstract

Fluoride plays significant role in the human body if it presents between 0.6ppm and 1.5ppm in drinking water but if the concentration is higher than 1.5ppm. It causes dental and skeletal fluorosis. In this study, fluoride levels in ground water samples were collected and analyzed in twenty six villages of Alagilat city, Libya. Sixty five samples were collected in polyethylene plastic bottles and analyzed for fluoride levels with pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Potassium (K), Sulfate (SO4), sodium (Na), Phosphate (PO4) and chloride (Cl). Fluoride concentration ranged between 0.8 and 3.2 mg / l with an average of 2.04mg/l. Out of 56 samples above 1.5mgL^-1 fluoride (above the recommended value set by the world health organization) is 86.15% and between

0.6 mg/l and 1.5 fluorides is 13.84 %. As per the minimum and maximum permissible limit for fluoride in drinking water, recommended by the WHO, the ground water of the most studied villages is unfit for drinking proposes without prior treatment. From the correlation analysis fluoride was found to be positively correlated with Ca, K, Na, SO4, PO4, Cl and EC and negatively correlated with Mg and pH.