Environmental characteristics of regional groundwater in relation to fluoride poisoning in North China

More and more data indicated that high- or low-fluoride-bearing drinking water led to endemic diseases in which fluoride poisoning was caused by high levels of fluoride (fluoride ion content >1.0 mg/I) in drinking water. Fluoride poisoning in North China is characterized by pathological changes of bones and teeth. Much attention has been devoted to the study of fluoride-bearing groundwater in North China because regionally groundwater has been the main source of water supply, and fluoride poisoning has developed to the extent that it affects human health seriously. Results from the studies in North China summarized in this article indicate that regional high-fluoride-bearing groundwater has a regular distribution corresponding with the development of endemic fluoride poisoning and has something to do with paleogeographic and paleoclimatic conditions, geology, and hydrogeology, especially with types of hydrogeochemistry, pH value of groundwater, degree of mineralization, and so forth. High-fluoride-bearing groundwater in relation to fluorosis occurs mainly in North China, and many effective measures have been taken to reduce the fluoride content in drinking water and to cure the disease after analyzing the distribution and environmental characteristics of high-fluoride-bearing groundwater.