Groundwater is a significant water resource in India for domestic, irrigation, and industrial needs. By far the most serious natural groundwater-quality problem in India, in terms of public health, derives from high fluoride, arsenic, and iron concentrations. Hydrogeochemical investigation of fluoride contaminated groundwater samples from Kolar and Tumkur Districts in Karnataka are undertaken to understand the quality and potability of groundwater from the study area, the level of fluoride contamination, the origin and geochemical mechanisms driving the fluoride enrichment. Majority of the groundwater samples did not meet the potable water criteria as they contained excess ([1.5 mg/L) fluoride, dissolved salts ([500 mg/L) and total hardness (75-924 mg/L). Hydrogeochemical facies of the groundwater samples suggest that rock weathering and evaporation-crystallization control the groundwater composition in the study area with 50-67% of samples belonging to the Ca-HCO 3 type and the remaining falling into the mixed Ca-Na-HCO 3 or Ca-Mg-Cl type. The saturation index values indicated that the groundwater in the study area is oversaturated with respect to calcite and under-saturated with respect to fluorite. The deficiency of calcium ion concentration in the groundwater from calcite precipitation favors fluorite dissolution leading to excess fluoride concentration.
Non-engineered disposal of hazardous sludge can contaminate surface water and groundwater sources. Defluoridation of water using magnesium oxide (MgO) is being implemented in a village in Karnataka, India. Defluoridation of water by the MgO method produces fluoride-contaminated magnesium oxide sludge (FCMOS). This paper examines the impact of encapsulating FCMOS on the engineering and environmental integrity of the host matrix. Encapsulation of the sludge is accomplished by using the FCMOS as a constituent of stabilised mud blocks (SMBs). SMBs are an alternative to burnt bricks and are produced by cement stabilisation of densely compacted soil mass. Experimental results indicate that incorporation of FCMOS as a constituent of SMBs does not impact their compressive strength, linear expansion or durability. Furthermore, the fluoride release potential of SMB specimens is not increased.
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