Natural occurrence of potentially harmful fluoride contamination in groundwater: an example from Nakuru County, the Kenyan Rift Valley

Gevera, Patrick Kirita; Mouri, Hassina

doi:10.1007/s12665-018-7466-7

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Selected examples follow:• High fluorine and dental fluorosis prevalence from the Nakuru area, Kenyan Rift. For the first time, this study established a clear link between the high fluorine content in water and dental fluorosis as well as the spatial distribution of fluorine concentrations in this area 4,5.…”

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confidence: 60%

Medical Geology and its relevance in Africa

Mouri¹

2020

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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Medical Geology is a relatively new discipline that is growing in importance. It is the field of science that deals with the impacts (positive or negative) of the geo-environment (including factors, processes and materials) on the health of humans and the ecosystem in general. 1 It is based on multi-, cross-and inter-disciplinary approaches bringing together experts from various fields of science including epidemiology, toxicology, geoscience, the environmental disciplines and public health. Only by understanding the geological history and background of our environment will we be able to contribute towards a better and deeper insight into the range of natural hazards that can (directly or indirectly) affect our health and that of the ecosystem. This understanding may result in the mitigation or minimisation of impacts and in preventing some of the widespread and serious health problems, and may even save lives. For these reasons, Medical Geology is a highly significant field of research that contributes to the wellbeing of our community in line with the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development. 2 Recently completed research projectsSo far, the projects within this initiative have mainly dealt with establishing a relationship between environmental geochemistry/mineralogy and human and animal health in specific African countries. More than 30 research 2

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confidence: 60%

Medical Geology and its relevance in Africa

Mouri¹

2020

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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“…Mass deployment will require achieving true cold chain independence by increasing the sensor's temperature stability. This is particularly important because many regions with endemic groundwater contamination concerns -for example, Kenya 22 , India 24 , Pakistan 25 , Bangladesh 26 , and others -are in places with relatively high temperatures. One of the most promising avenues for this is the addition of compounds called lyoprotectants that stabilize the system upon freeze-drying; some in vitro gene expression reactions can maintain integrity at 50°C for up to a month when supplemented with appropriate lyoprotectants, though similar studies have not been performed in biosensing reactions 27 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We therefore explored the accuracy and usability of bioengineered point-of-use uoride tests in Nakuru County, Kenya, a region with known geogenic uoride contamination 21,22 . Speci cally, we sought to evaluate test accuracy, assessed by the ability to correctly sense harmful levels of uoride (established by the WHO as ≥ 1.5 ppm 6 ) compared to photometry, a gold-standard method (Aim 1); and test usability, assessed by reported user experience with rehydrating and interpreting the tests (Aim 2).…”

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confidence: 99%

The accuracy and usability of point-of-use fluoride biosensors: a field study in Nakuru County, Kenya

Young¹,

Awuor

Owuor³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Geogenic fluoride contaminates the water of tens of millions of people. However, many are unaware of the fluoride content due in part to shortcomings of detection methods. Biosensor tests are a relatively new approach to water quality testing that address many of these shortcomings but have never been tested by non-experts. We therefore sought to assess the accuracy and usability of a point-of-use fluoride biosensor using surveys and field tests in Nakuru County, Kenya. The biosensor tests accurately classified elevated fluoride (≥ 1.5 ppm) in 89.5% of the 57 samples tested. Usability was also high, with all participants able to use the test and all but one sample correctly interpreted. These data suggest that biosensor tests can provide accurate, meaningful water quality data to help non-experts make decisions about the water they consume. Further scaling of these technologies could provide new approaches to track global progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6.

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“…High F − may be associated with the dissolution of fluorapatite, hornblende, and biotite, which are common in biotite-gneisses and basalts in the area [7,13]. Volcanic rocks in Makueni County are analogous to those of the Rift Valley, which is a known high fluoride belt [42]. The source of NO 3 − and NO 2 − in groundwater is usually attributed to anthropogenic activities such as agriculture, the introduction of domestic waste such as animal manure and contributions from septic systems [43].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Naturally Occurring Potentially Harmful Elements in Groundwater in Makueni County, South-Eastern Kenya: Effects on Drinking Water Quality and Agriculture

et al. 2020

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Makueni County is located in the semi-arid south-eastern Kenya region characterized by unreliable rainfall and limited surface water resources. This necessitates a high reliance on groundwater for domestic and agricultural use. In this paper, we report on the physico-chemical characteristics of 20 drinking water sources (boreholes, shallow wells, streams, and tap water) collected during the dry season (November 2018), the geochemical processes controlling their composition, and their suitability for drinking water and irrigation. Of all the physico-chemical parameters analysed, the concentrations of total dissolved solids, hardness, electrical conductivity, magnesium, calcium, chloride, and fluoride exceeded the permissible drinking water limits set by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) in up to 55% of the samples. The dominant ions reflect the high salinity in the water that ranged from very high to extreme in up to 50% of samples. The northern region shows the highest concentrations of the dominant parameters. The water type is predominantly Ca-Mg-HCO3 with a trend to Ca-Mg-Cl-SO4. Rock weathering and evaporation are suggested to be the primary controls of groundwater geochemical characteristics. High salinity and fluoride, which are associated with reported undesirable taste and gastrointestinal upsets, as well as cases of dental fluorosis are some of the effects of consuming groundwater in the region. These two parameters can be attributed to the weathering of biotite gneisses, granitoid gneisses, migmatites, and basaltic rocks that occur in the area. The high salinity and alkalinity of most of the samples analysed, renders the water unsuitable for irrigation in the study area.

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Natural occurrence of potentially harmful fluoride contamination in groundwater: an example from Nakuru County, the Kenyan Rift Valley

Cited by 16 publications

References 33 publications

Medical Geology and its relevance in Africa

Medical Geology and its relevance in Africa

The accuracy and usability of point-of-use fluoride biosensors: a field study in Nakuru County, Kenya

Naturally Occurring Potentially Harmful Elements in Groundwater in Makueni County, South-Eastern Kenya: Effects on Drinking Water Quality and Agriculture

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