Flourosis and Flouride Removal: Long Term Precautions for Fluoride Removal

Long Term Precautions for Fluoride Removal
It is very important to take appropriate long term care of the Fluoride removal equipment to ensure its effective functioning and for the health of the people.

All devices using a fluoride removal media need to be washed or regenerated after a specific amount of water has been treated to remove the accumulated fluoride in that media. This is very essential, as the media will not remove fluoride in the incoming water if excess fluoride has accumulated in the media.

In the long run, recharge of the water table by Rain Water Harvesting is the most sustainable solution to the Fluoride problem. The decrease in the ground water tables is a major threat in preventing Fluorosis. When the water table drops below a certain level, it will not be possible to pump out water beyond a certain level using a hand pump. Therefore, by constantly renewing the water levels in the ground by doing rain water harvesting, we can combat the problem of Fluorosis in the long run.

Fluoride Removal and Associated Problems

Whatever is the method for Fluoride removal, one problem still remains. Fluoride removal will result in the production of a waste either in liquid form or as sludge with a very high concentration of the Fluoride removed from the water.

Disposing of this sludge or liquid in a way such that it does not re-enter the source of water from which it was removed has been proved to be beyond the capability of any community. Re-activating or regenerating the media or material used for Fluoride removal was another activity that saw communities avoiding it. There was a marked lack of ownership by the communities.
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