ORIGINAL PAPER

Fluoride in Quaternary groundwater aquifer, Nile Valley,Luxor, Egypt

Ayman A. Ahmed

Received: 2 March 2013 /Accepted: 23 April 2013# Saudi Society for Geosciences 2013

Abstract The occurrence of fluoride in ground water is thefocus of the public and has attracted the attention of manyscientists all over the world due to its importance in publichealth. Deficiency or increase of fluoride uptake is consid-ered a public health problem due to the narrow permissiblelimit which should not exceed 1.5 mg/l according to theWorld Health Organization (WHO). The range of fluoridetolerance and toxicity is narrow. Deviation from the optimallevels therefore results in dental health effects such as cariesand fluorosis. Many studies have found fluorosis to beinvariably associated with high concentrations of fluoridein drinking water. Fluorosis is a considerable health problemin many areas of the world including Brazil, China, EastAfrica, Ghana, India, Kenya, Korea, Malawi, Mexico, Pa-kistan, South Africa, southeastern Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka,Sudan, Taiwan, Tanzania, and Turkey. Fluoride in ground-water of Quaternary aquifer of the Nile Valley, Egypt, doesnot gain the attention of the authors in the Nile Valley whichmakes the public health status of fluoride is not certain. Thepresent work aims at investigating the fluoride concentrationof Quaternary groundwater aquifer at Luxor as a represen-tative area of the Nile Valley to be a base line for subsequentstudies and criteria for public health. Ground water sampleswere collected from Quaternary groundwater aquifer atLuxor area, Egypt and analyzed for the purpose of investi-gating fluoride content. The results showed that fluorideconcentration in the study area ranges between 0.113 and0.452 with an average of 0.242 mg/l. Sources of fluoride inthe study area can result from the natural dissolution fromfluoride-rich minerals, fertilizers and from groundwater

recharge. It is worth mentioning that low fluoride contentin the study area is considered a public health threat spe-cially limited growth, fertility, and dental caries. Correctivemeasures should be taken to avoid the public health impactsof fluoride deficiency at Luxor area as well as similar areasin the Nile Valley. A public health program should beinitiated to account for the deficiency of fluoride in ground-water and deal with the other supplementary fluoridesources in food or fluoridation of drinking water supplies.

Keywords Fluoride . Quaternary aquifer . Nile Valley .

Luxor . Egypt

Introduction

Background

The Nile Valley of Egypt, is one of the oldest agricultural areasin the world, having been under continuous cultivation for atleast 5,000 years (USDA 1976; Crush 1995; Nasr 1997;Sallam 2003). Before construction of the High Dam, onlyone crop per year was produced by basin irrigation. Afterconstruction of the High Dam, these lands were changedcompletely to perennial irrigation whereby water is availableat any time throughout the year, thus producing two or morecrops annually (Abu-Zeid 1997; Hegazi and El 2002). Cropsare cultivated in a 2 or 3-year crop rotation including winter,summer, and nili (autumn) crops. Winter cultivation seasonstarts in October–November and summer season starts inMay–June (Hansen and Nashashibi 1975; Abou Hussein andSawan 2010; Rosenzweig and Hillel 1994).

Chemical fertilizer use in Egypt has increased significantlysince the construction of the Aswan High Dam in 1968(Shamrukh et al. 2001). Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and

A. A. Ahmed (*)Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Sohag University,Sohag, Egypte-mail: ayman@sohag.edu.eg

Arab J GeosciDOI 10.1007/s12517-013-0962-x

potassium (K) are the three major plant nutrients that arerequired as fertilizer. Phosphate is required during land prep-aration and used in the form of Triple Super Phosphate andCalcium Phosphate (EEAA 2005).

The hydrochemical properties of groundwater and itsquality for drinking and agricultural purposes at Luxor areaand its vicinity are addressed in many works (Farrag 1982,1991; Attia 2002; Abu El-Ella 1989; 1990; 1993; Shahin1991; El-Hosary 1994; Abadi 1995; 1999; Awad et al. 1995;Helmy and El Shahat 1996; Ahmed 1992; Abd El-Bassier1997; Awad et al. 1997; Ismaiel and Abdel Moneim 1998;1999; Soltan 1998; Hamdan 1999; Shamrukh et al. 2001;Attia 2002; Ahmed 2003; Elewa 2004; Kamel 2004; Ali2005a, b; EEAA 2005;Ismail et al. 2005; Abdel Rahman2006; Brikowski and Faid 2006; Abdallah et al. 2009;Campos 2009; Ahmed et al. 2010; Ahmed and Ali 2011;Masoud et al. 2010; Omer et al. 2010; Rizk 2010) whereasfluoride did not gain the authors attention.

Fluoride is of major importance due to its sensitivity. Therange of fluoride tolerance and toxicity is narrow. Deviationfrom the optimal levels therefore results in dental healtheffects such as caries and fluorosis. Fluoride in drinkingwater is the focus of the public and scientists because ofits effects on health. Unlike many other elements, a largeportion of fluoride is ingested from drinking water.

It is worth mentioning that fluoride does not impart anycolor nor does it give any kind of taste to the water. Manystudies have found fluorosis to be invariably associated withhigh concentrations of fluoride in drinking water (Desai etal. 1988; Samal and Naik 1988; Dwarakanath andSubburam 1991).

According to WHO guidelines for drinking water quality(WHO 1984a, b, 1994; 2004a; 2006a), the limit value forfluoride is 1.5 mg/l. The optimum value of fluoride indrinking water is considered to be 0.8–1.5 mg/l (WHO2004a). According to the Egyptian standards, the maximumlimit of fluoride is 0.8 mg/l (MOH Egyptian Ministry ofHealth 1995). The impact of fluoride on human health isaddressed by WHO 1971 (Table 1).

Fluoride has beneficial effects on teeth at low concentra-tions in drinking water, but excessive exposure to fluoridecan give rise to a number of adverse effects including dentalfluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, increased rates of bone frac-tures, decreased birth rates, increased rates of urolithiasis(kidney stones), impaired thyroid function, and impaireddevelopment of intelligence in children (Dean 1942; IPCS1984; US EPA 1985a; Chen et al. 1988; USNRC 1993; Luet al. 2000; IPCS 2002; Edmunds and Smedley 2005; WHO1970, 2004b, 2005, 2006b; Ozsvath 2009).

Fluorosis is a considerable health problem in many areasof the world including Brazil, China, East Africa, Ghana,India, Kenya, Korea, Malawi, Mexico, Pakistan, South Af-rica, southeastern Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Taiwan,

Tanzania, and Turkey (Teotia et al. 1981; Mambali 1982;Nanyaro et al. 1984; Dissanayake 1991; Gaciri and Davies1993; Kloos et al. 1993; Rao et al. 1993; RGNDW 1993;Grimaldo et al. 1995; Wang and Huang 1995; Carrillo-Rivera et al. 1996; Gizaw 1996; Apambire et al. 1997;Cao et al. 1997; Fung et al. 1999; UNICEF 1999; Wang etal. 1999; Ando et al. 2001; Choubisa 2001; Mekonen et al.2001; Wang and Reardon 2001; Mjengera and Mkongo2003; Oruc 2003; Secretariat of Health et al. 2003; Subba etal. 2003; Sujatha 2003a; Jacks et al. 2005; WHO 2005;Kaseva 2006; Sreedevi et al. 2006; Valenzuela-Vásquez etal. 2006; Guo et al. 2007; Gupta et al. 2005; Jacks et al.2005; Kim and Jeong 2005; Zhang et al. 2003; Guo et al.2007; Misra and Mishra 2006; Farooqi et al. 2007;Casagranda et al. 2007; Msonda et al. 2007; Lung et al. 2008).

Fluoride in groundwater of Quaternary aquifer of the NileValley in the study area does not gain the attention of thescientific community.

Only few records are available for fluoride concentrationin the River Nile. NBI (2005) showed that the fluorideconcentration in River Nile from Aswan to Cairo rangesbetween 0.391 and 1.969 mg/l in the River Nile from Aswanto Cairo and between 0.259 and 0.487 in the main irrigationcanals. Reports of the Egyptian Environmental AffairsAgency showed that fluoride concentration in the River Nileat different governorates monitoring stations is generallyranges between 0.11 and 0.56 mg/l (EEAA 2006; 2007;2008; 2009; 2010).

Consequently, the objective of the present work is toinvestigate the fluoride concentration of Quaternary ground-water aquifer at Luxor as a representative area of the NileValley to be a baseline for subsequent studies.

Nature and sources of fluoride

Fluorine is the most electronegative and chemically reactiveelement of all the halides. It is highly reactive with practi-cally all organic and inorganic substances. In the natural

Table 1 Impact of fluoride on health [WHO 1971, shown byDissanayake 1991]

Concentration of fluoride indrinking water (mg/l)

Impact on health

0.0–0.5 Limited growth and fertility,dental caries

0.5–1.5 Promotes dental health resultingin healthy teeth

1.5–4.0 Prevents tooth decay

4.0–10.0 Dental fluorosis (mottling of teeth)

>10.0 Dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis(pain in back and neek bones)

Crippling fluorosis

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environment, it occurs as the fluoride ion (F−). It occursnaturally in soils and natural waters due to chemical weatheringof some F-containing minerals (Totsche et al. 2000).

Fluorine is an abundant halogen in sedimentary rocks withfluorite, apatite, mica, illite, and montmorillonite being themain fluorine-bearing minerals (Deshmukh et al. 1995).Shales and bentonites are among the most fluoride-rich sedi-mentary rocks (Table 2, Fleischer and Robinson 1963).

Fluoride can be released into groundwater from manyfluoride-rich minerals through weathering and rock-water in-teraction processes (Handa 1975; Nordstrom and Jenne 1977;Edmunds et al. 1984; Pickering 1985; Kafri et al. 1989;Nordstrom et al. 1989; Lahermo et al. 1991;Wenzel and Blum1992; Gaciri and Davies 1993; Bardsen et al. 1996; Datta et al.1996; Edmunds and Smedley 1996; Gizaw 1996; Apambire etal. 1997a; Madhavan and Subramanian 2001; Sracek andHirata 2002; Kim and Jeong 2005; Sreedevi et al. 2006;Rafique et al. 2008; Saxena and Ahmed 2001; Carrillo-Rivera et al. 2002; Saxena and Ahmed 2003; Subba et al.2003). The fluoride-rich minerals (Table 3) associated withgranitic materials are noted by Bailey (1977).

Various industries and anthropogenic activities contributeto the release of fluoride into the environment and increase itsconcentration in groundwater involving the manufacture anduse of phosphate fertilizers, pesticides and sewage and

Table 2 The average fluoride content in different sedimentary rocks[Fleischer and Robinson 1963]

Rocks Range in mg/kg Average in mg/kg

Limestone Up to 1,210 220

Dolomite 110–400 260

Sandstone and greywacke 10–1,100 200

Shale 10–7,600 940

Table 3 Fluoride-rich mineralsassociated with granitic mate-rials [Bailey 1977]

Name Formula F (wt. %)

Fluorite CaF2 47.81-48.80

Cryolite Na3AlF6 53.48–54.37

Fluocerite CeF3 19.49–28.71

Yttrofluorite (Ca,Y)(F,O)2 41.64–45.54

Gagarinite NaCaYF6 33.0–36.0

Bastnasite Ce(CO3)F 6.23–9.94

synchisite CeCa(CO3)2F 5.04–5.82

Parisite Ce2Ca(CO3)3F2 5.74–7.47

Pyrochlore naCaNb2O5F 2.63–4.31

Microlite (Ca,Na)2Ta2O6(O,OH,F) 0.58–8.08

Amblygonite LiAl(PO4) 0.57–11.71

Apatite Ca5(PO4)3(F,ClOH) 1.35–3.77

Herderite Ca(BePO4)(F,OH) 0.87–11.32

Muscovite KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH,F)2 0.02–2.95

Biotite K(Mg,Fe)3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 0.08–3.5

Lepidolite KLi(Fe,Mg)Al(AlSi4O10)(F,OH) 0.62–9.19

Zinnwaldite KLiFe2+Al(AlSi3O10)(F,OH)2 1.28–9.15

Polylithionite KLi2Al(Si4O10)(F,OH)2 3.00–7.73

Tainiolite KLiMg2(Si4O10)F2 5.36–8.56

Holmquistite Li2(Mg,Fe2+)3(Al,Fe3+)2(Si2O22)(OH,F)2 0.14–2.55

Hornblende NaCa2(Mg,Fe,Al)5(Si,Al)8O22(OH,F)2 0.01–2.9

Riebeckite Na2Fe32+Fe2

3+(Si4O11)2(OH,F)2 0.30–3.31

Arfvedsonite Na3Fe42+Fe3+(Si4O11)2(OH,F)2 2.05–2.95

Ferrohastingsite NaCaFe42+(Al,Fe3+)(Si6Al2O22)(OH,F)2 0.02–1.20

Spodumene LiAl(SiO3)2 0.02–0.55

Astrophylite (K,Na)2(Fe2+,Mn)4(TiSi4O14(OH)2 0.70–0.86

Wohlerite NaCa2(Zr,Nb)O(Si2,O7)F 2.80–2.98

Tourmaline Na(Mg,Fe)3Al6(BO3)3(Si6O18)(OH)4 0.07–1.27

Sphene CaTiSiO5 0.28–1.36

Topaz Al2SiO4(OH,F)2 13.01–20.43

Yttrobrithiolite (Ce,Y)3C2(SiO4)3OH 0.50–1.48

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sludges, aluminum extraction, fluorinated hydrocarbons (re-frigerants, aerosol propellants, etc.), fluorinated plastics(polytetrafluoroethylene, etc.), petroleum refining, coal burn-ing, steel production and hydrogen fluoride manufacturingunits, oil refining, chemical production, clay production, Alsmelting, glass and enamel manufacture, brick and ceramicmanufacturing, distribution of fluoride-containing fertilizersand pesticides, wastes from sewage and sludges, production ofuranium hexafluoride (UF6), and uranium trifluoride (UF3)from the nuclear industry (Neumuller 1981; WHO 1984a;1994; 2002; Fuge 1988; Fuge and Andrews 1988; US EPA1997; Ramanaiah et al. 2006; Vikas et al. 2009).

Phosphatic fertilizers, especially the super-phosphatesconsidered the most important sources of fluoride contami-nation to agricultural lands and exposure of people to fluo-ride (Kudzin and Pashova 1970; Omueti and Jones 1977;Gilpin and Johnson 1980; Kabata-Pendias and Pendias1984; ATSDR 1993; Datta et al. 1996; McLaughlin et al.1996; Gupta et al. 1999; Sujatha 2003a; Sharma and Sharma2004; Kundu and Mandal 2009a, 2009b).

Intensive use of agrochemicals (synthetic fertilizers, pes-ticides, nematicides, fungicides, weedicides, etc.) over the

years has created some environmental pollution issues. Ag-rochemicals in the soil can move from the surface when theyare dissolved in runoff water or when they percolate downthrough the soil. Those that have infiltrated the soil willeventually reach groundwater (Suthar 2011).

Pesticides contain fluoride that could be released into theenvironment and agricultural lands (Budavari 1989;Strunecka and Patocka 1999; Bouaziz et al. 2006). The useof fluoride-containing pesticides in agriculture also contrib-utes to the release of fluorides to the environment. Approx-imately 150 fluoridated pesticides are identified by the USEPA. The three most widely used are herbicides: trifluralin,fluometuron, and benefin (benfluralin) (US EPA 1997). Thecategory “Fluorine Insecticides” includes cryolite, bariumhexafluorosilicate, sodium hexafluorosilicate, sodium fluo-ride, and sulfluramid.

Study area

Luxor is in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governoratewith an area of approximately 416 km2 (Fig. 1). Luxor wasonly a city belonging to the Qena Governorate when it was

Fig. 1 Location map of Luxor area, Egypt

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separated administratively and became a new governoratecalled “Luxor Governorate” on December 2009. The city ofLuxor was assigned as the capital of the Luxor governorate.Agricultural lands represent about 73.8 % of the total areawhereas urban areas represent about 19.4 % and about 6.8 %is barren land on both sides of the Nile Valley. Luxor areaconstitutes a primary center of Ancient Egyptian Culturewhere the culture of Ancient Egypt has been imprinted alongthe Nile Valley by means of the famous pharaonic monumentsstanding in a good form of preservation. The area of studyincludes many archaeological sites on both sides of the RiverNile such as temples of Luxor, Karnak, Medinet Habu,Ramsium, the Memnon Clossi, in addition to the famoustombs such as the Valley of Kings and Valley of Queens(James 1979; Baines 1992; Manley 1996; Baines and Malek2000).

Climate

Luxor area is characterized by arid and desert conditions.The maximum air temperature varies between 22.9 °C in Janand 40.9 °C in Jul whereas the average minimum tempera-ture varies between 5.7 °C in Jan and 23.9 °C in Jul. Themonthly average of relative humidity in the study area isranging between 25.0 % in May and 55.0 % in Dec. Themonthly average of wind speed varies in time and locationwith monthly averages ranging between 5.9 km/h in Oct and9.3 km/h in April. Rains are rare and occur randomlythroughout the year. The monthly average of precipitationranges between 0.0 and 0.3 mm (Ibrahim 1996; Ahmed2003; EEAA 2005; Tyson 2010).

Geologic setting

The geologic setting of Luxor area is well addressedaccording to the works of Beadnell (1900), Sandford(1929, 1934), Sanford and Arkell 1933 (Sanford and Arkell1933; Sandford and Arkell 1939), Cuvillier (1938),Huzayyin (1941), Youssef (1949, 1954), Said (1961, 1962,1975, 1981), El-Naggar (1963, 1966, 1968), Butzer andHansen (1968), De Heinzelin (1968), Philobbos (1969),Said et al. (1970), Hsu and Cita (1973), Wendorf and Schild(1976), Wendorf and Schild 2002), and Kamel (2004). Thesurface geology of Luxor area is geochronologically repre-sented by Upper cretaceous, Paleocene–Eocene, Pliocene,and Pleistocene–Holocene. The subsurface geology of thestudy area (Fig. 2) is represented by Pliocene, Pleistocene,and Holocene units as follows (Said 1981; Kamel 2004).

The Pliocene unit comprises the sediments of the Paleonileriver system. It is represented in Luxor area by two formationsnamely: Pliocene fault breccia or intraformational conglomer-ate andMadamud Formation which is made up of interbeddedred brown clays with thin fine-grained sand and silt laminae.

The Pleistocene unit comprises the Protonile sedimentsof Early Pleistocene, the Prenile sediments of the MiddlePleistocene and the Neonile sediments of Late Pleistoceneage. The protonile sediments are represented by ArmentFormation which is made up of pebbly and bouldarygravels, while the prenile sediments are represented by QenaFormation which composed of cross-bedded fluvial sandswith minor gravel and clay beds and Abbassia Formationwhich is made up of massive loosely consolidated gravel ofpolygenetic origin.

The Holocene unit is represented by the Neonile sediments(Arkin Formation). It is made up of silt, micaceous sand andclays. The recent alluvial cover comprises unconsolidatedsediments represented by Nile flood plain unit attains a totalthickness of 18.5 m, made up of two sequential layers, siltyclay, and clay layers (Kamel 2004).

Hydrogeology

The surface water hydrology of the area is mainly repre-sented by the River Nile and irrigation canals. Two principalgroundwater aquifers are distinguished at Luxor area asfollows (Fig. 3):

The Quaternary aquifer

The aquifer occupies the central strip on the Nile Valleyforming the old cultivated lands on both sides of the Nileand forms the most important water-bearing formation inLuxor area. This aquifer can be categorized into twohydrogeological units: the upper Holocene aquitard andthe lower Pleistocene aquifer.

The Holocene aquitard including the phreatic groundwa-ter is equivalent to the Neonile sediments (Arkin andSahaba–Darau formations) (Said 1981). This unit is madeup of two sequential layers, a silty clay layer (18.5 m thick)which changes laterally into clay and fine sand, and a claysilt layer (13.5 m thick) at the base. The layer has greaterthickness near the river channel and vanishing near thevalley fringes. This unit has low horizontal and verticalpermeability and receives the surface water seepage formingsubsoil water and acting as an aquitard to the underlyingaquifer (Barber and Carr 1981; Abdel Moneim 1988; Ahmed2003; Kamel 2004).

The Pleistocene aquifer is equivalent to the protonilesediments of Early Pleistocene (Arment Formation) andthe prenile sediments of the Middle Pleistocene (Qena andAbbassia Formation). It is mainly formed of unconsolidatedpebbly and bouldary gravel changed laterally into medium tocoarse sands and gravel. The Pleistocene sediments reachesabout 64.5 m thick in Luxor area (Kamel 2004) are underlainby more than 100 m of brown clays of the Pliocene unit(Madamud Formation).

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The Pleistocene aquifer has high horizontal and ver-tical conductivity (Farrag 1982; Awad et al. 1997). Theaquifer is highly productive and of good water quality.It is recharged mainly from irrigation water and seepagefrom irrigation canals through the Holocene aquitard(Abu-Zeid 1995; Shamrukh et al. 2001; Shamrukh and

Abdel-Wahab 2008; Brikowski and Faid 2006; Ahmed2003; Kamel 2004). Discharge of this aquifer is throughgroundwater pumping for irrigation and drinking pur-poses and natural discharge towards the River Nile(RIGW/IWACO 1997; Shahin 1991; Awad et al. 1997;Ahmed 2003).

Fig. 2 Geologic map of Luxor area (compiled from Klitzsch and Wycisk 1987 shown by Kamel 2004)

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The Plio-Pleistocene aquifer

This aquifer represents the secondary aquifer in the studyarea and exposed at the outer fringes of the Nile aquifersystem adjacent to the floodplain. It is composed of clay,sand, and gravel (Awad et al. 1997; Kamel 2004; Ismail etal. 2005). The aquifer has more thickness near the Quater-nary aquifer and decreases towards the Eocene limestoneboundary on both sides of the Nile valley. At the valleyfringes, the groundwater in this aquifer is under phreaticconditions. This aquifer is of low productivity. The rechargeof this aquifer is mainly from excess irrigation from thereclaimed and desert lands and from deeper aquifer systems(RIGW 2002). Discharge of this aquifer is through thegroundwater pumping or to adjacent groundwater aquifers(Awad et al. 1997).

Methodology

Thirty-three groundwater samples representing the ground-water of the Quaternary aquifer were collected from thestudy area (Fig. 4). A GPS system is used for locatingsampling sites. The samples were analyzed for fluoride

concentration using Fluoride Ion Selective Electrode modelHANNA HI4110.

Topographic maps (EGSA 2006), field surveys andremote sensing techniques were used for delineation ofland use classes for the purpose of investigating thepossible role of agricultural activities (application of ag-rochemicals) and recharge from irrigation water in en-richment of Quaternary groundwater aquifer withfluoride. The Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) image(Path 145/Row 42) acquired on 2011 is used for detec-tion of land use classes in the investigated area. TheLandsat image was georeferenced to UTM coordinatesystem, zone 36 North based on topographic maps ofstudy area. Erdas Imagine 2010 (Erdas 1999, 2010) andArcGIS 9.3 (ESRI 2006) were used for analysis of dataand visualization of results. The supervised classificationtechnique is used for image classification.

Results and discussion

Fluoride concentration in the study area ranges between0.113 and 0.452 with an average of 0.242 mg/l (Fig. 5). Itcan be noticed that fluoride concentration increases towards

Fig. 3 Hydrostratigraphic cross section at Luxor area (compiled from RIGW 1997)

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the valley fringes (Fig. 6). This may be attributed to tworeasons: the effect of agriculture and fertilizer application atthe fringes of the valley where the clay cover is absent, andthe effect of the urban areas around the River Nile whereirrigation is less (Fig. 7).

Discussion

It is worth mentioning that low fluoride content in the majorityof the study area is considered a public health threat.According to the WHO (1971) classification (Table 1), theprobable health impacts of fluoride deficiency in the studyarea is “limited growth and fertility and dental caries”. Cor-rective measures should be taken to avoid the public healthimpacts of fluoride deficiency at Luxor area as well as similarareas in the Nile Valley.

According to the available information, the main sourcesof fluoride at Luxor area can be summarized as follows:

(a) Leaching of fluoride from rocks and minerals rich influoride. A possible source of fluoride in the study areais leaching and weathering from fluoride-rich minerals ofthe Quaternary sediments. The Quaternary sediments ofthe Nile Valley contain fluoride-rich minerals in consider-able amounts including apatite (Ca5(PO4)3(F,ClOH)),muscovite (KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH,F)2), hornblende(NaCa2(Mg,Fe,Al)5(Si,Al)8O22(OH,F)2, topaz(Al2SiO4(OH,F)2 as denoted by Omer (1996).

(b) Leaching from super phosphate fertilizers. Anotherprobable source of fluoride is the application of superphosphate fertilizers in agricultural areas. Few avail-able studies showed the effect of fertilizer productionas a source of fluoride pollution in the vicinity of the

Fig. 4 Location map of the collected groundwater samples from the study area

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study area. Karram and Ibrahim (1992) showed theeffect of Manqabad Super Phosphate Factory (located

at Assiut about 222 km north of the study area) oncamels where the factory emits hydrofluoric acid (HF)

Fig. 5 Contour map showingthe distribution of fluoride inthe study area

Fig. 6 Variation of fluoridecontent in groundwater and itsincrease towards the cultivatedlands away from the River Nile

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gas. The effect of this factory on the fluoride content ofcow and buffalo milk (Shehata and Ibrahim 1984) andhens is also noted (Abdel Hamid et al. 1994).

(c) Input from Irrigation water. The groundwater genesis inthe Nile Valley of the Quaternary aquifer is mainlyfrom surface and meteoric water percolation mainlyfrom applied irrigation water. Few available studiesindicated that the fluoride concentration in the RiverNile is ranging between 0.11 and 0.47 mg/l (EEAA2008) and 0.28–0.37 mg/l (Osman and Kloas 2010).The Nile water is diverted into irrigation canals andnetworks. It is possible that part of fluoride in ground-water of Quaternary aquifer is related to recharge fromirrigation water which is primarily from the River Nile(Fig. 7).

Conclusion

It is so important to monitor fluoride concentration in ground-water in a regular basis and monitor the application of superphosphate fertilizers especially in deserts and reclaimed landswhere the clay cover is absent and direct mixing of seepage

irrigation water containing fluoride from fertilizer applicationmay occur.

It is worth mentioning that the governmental parties re-sponsible for the public health have to monitor fluoride in thewhole country and determine areas of deficiency or increasedfluoride concentration for better management of fluoride con-centration in drinking water and improvement of publichealth.

Acknowledgments This project was supported financially by theScience and Technology Development Fund (STDF), Egypt, GrantNo 1886 US-Egypt Program.

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