by Osiel González Dávila
The paper "Assessment of the Exposure to Arsenic and Fluoride from Drinking Water in the City of Guadalupe, Zacatecas, Mexico" was presented at the World Congress on Water, Climate and Energy organised by the International Water Association (IWA-WCE 2012) in Dublin on May 15, 2012.
González Dávila, O. (2012) Assessment of the Exposure to Arsenic and Fluoride from Drinking Water in the City of Guadalupe, Zacatecas, Mexico. World Congress on Water, Climate and Energy. International Water Association.
In several areas of Northern Mexico, groundwater arsenic and fluoride levels above the limits established by the... more
In several areas of Northern Mexico, groundwater arsenic and fluoride levels above the limits established by the Mexican guideline have been detected. An exploratory study found that in two of the extraction wells from the system that provides water to the city of Guadalupe, Zacatecas, the levels of arsenic were 10 and 16 times above the Mexican guideline. Further, the fluoride levels were two times above the guideline. There was an urgent need to characterize the risk areas for arsenic and fluoride exposure. In this study arsenic and fluoride exposures from drinking water were estimated and different risk areas in the city of Guadalupe were identified and mapped. It was found that 100% of the collected samples show levels of arsenic above the Mexican guideline of 0.025 mg/l arsenic and almost 50% of the samples have levels of fluoride above the 1.5 mg/l fluoride guideline. Women and children 0-12 years old were identified as particularly vulnerable groups. A comprehensive public policy is required to tackle this environmental problem.
Keywords: Arsenic, Fluoride, Mexico, Water Contamination
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