Health Risk Assessment of Water Polluted with Fluoride in the Mining Area in Southern Tunisia: The Case of the Region of Berka

Aims: As part of risk assessment, we explored health impacts of consuming polluted water with fluoride in an exposed population in the region of Berka in the mining area of Gafsa. The main objective of this study was to evaluate and prioritize the health risks of polluted water with fluoride by the method of Kinney. The secondary objective is to propose a corrective action plan.

Study Design: Descriptive.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the southwest of Tunisia, in the mining area of south Gafsa (Moulares-Redayef basin) between February and June 2012.

Methodology: The approach adopted in the Health Risk Assessment of water polluted with fluoride is one of the Ranking methods named the method of Kinney which classifies risks according to their severity. It consists on (1) Research of the identified hazards in the population concerned, (2) analyze them, (3) Develop a strategy and (4) Set priorities.

Results: Following this process of health risk evaluation of water pollution with fluoride, we have been able to show that over 50% of the population had presented dental fluorosis and 11% of our population had a very high risk score.

Conclusion: Secondary health risks to polluted water with fluoride were important in our study population and a corrective action plan was proposed. This encourages us to promote the dosage of fluoride in water and the updating of Tunisian standards for drinking waters.