Engineering

Dental fluorosis

Ecology

Biology

Geotechnical engineering

Inorganic chemistry

Skeletal fluorosis

Environmental health

Fluoride

Groundwater

Environmental chemistry

Contamination

Environmental science

Medicine

Chemistry

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

In low concentration, fluoride is considered a necessary compound for human health. Exposure to high concentrations of fluoride is the reason for a serious disease called fluorosis. Fluorosis is categorized as Skeletal and Dental fluorosis. Several Asian countries, such as India, face contamination of water resources with fluoride. In this study, a comprehensive overview on fluoride contamination in Asian water resources has been presented. Since water contamination with fluoride in India is higher than other Asian countries, a separate section was dedicated to review published articles on fluoride contamination in this country. The status of health effects in Asian countries was another topic that was reviewed in this study. The effects of fluoride on human organs/systems such as urinary, renal, endocrine, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, brain, and reproductive systems were another topic that was reviewed in this study. Different methods to remove fluoride from water such as reverse osmosis, electrocoagulation, nanoﬁltration, adsorption, ion-exchange and precipitation/coagulation were introduced in this study. Although several studies have been carried out on contamination of water resources with fluoride, the situation of water contamination with fluoride and newly developed technology to remove fluoride from water in Asian countries has not been reviewed. Therefore, this review is focused on these issues: 1) The status of fluoride contamination in Asian countries, 2) health effects of fluoride contamination in drinking water in Asia, and 3) the existing current technologies for defluoridation in Asia. • The status of fluoride contamination in groundwater of Asian countries is reviewed. • India, Pakistan and China are critically affected by fluoride contamination. • Dental fluorosis is major adverse effect due to fluoride contamination in water. • Various defluoridation techniques have been discussed. • More research on fluoride decontamination is suggested.

Fluoride contamination, health problems and remediation methods in Asian groundwater: A comprehensive review