Ecotoxicological insights into fluoride pollution affecting soil, plant and human health.
Farooqi ZUR, Karim A, Qadir AA, Sonia A, Mohy-Ud-Din W
Soil Health
If your vegetable garden is irrigated with well water from a fluoride-prone aquifer, the leafy greens and root crops you harvest may be quietly concentrating fluoride in ways that standard soil tests won't catch.
Fluoride naturally occurs in groundwater and can build up in soil when that water is used for irrigation over many years. Plants — especially in alkaline or salty soils — can pull fluoride into their leaves, roots, and edible parts. This review pulls together decades of research to explain how that happens and what farmers and land managers can do about it, like adding calcium-based soil amendments to lock fluoride in place.
Key Findings
Fluoride uptake into edible plant tissues is higher in alkaline, bicarbonate-rich, and sodium-rich soils — not simply where total soil fluoride is highest.
Elevated fluoride suppresses soil microbial activity and enzymes critical for nutrient cycling, and reduces photosynthetic capacity in sensitive crops.
Chronic irrigation with fluoride-containing water sustains long-term loading into food crops, increasing dietary exposure particularly in vulnerable groups like children.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Fluoride in water and soil accumulates in crops and food, posing real health risks — especially where water is alkaline or sodium-rich. This review finds that the fluoride level in the edible parts of plants, not total soil fluoride, is what actually drives risk to people.
Abstract Preview
Fluoride contamination impacts the water-soil-plant continuum, with consequences for soil functions, crop performance, and dietary exposure. Although fluoride occurrence data are extensive, interpr...
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