Fluorine in drinking water and urine in the urban and rural areas of northwestern China—Its determination by a fluoride ion selective electrode

In this study, the author determined fluorine in drinking water and urine of residents who are divided into four age groups (5, 12, 35–44, 65–74 aged), living in Huangling City, Shaanxi Province and at 6 villages of Qin’an County, Gansu Province, P.R.China. Some residents are living in fluorine exposure areas. A total of 929 residents (463 females and 466 males) involved in the study were selected from 7 tap water systems. Drinking water samples were collected from each area and analyzed using the fluoride ion-selective method. No positive correlation relationship was found between fluorine concentrations in urine and those in drinking water in the area where the fluorine concentrations of drinking water are within the range of 1–2 mg/L. The fluorine absorbed by resistents of different ages is different in amount. With the same concentrations of fluorine in drinking water, more fluorine would be absorbed by young residents than old residents. No difference can be seen in absorption amount of fluorine among different genders.