A Quantitative Determination at the Health Risk Assessment of Fluoride Content: Turkey, Ceyhan Basin Case Study

The increase in fluoride content in surface water causes negative effects on health. For this reason, it is important to routinely perform health risk analyses and update fluoride data. This study aims to compare the fluoride content in some surface waters used for drinking and irrigation purposes in the Ceyhan basin, located in the Mediterranean region of Türkiye, and to assess the potential health risk of fluoride intake in age groups (men, women, children, and infants). Quantitative determination of fluoride content in water was determined on a spectrophotometer following the SPADNS colorimetric method. Health risk assessments of age groups were calculated for each region. In general, fluoride concentrations were found to be between 0.04 and 1.91 mg/l, with an average of 0.715 mg/l. The mean estimated daily intake (EDI) was calculated for the four age groups as 0.033, 0.038, 0.039, and 0.269 for men, women, children, and infants, respectively. While the non-carcinogenic health risk value for infants is greater than 1, this value poses a moderate risk for children. It may be important in the future to take various precautions against the consumption of water specified in these age groups with high metabolic rates.