Well Testing for Fluoride by Local Participants in Rural Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract:

In some rural areas of Western India, drinking well-water with particularly high fluoride causes debilitating skeletal deformation even in children. The fluoride in well water is of natural origin and its spatial distribution is spatially heterogeneous. This complicates prediction but also provides an opportunity for lowering exposure by sharing safe wells. In order to generate the necessary tests, a citizen-science model was adopted by involving master’s level students in social work at a local college.

The study was conducted from September 2019 through January 2020 in 200 villages of Alirajpur district, India, dominated by tribal agricultural communities with a literacy rate <50%. Locally available test kits from the District’s Water Department were used after verifying its performance against laboratory measurements. Samples with more fluoride cause a reaction when a reagent is added, turning it from pink to yellow. The color of the sample is then compared to a freshly analyzed reference sample containing 1.5 mg/L fluoride, which is the World Health Organization guideline for fluoride in drinking water. All wells with up to 1.5 mg/L fluoride were painted blue; wells with >1.5 mg/L fluoride were painted yellow. Students recorded their data using their smartphone. The results were made posted online in Google Maps, along with well photos for future well identification (https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=15B3kp3nPHHT4Un-Vn70QD9AAmgJC2s6u&ll=22.289161515868333%2C74.42364695&z=11).

The 60 students participating in the citizen science program tested a total 1200 wells, 10% of which with fluoride levels >1.5 mg/L. Most high-fluoride wells were located within 1000 feet of a low-fluoride well. With testing, safe water is therefore accessible for almost everyone. Along with the digital data, results were communicated to the village residents real-time by their village co-residents, i.e. the student testes. Pictorial posters with a public health message were designed given the high illiteracy in the region. The study helped Alirajpur residents to understand the scale of fluoride contamination in their handpumps. The District officials started to include the village impacted most with fluoride into their State level funding plans.