FLUORIDE CONCENTRATION IN WATER AT THE AREA SUPPLIED BY THE WATER TREATMENT STATION OF BAURU, SP

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the fluoride concentration in the public water supply at the area supplied by the Water Treatment Station of Bauru and classify the samples as acceptable or unacceptable according to the fluoride concentration. MATERIAL AND METHODS: samples were collected from 30 areas at two periods, October 2002 and March 2003. The fluoride concentration in the samples was determined in duplicate, using an ion sensitive electrode (Orion 9609) connected to a potentiometer (Procyon, model 720). Samples with fluoride concentration ranging from 0.55 to 0.84 mg F/L were considered acceptable, and those whose concentration was outside this range as unacceptable. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. RESULTS: the fluoride concentration of the water samples varied between 0.31 and 2.01 mg F/L. Nearly 56% of the samples were classified as acceptable. CONCLUSION: the variations in fluoride concentration at the area supplied by the Water Treatment Station reinforce the need of constant monitoring for maintenance of adequate fluoride levels in the public water supply.