ABSTRACT
Fluoride is an acute toxin and is deemed to be slightly more dangerous than even lead. 48 water samples collected from hand pumps and bore wells belonging to 24 gram panchayats (villages) of Kanduku revenue sub division of Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh, were chemically analyzed for fluoride ion concentrations. High and low fluoride containing regions were identified on the basis of fluoride levels in the water samples and also on the prevalence rate of dental and skeletal fluorosis of the study area. Further, water samples containing high fluoride levels were tried for defluoridation by employing Active Carbons of abundantly available low-cost plant byproducts. These materials under optimum conditions of adsorbent dosage, time of equilibration and pH, were found to be successfully decreasing the fluoride ion concentration below permissible limits without disturbing drinking water quality standards.