[Exposure to fluorides from drinking water in the city of Aguascalientes, Mexico].

OBJECTIVE

Determine the fluoride content in all the wells that supply drinking water to the city of Aguascalientes, Mexico, in order to establish the population's degree of exposure.

METHODS

The fluoride content of the 126 wells that supply drinking water to the city of Aguascalientes was determined, using the SPADNS method, in accordance with two Mexican regulations, NMX-AA-77-1982 and NMX-014-SSAI-1993. Using that data, we created fluoride isopleth maps showing the distribution of fluoride concentrations in the water supplies for the city of Aguascalientes. We also estimated exposure doses for the city's inhabitants.

RESULTS

The mean analysis uncertainty was 3.9%. Seventy-three wells had a fluoride concentration of" 1.5 mg/L, which was the maximum permissible value set by the Mexican standards then in effect. All the maximum exposure doses surpassed the minimum risk level set by Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) of the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States of America. In the children under 1 year of age, even the minimum does was slightly higher than the ATSDR risk level.

CONCLUSIONS

From estimating the fluoride exposure doses caused by water consumption in the city of Aguascalientes and comparing those doses with ones from other states in Mexico, we concluded that the fluoride intake in Aguascalientes represents a potential risk for inhabitants' health. The fluoride content of the city's drinking water should be reduced to 0.69 mg/L.