Thesis
Predicting geogenic groundwater fluoride: Malawi as a case study
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2021
- Thesis identifier
- T16176
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201777396
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- Geogenic fluoride contamination of groundwater causes the health conditionfluorosis and is a global water degredation issue affecting an estimated 200 millionpeople. It has been identified as a priority chemical contaminant of concern by theUnited Nations and will be a focus in many fluoride-vulnerable developing countriestowards Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) related to water quality. Predictinggroundwater vulnerability to geogenic fluoride will be key to sustainably managinggroundwater assets for SDG 6, however some developing nations may not have theresources or data available to develop a solution. Malawi has only sparse knowledge ofissues with fluoride and fluorosis and it does not have access to comprehensive nationalgroundwater fluoride data which is a hinderance to the development of a complex riskmodel. This thesis sought to fill the knowledge gap with a national data collation and asynthesis of geological, hydrogeological and hydro-geochemical analyses of fluorideoccurrence, to develop an innovative prediction method to screen for groundwaterfluoride contamination which can be applied nationally. National groundwater fluorideoccurrence was documented for the first time in Malawi providing a master data set ofgroundwater fluoride spanning 50 years. Fluoride was found to occur from two distinctsource types (lithological, hydrothermal), each of which was designated a fluoride riskfactor using fluoride-lithology statistics from existing data and extrapolating wheredata were absent. The method was developed to be dynamic with prediction accuracyincreasing as new data is acquired, and can be easily applied at any scale in any countryfor little expense. The prediction method developed will allow the Government ofMalawi to manage its groundwater infrastructure assets for fluoride contamination ina targeted manner, boost their attainment potential for SDG 6, redefine theirgroundwater policy to include geogenic fluoride contamination and bring theirgroundwater fluoride standard in line with observed health risks.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Renshaw, Joanna
- Kalin, Robert
- Rivett, M. O. (Mike O.)
- Resource Type
- DOI
- Funder
Relations
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