Abstract
Serum and urinary fluoride (F) concentrations are reported for 34 workers from the fertilizer industry and 55 workers from the wood industry in Mangalore City, India. Convenience sampling was employed to determine the F concentration in serum and urine using the ion selective electrode method. Workers employed in the fertilizer industry had higher serum F (0.077 +/- 0.027 ppm) and urinary F (3.85 +/- 1.66 ppm) than workers employed in the wood industry (0.037 +/- 0.009 ppm and 0.97 +/- 0.37 ppm). As expected, the serum and urinary F levels among exposed workers showed a strong correlation (r = +0.81). These findings indicate that phosphate fertilizer workers in India are at high risk of exposure to excessive amounts of F. Implementation of effective protective and regulatory measures confirming the Occupational Safety and Health Hazards (OSHA) standards or the Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) guidelines are recommended for phosphate fertilizer plants of India.