Urinary Fluoride of Schoolchildren in Gdańsk

The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of fluoride in urine of 1240 children (635 boys, 605 girls), aged 7-14, living in Gdańsk, Poland, and to examine whether a correlation exists between age and gender, school location, and fluoride level in the urine. Urinary F was determined with a fluoride ion specific electrode. The mean urinary F concentration in children attending two schools near a fluoride-bearing phosphate fertilizer waste disposal site with 1.0 1.5 mg F/L in the drinking water was 2.16 ± 1.14 mg F/L. At three other schools near a phosphate fertilizer plant but with only 0.2 0.5 mg F/L in the drinking water, the mean urinary F concentration was 1.05 ± 0.49 mg F/L. In the first two schools the urinary F concentration in boys was significantly higher than in girls. No age – dependent differences were found in children in any of the schools.