Chemical weathering of the Indo-Gangetic alluvium with special reference to release of fluoride in the groundwater, Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

In the central part of Indo-Gangetic alluvium in the Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh there are many pockets where groundwater shows high fluoride content. Drinking of fluorinated ground water has effected a large population and in many villages more than 80% of the population is suffering from fluorosis. The source of this fluoride appears to be the alluvial sediments deposited in the geological past as no hard rock terrain is present in the nearby areas. The area is dominantly made up of mud with pockets of sand. The sand fraction is made up of quartz, plagioclase, microcline, muscovite and biotite along with some accessory minerals like garnet, epidote, chlorite, tourmaline, hornblende, kyanite and a few opaque minerals. Moreover, the fluoride content in the groundwater varies both spatially and with depth indicating a sporadic occurrence. The surface water is devoid of high content of fluoride but is reported in hand pumps and in the dug wells. This paper deals with the geochemical study of the sediments up to a depth of 45m as most of the hand pumps are up to this depth to understand the source of fluoride. 14C dates of calcretes have suggested that the 45 m thick succession must have been formed in about 45000 years.