A team from the Center for Sustainable Development and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory engaged social science students, especially women, to test for high fluoride levels in their own villages in India.
In the hilly part of Central India, the Alirajpur and Jhabua districts in Madhya Pradesh are known for the high fluoride levels in their underground water. The government has done a great job of drilling and providing handpumps in most locations. However, many of the handpumped wells have high levels of fluoride in their water. Long-term ingestion of large amounts of fluoride can lead to dental and skeletal fluorosis. Symptoms include staining and pitting of the teeth, joint problems, and abdominal pain and vomiting.
Tackling this issue will involve both science and social science. That’s why, working with the district collector of Alirajpur, Surabhi Gupta, a team of scientists from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and social science experts from the Center of Sustainable Development decided to pursue this problem.
During a visit to India during September, we set out to answer three questions. Our main research question was to understand the magnitude of the fluoride problem in the villages, backed by real data. Second, we wanted to know whether people are aware of fluorosis, and able to connect water to the symptoms of fluorosis? Finally, what are some of the best ways to make people aware of the problem and change their behavior?
After meeting with the Rural Development Department of the District Magistrate’s office and Public Health and Engineering Department officials, the Center for Sustainable Development experts suggested that they could field-test various options, but would need local “fluoride warriors” to join hands.
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