ABSTRACT
Possibly China is one of the countries most severely affected by endemic fluorosis in terms of both incidence and severity. Fluorosis districts are most widespread, mainly in the arid or semi-arid regions such as Helongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu and Xinjiang provinces or autonomous regions. An F-enriched geological background may be the geochemical explanation of the high F concentration in these districts. Fluorosis occurs in the areas around some of the well-known hot springs, such as Xiaotangshang in Beijing, Lintong in Shaanxi province, Tangkeng in Guangdong province and Longxi in Fujian province. Endemic fluorosis in Zhijin county and Guizhou province can be taken as an example. The residents in Hehua village, like most other districts affected by this type of fluorosis, are minority people, mainly the Miao people. This type of fluorosis presents a case in which F in the geological environment affects human health through contamination of food and air.
