The Health Ministry of Sri Lanka will commence a programme to measure the fluoride content in well water.
The Ministry said the programme has already commenced in the Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kurunegala districts. These areas have been identified by the Ministry following a survey to contain high amounts of fluoride in well water.
Health Ministry Spokesperson W. A. D. Wanninayake said that there are around 30,000 wells in the Anuradhapura district alone.
However, 8,000 of these wells are unusable for consumption due to the high level of fluoride found in them.
The spokesperson further noted that Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena had instructed the Ministry officials to detect wells containing high levels of fluoride and display warning signs for people not to use the water in those wells for drinking purposes.
A study conducted by the Institute of Fundamental Studies in Kandy points to the high percentage of fluoride in water in some areas of the North Central Province of Sri Lanka as the reason for the high prevalence of renal diseases in the area.
The consumption of water with high concentrations of fluoride has resulted in people being affected by kidney diseases, urinary tract diseases and complications, dental fluorosis and bone fluorosis.