The ManicaPost
Sharon Chigeza Business Correspondent
A MANICALAND based scientist has developed a device to remove excess fluoride in underground water which causes widespread fluorosis and other health problems in poor communities in Zimbabwe.
Fluorosis is a condition that affects the teeth and is caused by over-exposure to fluoride during the first eight to sixteen years of life.
Speaking at the launch of the defluoridation device in Mutare recently, the chief architect and founder of Chengie Advanced Defluoridation Technology, Chengetai Dunga, said he developed the product after realising the extent of poor oral health in Zimbabwe’s remote areas where they depend on underground water sources.
“Most children are exposed to fluoride from ground water like boreholes, deep wells and industrial waste. Ground water should be tested for fluoride before being commissioned for use. The only solution to reduce the complication of dental fluorosis is through defluoridation of water,” he said.
Mr Dunga said the invention was aimed at reducing fluorosis from grassroots level upwards and has already been approved by the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
“Some of the common ailments suffered today are a result of excess fluoride in drinking water especially water from underground sources.
“The defluoridation technology will reduce fluorosis from grassroots upwards and has been recommended by the Ministry of Health and Child Care and Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe, among other organisations,” he said.
The device, he added, only removes the excess fluoride in water without altering its composition leaving water safe to drink in its original form.
He also said the reduction of fluoride in drinking water will aid in curbing ailments such as the formation of kidney stones, vision impairment, bone formation disorders and cancers.
“Some diseases such as kidney stones and some cancers are a result of undetected excess fluoride in our systems. The reduction of fluoride in drinking water especially from an early age will help curb such,” said Mr Dunga.
The device with a capacity to serve for up to a year is still only available at household level and plans are underway to increase its capacity to community level.
