Fluoride in Morocco
by
Edward G. Robles, Jr.
erobles@hotmail.com,
erobles@main.nc.us
Of course, you will understand that I have not been to Morocco since
1960, but I cannot feature the situation changing, except perhaps for
the worse. If any scientist wants to mount a study, and has the money
to do it, I would suggest a trip to Ain Sebaa, Morocco, a suburb of Dar
el Baida (Casablanca). It is a coastal town, and there is an almost
constant on-shore breeze. At the southern edge of the town is a giant
SUPERPHOSPHATES plant, whose effluents, I am certain, have never been
controlled. Looked at from the air, for a distance of about three
miles inland, is a "Fan," starting at the plant and spreading out, of
'brown.' On the ground, it is evident that not a blade of grass grows
in the area; flowers die; trees are stunted or dead. It is, to coin a
phrase, "a vast wasteland." I cannot imagine that the people are any
too healthy, but their M&M could be compared with those of surrounding
areas who are not downwind of the plant. Soil analyses in the area
have shown a high percentage of soluble Fluoride. Why? To produce
"Superphosphates," Phosphate rock is boiled with concentrated Sulfuric
Acid; Calcium Sulfate precipitates (Phosphate rock is largely apatite)
and the Hydrofluoric and fluosilicic acids are vaporized, and go out as
stack effluents, contaminating the surrounding countryside. Then lime is
added to the phosphoric acid that remains in carefully measured
quantities to make a phosphate fertilizer of guaranteed analysis.
Superphosphates are a major export of Morocco, and account for a large
portion of their foreign exchange. It is ironic that the area downwind
of a fertilizer factory would be, in essence, lifeless, but that's how
it is. Check it out - you might even use the internet to find out what
things are like in the Ain Sebaa area now.
Chemical Industry in Morocco
.