[Fluorides in urine of the population living in polluted environment]

The increased excretion of fluorides in urine was shown by ion-selective method, in three different groups of workers, inhabitants of Chorzów--the most polluted town in the Upper Silesia. In nearly all workers (90%) of Nitrogen Chemical Plant and Slaughterhouse (groups A and M), the urine fluoride exceeded three to four times the upper limit of the normal range, while only two times in slightly less number of workers (77%) of the Steelworks (group S). The subjective complaints and bone pains were correlated with excessive urine fluoride concentrations in about 40% of workers studied in groups A and M, and in 18% of workers in group S. These results point to an excessive exposition of people to fluorides from the polluted environment, as well as to a high risk of fluorine retention in bones and osteofluorosis.