15. Behavior of fluoride and some physicochemical parameters in coral reef and coastal water of Red Sea, Egypt

M. S. Masoud*, W. M. El-Sarraf**, A. A. Harfoushs* and G. F. El-Said**

* Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University.
** National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Alexandria, Egypt.

Abstract. Red sea coastal water of Egypt receives large amounts of discharged waters containing industrial wastes (from fertilizer plant, textiles, slaughter house, Attaqa Power Station, Oil Processing Company, El Nasr Petrolum Company, .etc.), sewage, garbage, waste effluents oil refineries, wastes discharged from ships and oil pollution. The data indicated that the surface seawater content of the coastal area is affected by the amount of the discharged water and its chemical composition. The fluoride content and its chlorinity ratio were ranged between 3.3 and 7.8 mg/l and 14.21 and 35.82 x10-5 determined at Suez and Hurghada during Winter 2001 and Autumn 2000, respectively. Meanwhile, its content in the coral reefs is ranged between 4.33 and 4.96 mg/g for Acropora valida, Favia speciosa and Tubipora musica, respectively. Stepwise regression analysis for the Red Sea water is highly significant and the model is very fruitful, where the observed and calculated values are mostly concordant, indicating the effect of the discharged water on the chemical composition of the coastal water of Red Sea. Calcium chloride is used successfully for defluoridation of some seawater samples.


Key words: Coastal water of Red Sea, Coral reef, environmental parameters, cations, anions, correlations, defluoridation

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