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RETRACTED ARTICLE: Groundwater contaminations and health perspectives in developing world case study: Gaza Strip

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This article was retracted on 01 September 2011

Abstract

Groundwater is the only source of water in the Gaza Strip. The results of a 10-year monitoring program revealed that more than 90% of the available water is not suitable for drinking purposes as a result of elevated chemical contaminants as well as microbiological organisms. The archives of the local hospitals showed catastrophic records on diseases caused by water directly and indirectly. Methemoglobinemia and dental fluorosis are well-known diseases caused by elevated nitrate and fluoride, respectively. Water-borne diseases are currently high and will increase if water, sanitation, and food-control services are not restored, or are allowed to deteriorate further. Heavy use and misuse of banned and prohibited pesticides may show other hard diseases in the near future. Geography, politics, and war combine to make the Gaza Strip a worst-case scenario for water-resource planners. Urgent alternative water resources should be secured and the human health should be given the highest priority.

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks Dr. Juliet VanEenwyk for her critical reading and comments on the manuscript. This research was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF, Germany (Förderkennzeichen: 02WT0534).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 236, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    B. Shomar

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  1. B. Shomar
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Correspondence to B. Shomar.

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This article has been retracted due to copyright violation.

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10653-011-9418-y

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10653-011-9418-y.

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Shomar, B. RETRACTED ARTICLE: Groundwater contaminations and health perspectives in developing world case study: Gaza Strip. Environ Geochem Health 33, 189–202 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-010-9332-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-010-9332-8

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