Editing Desalination (section)

=== Iodine deficiency ===
Desalination removes iodine from water and could increase the risk of [[iodine deficiency]] disorders. Israeli researchers claimed a possible link between seawater desalination and iodine deficiency,<ref>[http://www.agri.huji.ac.il/newsletter/july2014.html "מידעון הפקולטה"]. ''מידעון הפקולטה לחקלאות מזון וסביבה עש רוברט ה סמית''. agri.huji.ac.il. July 2014</ref> finding iodine deficits among adults exposed to iodine-poor water<ref>Yaniv Ovadia. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263220648_Estimated_iodine_intake_and_status_in_euthyroid_adults_exposed_to_iodine-poor_water "Estimated iodine intake and status in adults exposed to iodine-poor water"]. ''ResearchGate''.</ref> concurrently with an increasing proportion of their area's drinking water from seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO).<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.iccidd.org/newsletter/idd_aug13_israel_1.pdf|title=Seawater desalination and iodine deficiency: is there a link?|journal=IDD Newsletter|date=August 2013 |vauthors=Ovadia YS, Troen AM, Gefel D }}</ref> They later found probable iodine deficiency disorders in a population reliant on desalinated seawater.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Can desalinated seawater contribute to iodine-deficiency disorders? An observation and hypothesis |journal=Public Health Nutrition |first1=Yaniv S|last1=Ovadia |first2=Dov|last2=Gefel |first3=Dorit|last3=Aharoni |first4=Svetlana|last4=Turkot |first5=Shlomo|last5=Fytlovich |first6=Aron M|last6=Troen |date=October 2016 |volume=19 |issue=15 |pages=2808–2817 |doi=10.1017/S1368980016000951 |pmid=27149907|pmc=10271113 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
A possible link of heavy desalinated water use and national iodine deficiency was suggested by Israeli researchers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jta.org/2017/03/27/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/researchers-find-israeli-children-at-risk-from-iron-deficiency-likely-due-to-desalinated-water|title=Millions of Israeli children said at risk of stunted development, possibly from desalinated water|website=jta.org|access-date=October 22, 2017|date=2017-03-27}}</ref> They found a high burden of iodine deficiency in the general population of Israel: 62% of school-age children and 85% of pregnant women fall below the WHO's adequacy range.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://new.huji.ac.il/en/article/34005|title=High burden of Iodine deficiency found in Israel's first national survey – האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem|website=new.huji.ac.il|access-date=October 22, 2017}}</ref> They also pointed out the national reliance on iodine-depleted desalinated water, the absence of a universal salt iodization program and reports of increased use of thyroid medication in Israel as a possible reasons that the population's iodine intake is low.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ovadia |first1=Yaniv S. |last2=Arbelle |first2=Jonathan E. |last3=Gefel |first3=Dov |last4=Brik |first4=Hadassah |last5=Wolf |first5=Tamar |last6=Nadler |first6=Varda |last7=Hunziker |first7=Sandra |last8=Zimmermann |first8=Michael B. |last9=Troen |first9=Aron M. |date=August 2017 |title=First Israeli National Iodine Survey Demonstrates Iodine Deficiency Among School-Aged Children and Pregnant Women |url=https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/thy.2017.0251 |journal=Thyroid |language=en |volume=27 |issue=8 |pages=1083–1091 |doi=10.1089/thy.2017.0251 |pmid=28657479 |issn=1050-7256}}</ref> In the year that the survey was conducted, the amount of water produced from the desalination plants constitutes about 50% of the quantity of fresh water supplied for all needs and about 80% of the water supplied for domestic and industrial needs in Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.water.gov.il/Hebrew/WaterResources/Desalination/Pages/default.aspx|title=Israeli Water Authority|website=water.gov.il|access-date=October 22, 2017}}</ref>