In a surprising reversal, last month EPA’s announced that it intends to lower the maximum amount of fluoride in drinking water because of growing evidence supporting the chemical’s possible deleterious effects to children’s health.

[..] January’s EPA recommendation reversal was made following a revised risk assessment study that found 2 out of 5 adolescents had tooth streaking or spottiness and some pitting as a result of excessive fluoride. In addition, other studies have found excessive ingestion of fluoride capable of increasing the risk of brittle bones leading to fractures and debilitating bone abnormalities.

[..] According to the Los Angeles Times, back in 2005, “the heads of 11 EPA unions, including those representing the agency’s scientists, demanded that EPA reduce the permissible level of added fluoride in water to zero, citing research suggesting it can cause cancer. Other studies have pointed to neurotoxicity and hormone disruption from excessive fluoride”.

It has taken the government more than 60 years to recognize – some would argue admit – that American children have been overexposed to this toxic, potentially harmful chemical.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/0...rses-fluoride/




Take-away:

Hey, exactly what I've been saying for years, what will all the status quo bots who refused to look at the legitimate evidence and just hid behind the statusquobot favorite conspiracy theorist smear, say?

Kudos to pretty much all the western European countries for figuring this out a decade+ before us. Which tends to be standard.

Ikestoys (statusquobot) you were wrong.

I have a feeling you would punch your mom in the mouth if the Department of Health told you it was good for her teeth.

I think most major nations banned adding fluoride to the water in the late 70's early 80's.

But yeah.

well, I got about 5 years' worth, on 3 USAF bases.
[In their defense, I imagine they had leftover rocket fuel.]

I would.
In the civilian part of Cali, I'm pretty sure they were too cheap to flouridate water.

Change the thread title to Easiest Water Supply Poisoning Ever.

lollerskates

roflcopter

My chemistry teacher taught me that "everything is toxic". Including water. So just because there are potential issues with pitting doesn't mean fluoride should be banned. I'm bad about brushing my teeth (with fluoridated toothpaste), so my teeth would have probably rotted out without fluoride in the drinking water.

As far as I know they don't do this in Britain. I think 'zomg they put fluorine in our water' is a bit disingenuous though when people say it. It's basically the same as saying 'zomg they put chlorine in my food'.

Yup, likely a case of kids being better at brushing and better toothpaste on the market so they can adjust down the concentrations to compensate.

Fluoride has had WAY more benefits than any harm it may have done.

Apparently between 1 and 20% of Britons drink fluoridated water. Same with most of Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fl...tent-world.svg

Around 10% of the UK does. I know we do in the North East and i think Manchester does too (though their tap water is so cloudy i tended to avoid drinking it when i lived there).

To clarify, they don't put F2 in the water (that would be pretty bad), they use some fluorine salts such as NaF (very similar in toxicity and reactivity to NaCl, table salt). This stuff isn't dangerous unless you drown yourself in it.

They also use H2SiF6 apparently, which is basically just a big blob of unreactivity.

edit: on Britian's water, interesting ty.

ha HA!

Sure sure everything is toxic but there's really no comparison between the toxicity of water and fluoride.

This issue goes a bit deeper than potential issues with pitting, the OP points toward potential issues with cancer, neurotoxicity and hormone disruption.

Don't be so quick giving fluoridated water the credit for your still intact teeth. Studies have shown better correlations between tooth decay rates and income levels. I've also read that genetic factors are a strong influence on dental health.

Next gen mind control drugs in ur water obv.

Completely misleading. 'The toxicity of fluorine' cannot be compared with 'the toxicity of water'.

NaF is called sodium fluoride, that's what we're talking about here if I'm not mistaken.

You want misleading?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoride_toxicity
I've never heard of anyone drowning in such a small volume of liquid.

Thank god,now I'll live long enough for vaccines to kill me.

You've not heard of secondary drowning?

I must say i'm surprised at that figure, it's much lower than I expected. The more abundant fluorine salts (CaF2 being the most abundant) are much less toxic than that, more in line with what I was expecting. Something must be going on in NaF/water solutions that I dont know about.

The point I was making stands however, fluoride, F-, can be deadly or benign. There's no toxicity of flouride, but there IS a toxicity of NaF, H2SiF6, F2, CaF2 etc.

Regardless, the main problem with fluorine is not its toxicity, it's the propensity for F. radicals to form. They cause cancer, rip up cells, mess up important bio pathways etc. With the stuff they put in water there is approximately 0 free radical formation.

Just looked up the levels of NaF that are put in water, the US govt specify an optimal range of 0.7mg/L-1.2mg/L.

That means to poison yourself, assuming the least optimistic ends of the toxicity range applies, you'd have to drink about 1000 litres of water. And quickly, before your body has the chance to start processing the fluorine.

Big Flouride shills itt.

So 600,000 - 12 million britons and 5 - 100 million EU drink fluoridated water...

this just in
200,000 - 290 million Americans have helpful statistics

1 Day olds - 3 year olds are at risk of dental fluorosis immediately from fluoridated water.


Journal of the American Dental Association

http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/abstract/141/10/1190

Fluoride does reduce plaque build up and does cause DAMAGE to your teeth. Yes there is naturally occurring fluoride on earth and in water sources but what we put into the public water system is simply a good batch of neurotoxic industrial waste.

How many kids have tooth decay vs. how many kids has dental fluorosis... hmmm.

So I hear after 60 years of water fluoridation, the CDC reports that 51% of 6 11 year-olds have cavities and 40% of 6 - 11 year-olds have fluorosis. I have heard of studies with higher cases of fluorosis than tooth decay.

Water fluoridation is simply unjustifiable when weighing the pro and cons of drinking the added IQ lowering substance (thx Dr. Howard).

My 2 pennies.

Which is why it is dumb for Iron to bring it up.