Research on Dangers of Flouride in Tap Water

Is Fluoridated Water Harmful to Our Health or Good For Our Teeth?

Aug 31, 2007

Americans are told that fluoride is good for children's teeth. Recent research shows just how dangerous even trace amounts can be to our health. Make an informed decision

Ask anybody if fluoride is good for us, and most Americans will respond, that "yes" it must be. Many children were given fluoride treatments at the dentist office, it is in our toothpastes, and it is even in the water.

Mainstream press is catching up with the rest of the industrialized world, informing the American public otherwise. 98% of Western Europe has rejected fluoride after extensive independent studies on the health benefits and potential health hazards of fluoride.

A Feb. 5, 1990 Newsweek article states, "fluoride from your tap may not do much good--and may cause cancer."

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards of a maximum of 4 ppm (parts per million) of fluoride in drinking water provided by the municipalities may be outdated, given the preponderance of additional sources of fluoride from food and beverages in our diets.

Listed here are several actual and recent studies that indicate any amount of fluoride may be hazardous to our health.

Fluoride Research Shows Dangers to Human Health

According to the review of a three-year study by the United States National Research Council (USNRC), entitled, "The 2006 USNRC Report of Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards," the Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG) of fluoride in drinking water should be zero. This assessment was based on the criteria set forth by the Safe Drinking Water Act of using preventative public health intent. The USNRC Report found the following adverse health effects from exposure to fluoride: varying levels of fluorosis, increased susceptibility to bone fractures, skeletal fluorosis, arthritis, decreased thyroid function, and brain damage.

Dr. William Marcus, PhD, Senior Toxicologist at the EPA's Office of Drinking Water found "clear evidence of carcinogenicity in male rats" in a 1990 National Toxicology Program (NTC) cancer bioassay on sodium fluoride. His concern over the EPA downgrading the tumors reported in the study led to an internal memo, and his outspoken protest eventually got him fired.

In a 1998 peer-reviewed brain research report by Varner et al, fluoride in drinking water is reported to cause brain damage. The research report is entitled: "Chronic administration of aluminum-fluoride or sodium-fluoride to rats in drinking water: alterations in neuronal and cerebrovascular integrity."

Dr. Elisse Bassin's PhD thesis for Harvard University in 2001 links osteosarcoma, a lethal form of cancer for children, to fluoride exposure. In a peer review of this thesis, submitted to the USNRC, an extensive list of previous research studies on the potential carcinogenicity of fluoride is put into context.

For eleven years, Dr. Phyllis Mullenix, PhD, was the Head of the Toxicology Department of the Forsyth Dental Center in Boston, a world-renowned dental research institution affiliated with the Harvard Medical School. In 1995, she and three colleagues published "Neurotoxicity of Sodium Fluoride in Rats" in a peer-reviewed report in the international medical journal, Neurotoxicology and Teratology. The study links fluoride exposure to brain dysfunctions such as ADD, IQ deficits, and learning disabilities.

The Federal Employees Union comprised of the workers employed by the EPA, have issued a statement calling for a moratorium on fluoridating the nation's drinking water.

Dr. Arvid Carlsson, Pharmicologist and winner of the 2000 Nobel Laureate in Medicine/Physiology, states in a 2005 interview with Michael Connett of the Fluoride Action Network, that water fluoridation is "obsolete," and that nations that still practice it "should feel ashamed of themselves."

Make a Personal Decision About Toxic Fluoride in Water

Are the potential health hazards due to long term fluoride ingestion worth the risk? Even the toothpaste tube exhorts you to call the poison control center if you ingest too much toothpaste. Non-fluoridated toothpaste can be purchased at health food stores and co-ops.

Reverse osmosis water filter systems remove fluoride, and may be a better option than buying bottled water to drink and cook with. If you do choose to buy bottled water, and it is not treated with reverse osmosis, then contact the bottler to make sure that there is no fluoride in it.

One other option would be to start a grass roots movement to put political pressure on your municipality to stop adding fluoride to your city water. Communities in New Jersey and Los Angeles have had success with legislation preventing fluoride from being added to the public drinking water.

Resources for More Information on Fluoride and Its Adverse Health Effects

The Fluoride Action Network has an extensive website including a Health Effects Database and Sources of Fluoride Exposure.

The copyright of the article Research on Dangers of Flouride in Tap Water in Human Rights Violations is owned by Angela Schnaubelt. Permission to republish Research on Dangers of Flouride in Tap Water in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.