The Toxicity of Fluoride
The toxicity of fluoride should not be our only concern about the level of fluoride added to the water supply, because the optimum level was set in the 1940s at approximately 1 ppm (equal to 1 mg/l). This was based on assumptions that the total intake of fluoride would be 1 mg/day, assuming 4 glasses of water were drunk per day.
However, current intake of fluoride comes not just from the water supply. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Iowa and reported in the November issue of the Journal of American Dental Association found that 71% of more than 300 soft drinks contained 0.60 ppm fluoride. Toothpaste, beverages, processed food, fresh fruits and vegetables, vitamins and mineral supplements all contribute to the intake of fluoride. It is now estimated that the total amount of fluoride ingested per day is 8 mg/day, eight times the optimum levels.
The Future of Fluoride
Fluoride is a toxic waste by-product of many types of heavy industries – such as aluminum, steel, fertilizer, glass, cement and other industries — must be disposed of somewhere. If it’s not used as an additive to water, manufacturers would have to pay millions of dollars to dispose of it properly, so the pressure to keep fluoride listed as a healthy additive to water and not as an environmental toxin that requires costly disposal is great, and political pressures to keep fluoride in the drinking water is strong.