Too much fluoride in water endangers bones
- From: C. S. <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 17:56:43 -0600
Don't drink the water.
Reuters
WASHINGTON - Fluoride in drinking water -- long controversial in the
United States when it is deliberately added to strengthen teeth -- can
damage bones and teeth, and federal standards fail to guard against
this, the National Academy of Sciences reported on Wednesday.
The vast majority of Americans -- including those whose water supply
has fluoride added -- drink water that is well below the limit for
fluoride levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
But the academy's expert panel said some 200,000 people in the United
States may consume water that is at or above the government's standard
because of naturally occurring fluoride.
Children exposed to the government's current maximum fluoride limit
"risk developing severe tooth enamel fluorosis, a condition
characterized by discoloration, enamel loss and pitting of the teeth,"
the academy said in a statement.
Children are at particular risk in communities with water at or near
the federal limit, where about 10 percent of young people develop
severe tooth enamel fluorosis, the report said.
The report does not examine risks or benefits from the purposely
fluoridated water that millions of Americans drink, which contains
about one-fourth the government's limit, or less.
But its findings were bound to boost the arguments of those who have
long opposed addition of the chemical to public water systems for a
variety of reasons. Half a century ago, some groups charged that
putting fluoride in the water was a communist plot to poison Americans
or make them ill. Government officials consistently denied the
allegations.
Earlier reviews of health issues associated with fluoride have
considered enamel fluorosis to be ugly but not a health hazard. But
the new assessment considers it a health hazard as one function of
tooth enamel is to protect the teeth and underlying dental tissue from
decay and infection.
Over a lifetime, people who drink water with the level near the
federal limit of fluoride probably have a higher risk for bone
fractures, a majority of the panel concluded.
The EPA allows up to 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter of drinking
water -- .000534 ounces per gallon -- but the report found this level
did not protect against known risks from chemical.
The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit watchdog organization,
applauded the academy's report for raising health concerns about
excessive fluoride in drinking water.
"The bottom line from the nation's top voice on science is that you
can protect your children's teeth by brushing them and you can protect
their bones by getting rid of fluoride in tap water," Tim Kropp, the
group's senior scientist, said in an e-mail.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1756039
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