Human Toxicity, Environmental Impact and Legal Implications of

HUMAN TOXICITY, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF WATER FLUORIDATION
Environmental Risks and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The body
of work undertaken by these expert international bodies provides relatively
accurate and up-to-date, though incomplete, scientific information on
fluoridation and should therefore negate the necessity for the State to
continue to fund any national bodies in our current economic difficulties. It is
noted that questions remain regarding the value for money, accuracy and
transparency of the 2002 report given the published statements by the
Chairman of the NHS YORK Review 1114 regarding widespread
misrepresentation of the YORK scientific committee‘s findings.
Naturally if the policy of fluoridation is to cease there would be no
requirement for this body and, at a minimum, financial costs to the
Government would decrease providing further savings to the Exchequer.
11.1 The Potential Human Cost of Fluoridation
The potential human costs of water fluoridation are incalculable as
inadequate toxicological risk assessments have been undertaken on
synthetic based inorganic fluoride and its associated silica-fluoride
compounds that are used in Ireland for water fluoridation. What is absolutely
certain is that over the period of the past forty years consumers of fluoridated
drinking water have been over-exposed to a dangerous and highly reactive
substance that acts as an enzymatic poison on the human body.
There is no doubt from the data presented in this report that fluoridation of
drinking water has contributed to the overall health burden in Ireland in
recent years and this is likely to increase as long at the policy continues.
Fluoridation of drinking water supplies while regulated by outdated national
legislation is in breach of over thirty eight EU Directives and international
treaties, each one mandating that the State must protect consumers, the
environment and biodiversity. It is clear that the State has previously failed in
its duty of care to protect the most vulnerable in society by ensuring that a
‗one size fits all‘ approach with fluoridation of drinking water supplies exposes
the entire population from newborn infants to high-risk individuals, such as
diabetics, to multiples of the recommended daily tolerable intake of a
dangerous substance.
This has been tolerated by state agencies who have failed in their duty to
undertake adequate risk assessments or caution parents/care providers of
the known short- and long-term health risks, particularly for bottle-fed infants.
Consequently approximately 40% of the population of Ireland may now suffer
from the effects of clinical fluoride over-exposure resulting in dental, skeletal
and mental fluorosis. Fluorosis, dental or otherwise is a toxic effect that is
consistent with prevailing risk assessment definitions of adverse health effects.
The estimate of costs provided above does not include the costs to the
1114 NHS Centre for review and Dissemination, A systematic Review of water
fluoridation, The University of York, Report 18
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