Human Toxicity, Environmental Impact and Legal Implications of

HUMAN TOXICITY, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF WATER FLUORIDATION
3.0 FLUOROSILICICTES AND DRINKING WATER
It is now known that the policy of fluoridation of drinking water supplies is
unsafe and places an unacceptable health burden and unsustainable
environmental impact on the environment. Ireland is the only EU country with
a legislative policy for the addition of fluoride compounds to public water
supplies. In all other European countries alternative vehicles for fluoride
exposure, such as toothpaste, are the accepted practice. According to the
WHO 1 , where a population has a high level of dental awareness and uses
toothpaste there is no need to supply fluoridated water.
Water fluoridation is the addition of a fluoride compound to drinking water
supplies in order to increase its fluoride concentration. In Ireland public water
supplies are fluoridated with fluorosilicic acid (also known as hydrofluorosilicic
acid or hexafluorosilicic acid). The toxicology of hexafluorosilicic acid and
hexafluorosilicictes compounds are incompletely investigated 2 . It is incorrect
to assume that fluoride compounds used in water fluoridation dissociate
entirely into fluoride ions, and harmless hydration compounds of silicon. In
recent years, many studies have indicated that ingested fluoride induces free
radical toxicity in humans and animals. 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 From a toxicological perspective
fluoride is regarded as more toxic than lead, and only slightly less toxic than
arsenic. 7 Pure fluoride solutions do behave relatively predictably, both over
the permissible pH range of municipal water supplies and in the extremely
acidic environment of the human stomach. In contrast, fluorosilicictes
dissociate in highly complex fashion in water, with a range of complex
derivatives forming at different pH values. 8,9,10
1 Nutrients in Drinking Water, Water, Sanitation and Health Protection and the Human
Environment World Health Organization, Geneva, 2005.
2 Critical review of any new evidence on the hazard profile, health effects, and
human exposure to fluoride and the fluoridating agents of drinking water, Scientific
Committee on Health and Environmental Risks, Director General for Health &
Consumers 2010
3 Kaushik T, Shyam R, Vats P, Suri S, Kumria MML, Sharma PC, et al. Glutathione
metabolism in rats exposed to high-fluoride water and effect of spirulina treatment.
Fluoride 2001;34:132-8.
4 Guan ZZ, Xiao KQ, Zeng XY, Long YG, Cheng YH, Jiang SF, et al. Changed cellular
membrane lipid composition and lipid peroxidation of kidney in rats with chronic
fluorosis. Arch Toxicol 2000;74:602-8.
5 Kalyanalakshmi P, Vijayabhaskar M, Naidu MD. Lipid peroxidation and antioxidant
enzyme status of adult males with skeletal fluorosis in Andhra Pradesh, India. Fluoride
2007;40:42-5.
6 Shivarajashankara YM, Shivashankara AR, Bhat PG, Rao SH. Effect of fluoride
intoxication on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant systems in rats. Fluoride 2001;34:108-13.
7 Williams and Williams (1984), Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, ppII-4, II-
112, II-129
8 Crosby NT; "Equilibria of Fluosilicate Solutions with Special Reference to The
Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies"; J Appl Chem; v19; pp 100-102, 1969
9 Busey RH et al; "Fluorosilicicte Equilibria in Sodium Chloride Solutions from 0 to 60 o C";
Inorg. Chem V 19; pp 758-761, 1980.
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