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Hi everyone, So I occasionally hear about this fluoridation of public drinking water and how it concerns some people. Ill start by saying, studying water quality is what I do just about on a daily basis, so I figure it wouldnt hurt to give thoughts. So basically, for those who aren't aware of the water fluoridation topic, public water supplies in a number of countries have fluoride additives. This compound by dental professionals is considered to help prevent tooth decay and cavities. Basically, by dental professionals, it is considered to be better for human health. On the other end of the discussion, you have people who feel as though they should have the right to choose what is in their water or not. And if the government has control of water supplies, hypothetically they could harm us if they contaminated the water we drink. Other people go further and propose ideas about fluoridated water and how it harms brain development of people, effectively brainwashing everyone. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So in studying water, most countries have environmental standards. Regulations that say, you cannot have X concentration of Y in the water you drink. If Y concentrations were discovered, you would typically have to shut down that water supply and clean it up. These standards are developed through referencing fluoride related research and its harmful affects. So there are a few questions I am seeking to shed light on in this topic. 1) What amount of Fluoride is harmful to us? 2) What Standards are in place for Fluoride? 3) What amount of Fluoride is our country supplying to us? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) What amount of Fluoride is harmful to us? http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/safety/nas.htm https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/file/your_health/fluoridation/20160824_evidence_report_final_1.pdf http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1104912/ So I took three documents of a number I've looked through, noted above. Everyone is free to add or reference their own. But it may help to simply have a read through them if anyone is interested. Most expansive studies appear to reach similar conclusions. Those conclusions being that higher concentrations of fluoride can harm human health and brain development, typically in children (lower body mass equates to greater affects of smaller concentrations of fluoride). Everyone is free to read the conclusions of each document and to make what they wish of them. Just out of curiosity, I did a lay persons statistical analysis of data provided in the Harvard study and derived my own conclusions from it. Basically, if anyone understands, I calculated upper and lower confidence limits of both harmful concentrations of fluoride and non harmful concentrations, then removed statistical outliers to try to give a more accurate conclusion to the data that harvard is providing. These being based on Table 1 of their research paper. Basically, and this is just my personal messing around and is by no means a conclusion of a greater value than any greater scientific organization, but... The mean concentration of fluoride in drinking water that is considered safe is 0.89 mg/L. The mean concentration of fluoride in drinking water that is considered harmful is 3.08 mg/L I would suspect that if you drink public water with a concentration of fluoride greater than 3.08 mg/L regularly throughout your life, you may be harmed. Again this is more of a lay interpretation of data. Its just me spending a half hour playing with numbers and isnt exactly an in depth analysis. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) What Standards are in place for Fluoride? 3) What amount of fluoride is currently being supplied to us? This question comes down to what country you live in. If you live here in the US, each state is going to have its own standards that are applicable to EPA regulations. Currently the EPA is proposing fluoridation at 0.7 mg/L. Which is lower than the mean concentration of fluoride in of statistically safe drinking water, as per the above referenced studies. Also, there are state regulatory limits. In New York, just as an example, there is a regulatory limit of 2.2 mg/L fluoride in public water supplies. This means that, public water is regularly monitored, and should there be greater than 2.2 mg/L fluoride discovered in your public water, they will shut the water supply down until they treat the water. New York actually has some of the cleanest drinking water in the US. So basically, if you live in the US, youre likely safe in regards to fluoride in public drinking water. If you drink natural water from the earth in your own private supply well, that is a different story, however, public supply wells in most states are regulated themselves by municipalities, so even if you went to a local park, your water is likely fine. Also, so far as I am aware, even with the installation of a potable water well for private use, youre still required to demonstrate safe drinking water quality before you can legally use your well. I have stuff to do today, so I guess ill leave the topic at that for now.