Fluoride: How to Eliminate this Toxic Contaminant from Drinking Water

It has been 69 years since fluoride was first added to a municipal water supply in the U.S. In 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan was the first city to be fluoridated. The city was initially supposed to perform a ten-year study to determine the safety and risks of fluoridated water, but by the following year many other cities joined in and the studies were never performed.

Decades later, with a mountain of scientific evidence on the toxicity of fluoride and its harmful effects on our health, why is it still added to a majority of municipal water sources?

Studies have shown that high levels of fluoride promote skeletal fluorosis or bone destruction. Patients undergoing dialysis that were given fluoridated water often suffered from severe illness and sometimes death. The list of harmful effects of fluoride is extensive, including contributing to damage of the thyroid, dementia, bone fragility in adults, disrupting the immune system and collagen synthesis and increasing bone cancer rates.

What I found most compelling and disturbing in my research of the toxicity of fluoridation is that babies exposed to fluoridated water in-utero revealed brain cells grossly abnormal. Keep in mind that these mothers drank the same fluoridated water that was within safe guidelines as set by the EPA. This is the same water that we drink today.

Fluoride joins lead, arsenic, methyl mercury, toluene, tetrachloroethylene, and other chemicals known to cause harm to brains, reports the Fluoride Action Network (FAN).

A landmark study by Dr. Phyllis Mullenix in 1995 showed that fluoride does cross the blood brain barrier. It effects behavior and lowers IQ. Scientists have also identified a possible link between fluoride and Alzheimer’s disease. In 1984, a Japanese doctor “…..” extensive research revealed a link between fluoride and uterine cancer. Many other studies conducted over the years have shown a correlation between other types of cancer, including but not limited to: osteosarcoma, respiratory cancers and oral cancers.

Developmental neurotoxins such as fluoride are capable of causing widespread brain disorders such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, and other cognitive impairments.  The harm is often untreatable and permanent.

Eliminate Fluoride

In a more recent Meta - Analysis study, performed at Harvard School of Public Health and Published in Oct.2012, the authors write “A meta-analysis of 27 cross-sectional studies of children exposed to fluoride in drinking water, mainly from China, suggests an average IQ decrement of about seven points in children exposed to raised fluoride concentrations.”  The majority of these 27 studies had water fluoride levels which the US Environmental Protection Agency currently allows in the US – less than 4 milligrams per liter.

A NEW MORE TOXIC FORM OF FLUORIDE IS ADDED TO DRINKING WATER

Fluorosilicic acid is both poisonous and corrosive enough to etch glass is added to your drinking water. Unfortunately over 70% of municipal water in the U.S. is treated with this most toxic form of fluoride.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF REDUCING FLUORIDE FROM DRINKING WATER

There is a lot of information on the web regarding different methods of eliminating fluoride from drinking water. The most common filtration methods use
Reverse Osmosis filtration equipment, activated alumina or brimac (bone char).

Each method of filtration has a varying capability to reduce fluoride, however, there is little test data available to quantify the percent of fluorosilicic acid removed at levels commonly found in treated, publically supplied water. Levels range from 0.1 -1.5 mg/l, with the latest Maximum Contaminant Level set at 0.8 mg/l. The Health and Human Services lowered the recommended level in Nov. 2012 from 4ppm because of “too much of a good thing.”

When using these filter materials there are other contaminants that compete with the filter media and have to be removed before water enters the fluoride filters otherwise they become less effective.

Water contamination is complex and municipal water typically contains chlorine, chloramines and their by-products plus different heavy metals and industrial chemicals. Often hardness minerals such as calcium carbonate are present that can interfere with filters.

Activated alumina has been used to reduce both fluoride and arsenic. If arsenic is present in the water, activated alumina will preferentially reduce it and the percent of fluoride removed is lower. In hard water at higher pH with calcium carbonate present the carbonate ions will compete for binding sites and activated alumina will have lower fluoride removal.

Reverse Osmosis has the reputation of being capable of reducing everything that is not good in source water. The membrane reduces heavy metals including fluoride and other special contaminants. All membranes, however, are not equal. If it is an NSF listed unit, the rating should be 90%+ removal of fluoride. However, I have not seen any test data on membranes removing fluorosilicic acid. Also, in hard water the membrane can clog up and become less efficient, plus the carbon pre-filters are not rated for industrial chemicals commonly found in municipal water.

Also, R.O. units do not have sufficient pre-filtration with carbon to remove chloramines and higher levels of chlorine by-products. So you really need a large filtration tank on the main pipe to make it effective.

Bone Char or hydroxyl-appetite has shown ability to reduce fluoride, heavy metals and low levels of radioactivity. If used in sufficient quantities with proper pre- filtration to remove chlorine, it is a good filter media to remove fluoride. It is relatively inexpensive, however, its availability in the future is in question and the price is going to increase substantially by the end of 2014.

MetalGonTM

This is a new filter media that has been tested by CWR and the manufacturer against fluorosilicic acid in several different laboratories including the WQA labs and shows up to 92%+ reduction of fluorosilicic acid.

CWR Environmental has trademarked our fluoride heavy metal removing filtration systems. We have tested and combined the best pre-filtration media to reduce the maximum amount of competing contaminants. Before designing a Total Home Filtration System we review the local Water Quality Report or supply independent testing kits to determine the contaminants present in the source water. Then we will select the best filtration technologies to achieve greater than 95% reduction of fluorosilicic acid plus 95+% chloramines, chemicals and heavy metals so that the showers, baths and all sinks are almost contaminant free.

The ingestion of Fluoride should be an individual choice.

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