Sir – The recent report on the quality of drinking water in Ireland, released by the Environmental Protection Agency, warned that “national compliance for fluoride should be higher”. The report found that malfunctioning equipment in Roscommon caused exceedances of this chemical in the water supply. Other exceedances were noted in Cork city, west Cork and Louth.

The Irish Doctors’ Environmental Association participated in the Fluoridation Forum, which investigated the practice of fluoridation and which reported in September 2002. One of its recommendations related to improving the standard of the monitoring systems and another was that the level of fluoride should be reduced.

However, amazingly, neither these nor the other five recommendations of the Fluoridation Forum have been implemented and, furthermore, questions put to the Forum by Professor Paul Connett have yet to be addressed.

The Irish Doctors’ Environmental Association remains deeply concerned about both the ongoing practice of the fluoridation of drinking water and the level of dental caries in the population.

However, we believe that dental decay is not caused by a lack of fluoride but, as we know, by poor diet and inadequate dental hygiene.

Until this practice of fluoridation is stopped, at least we should reduce the levels as agreed over two years ago. It should be noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO), in the ‘Bangkok Statement’ referring to environmental influences on children’s health, classified fluoride with
lead, mercury, arsenic and persistent organic pollutants [POPs].

Dr Philip Michael,
Millbrook Medical Centre,
Bandon,
Co Cork

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