Seven out of ten people in Co Donegal are getting too much fluoride, says VOICE campaigner Robert Pocock. His comments are backed up by results from a survey involving volunteers from three different fluoridated areas of County Donegal, who monitored their urinary fluoride intake over a 24-hour period.
The survey was carried out by Clane GP, Dr Andrew Rynne who engaged an EU accredited pathology laboratory to obtain the results. Urine samples from Inishowen, Letterkenny and Stranorlar were obtained from people aged between 19 and 68 and evenly split between men and women. 72% of the subjects tested in Co Donegal were at or above the safe intake of fluoride. The safe level was based on the UK Food Standard Agency guideline value based on daily fluoride intake related to body weight. The proportion at or above the safe limit in largely unfluoridated UK is 20%, suggesting that the addition of fluoride to Irish drinking water is completely unjustifiable.
“Of the 32 subjects who volunteered, only nine tested within a safe intake” said Dr Rynne. “This confirms the suspicion that the fluoridation of Irish drinking water is the major contributor to fluoride over-exposure. Several subjects are many times over the stated safe intake.”
These results highlight the negligence of the Health Minister Mary Harney who, after over two years in office, has still failed to investigate fluoride exposure in the population. In the light of this evidence from three different parts of Co Donegal, her recently introduced Regulation (S.I.42,2007) reducing the fluoride concentration by a small amount on July 1st 2007, is a totally inadequate response to the problem of fluoride over-exposure.
Pocock added “Donegal councillors should now instruct the eleven public water supplies that dose the drinking water of 75,000 people in Donegal with fluoride, not only to turn down the fluoride taps but to turn them off completely. Neither the new Pollen Dam supply that came on stream recently nor the Killybegs supply, where local fishermen refused years ago to allow their fish to be processed with this toxic chemical, are fluoridated. In view of this alarming new evidence, all of Donegal people exposed to fluoridated water supplies are at a risk”.
The national implications of this evidence is alarming since 73% of the population (3 million) are served with fluoridated drinking water, indicating that over two million people could be getting above the safe daily intake of fluoride. There is also plenty of other supporting evidence such as the recent oral health survey revealing that one in three fifteen year-olds have dental fluorosis. This is caused by excessive fluoride during the tooth-forming years. Other recent advice from the American Dental Assocation warns parents not to use fluoridated tap water in infant formula because of the risk of fluorosis.
Since there is no cure or treatment for fluorosis, only prevention, it is obvious that the Health Minister must immediately turn off the fluoride taps across the country.
For more info contact Robert Pocock on 086 811 3071
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