Fluoride & The Environment
Fluoride is a major industrial pollutant, one which has caused widespread damage to fluoride-exposed workers and downwind communities. During the Cold War, fluoride was responsible for more litigation against U.S. industry than all other air pollutants combined. Although the development of modern pollution control technology has resulted in significant reductions in fluoride emissions, millions of workers around the world remain at risk for respiratory, neurological, and bone diseases from fluoride exposure, and downwind communities remain at risk in countries with weak environmental regulation.
Fluoride and fluorine releases in the U.S.
We have distilled the following information from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory, with these categories:
- By Year: Fluoride Releases, 1995-2015
- By Industrial Sector: Hydrogen Fluoride Releases, 1995-2015
- By State: Fluoride Releases, 1995-2015
- Hydrogen Fluoride: Top Polluters, 1995-2015
- Fluorine: Releases by Industry, 1995-2015
- Sulfuryl Fluoride: Releases, 1995-2015
- Fluorinated Ozone Depleting Gases Tracked by TRI
- Pesticides & Other Fluoride Compounds Tracked by TRI
- Fluorides Not Tracked By TRI
Coal-fired electric utilities
The TRI has consistently reported the fluoride releases from coal-fired electric utilities, which are among the largest emitters of fluoride in the U.S. For example:
| TRI: Rank by Industrial Sector for Hydrogen Fluoride Releases in 2010-2015 (see more) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category (TRI Code) | 2010 In Pounds | 2012 In Pounds | 2014 In Pounds | 2015 In Pounds | 2016 In Pounds |
| Coal-fired electric utilities (NAICS 2211) | Releases= 30,564,185 Wastes= 95,760,703 | Releases= 21,590,813 Wastes= 81,872,956 | Releases= 15,766,413 Wastes= 84,395,448 | Releases= 12,296,177 Wastes = 60,411,985 | Releases= 9,084,392 Wastes = 52,679,789 |
2019 report on Coal Ash
The Environmental Integrity Project produced this much needed report: Coal’s Poisonous Legacy. Groundwater Contaminated by Coal Ash Across the U.S. Throughout the report, the health-based threshold that was used for fluoride was 4 mg/L. For “unsafe groundwater caused by coal ash” 7% of the plants (18/265) exceeded this threshold for fluoride.
This threshold of 4 mg/L is what the EPA still has on its books for both the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) and its goal (MCLG), even though the 2006 report of the National Research Council of the National Academies, Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards, stated: “In light of the collective evidence on various health end points and total exposure to fluoride, the committee concludes that EPA’s MCLG of 4 mg/L should be lowered… page 10″
Reviews
News on Fluoride-Polluting Industries