In short:
Two remote communities in the Northern Territory are being supplied with bottled water to mitigate risks from drinking water with too much fluoride.
New research by the United States government has linked high fluoride exposure to lower IQs in children.
What’s next?
Residents in Nyirripi are demanding better access to safe and healthy drinking water.
Bottled water is being distributed to two remote Northern Territory Aboriginal communities after new research linked high fluoride levels in drinking water to lower IQs in children.
Residents in Nyirripi and Alpurrurulam (Lake Nash) — Central Australian communities each with 300–400 people — have long complained about the quality of their drinking water.
Although fluoride helps repair teeth and is safely added to drinking water in low levels in dozens of countries, the naturally occurring fluoride levels recorded in Nyirripi and Alpurrurulam are above the safe limit set by the World Health Organization.
Power and Water Corporation (PWC), an NT government-owned utility, this week began supplying bottled water for children aged 12 and under and pregnant women in the communities.
Michaeline Gallagher, a Nyirripi community leader who works at the local school, said residents were furious they were only warned about the dangers of elevated fluoride exposure for the first time at a meeting in October.
“I got worried for the kids especially because at school they drink out of the tap,” she said.
“That was the first time I heard it, and we got a bit shocked.
“I had lots of thoughts in my mind [about] what’s happening and what’s really going on.”
Brain development affected in young people
The cross-country research, published in August by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program, found drinking water that contains more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per litre can affect children’s early learning and brain development.
The recommended level of fluoride in Australian drinking water is 0.6 to 1.1mg/L, as per guidance from the National Health and Medical Research Council.
The latest PWC drinking water quality report found Nyirripi and Alpurrurulam had fluoride levels of 1.7mg/L but were as high as 1.9mg/L in 2017, when the levels were made public for the first time.
The evaluation found no evidence that fluoride exposure had adverse effects on adults.
PWC said it was “committed to providing safe and secure drinking water” across the Northern Territory.
“PWC is providing 2 litres of bottled water per person, per day to these groups in each community,” a spokesperson said.
“Bottled water is available for all children aged 12 years and under and pregnant women through the local community store.”
On Friday afternoon, PWC sent an updated statement saying bottled water would now be delivered to affected houses, instead of the communities’ local stores.
It also said bottled water was being provided to the school and health clinic in each community.
“Further community water information forums are being planned in both communities and PWC is investigating long-term water source options,” the spokesperson said.
Safe drinking water inaccessible
It is estimated almost 200,000 Australians do not have reliable access to safe and healthy drinking water with remote Indigenous communities impacted the most.
A further 400,000 people across the nation regularly drink water that fails aesthetic standards.
In a landmark case in 2023, the Northern Territory Supreme Court ruled the public housing landlord was legally required to provide safe drinking water to its tenants.
The decision, which related to uranium levels in a remote community’s water supply, gave tenants more power to demand their water quality be improved if it did not meet safety standards and to seek recourse for any health impacts.
Ms Gallagher, a mother with three children under 12, said not enough was being done to ensure young people and pregnant women could easily access bottled water in Nyirripi.
“For the longer term, I want to see something at the school changed,” she said.
“Kids attend every day, and we need water for the kids … and for water to be delivered to houses [instead of the community store].
“We just want Nyirripi to be safe and for more water to be delivered.”
PWC said Nyirripi’s tap water was “blended from existing bores to produce the best water quality possible”.
“New bores have been drilled in both communities and investigations are underway to determine the levels of naturally occurring fluoride or if water treatment may be required,” the spokesperson said.
In the Northern Territory, PWC also provides bottled water for infants in the communities of Nauiyu due to fluctuating manganese levels and in Ti Tree due to nitrate levels.
Original article online at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-01/fluoride-drinking-water-issues-nt-communities/104538948