Report at http://www.fluoridealert.org/canada.2009.report.pdf

Purpose of consultation

The Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water (CDW) has assessed the available information on fluoride with the intent of revising the current drinking water guideline. The purpose of this consultation is to solicit comments on the proposed Maximum Acceptable Concentration on the approach used for the development of the guideline and to determine the availability of additional exposure data. The purpose of the consultation is to solicit comments on the risk assessment conducted, not on the fluoridation of drinking water supplies, which is a decision typically made by municipalities, in consultation with the provincial or territorial government.

This Guideline Technical Document is a review and update of the 1996 document and guideline. The process used to establish each guideline includes internal reviews, an external peer review, Federal/Provincial/Territorial approval processes, as well as a public consultation through the Health Canada website. In the case of fluoride, development of the guideline also included an expert panel that was convened by Health Canada to provide advice and recommendations on the scientific studies and approaches that should be included in our Guideline Technical Document. The panel of experts met in January, 2007, and their advice was posted on our website in June, 2008 (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/water-eau/2008-fluoride-fluorure/index-eng.php). In developing the Guideline Technical Document for fluoride in drinking water, Health Canada reviewed the available science, conducted a total diet study to understand exposure to fluoride from food, and consulted with international experts.

EMAIL Comments: CDW Secretariat at water_eau@hc-sc.gc.ca

By mail to
CDW Secretariat,
Water, Air and Climate Change Bureau,
3rd Floor, 269 Laurier Avenue West, A.L. 4903D,
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9

It should be noted that this Guideline Technical Document on fluoride in drinking water will be revised following evaluation of relevant comments, and a drinking water guideline will be established, if required. The document should be considered as a draft for comment only.

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See also the April 2008 Report: Findings and Recommendations of the Fluoride Expert Panel

Expert Panel Members:

Steven M. Levy, Iowa College of Dentistry

Christopher Clark, University of British Columbia

Robert Tardif, Université de Montreal

Michael Levy, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec

Jayanth Kumar, New York State Department of Health

Albert Nantel, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec

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