The main supplier of fluoride to the region is Brenntag Canada Inc., and Peter Van Caulart said the hydrofluorisilicic acid is mainly produced in Florida. “That’s why they call it ‘Flourid-a,’ ” he laughs.

To see where it is produced he suggested people visit Bartow, Fla., using Google Earth. Taking a closer look of the satellite image, people will notice how much of central Florida looks like a dead zone next to the lushness of the rest of the state.

They will also notice all the little man-made ponds, which are all filled with chemical concoctions including yellow-cake uranium. Hydrofluorisilicic acid is produced as a byproduct of that extraction process and is actually stored in some of these containment lagoons along with the radioactive substance.

“These are the hydrofluorisilicic acid cooling ponds,” said Van Caulart pointing out the different pools on a computer. “This process produces an awful lot of heat.”

To dispose of the substance would cost the producer $7,000 a ton because of its toxicity, said Robert Fleming of Waterloo Watch.

And although local advocates can’t get a definite cost of what it takes to fluoridate Waterloo’s water they can use numbers they’ve received from other municipalities.

Instead disposing it as a toxic substance,the suppliers are selling to the citizens of Waterloo for between 50 cents a person to $4 a person.

“The cost per ton is about eight to $1,100 a ton (for hydrofluorisilicic),” said Van Caulart citing water officials in the Hamilton area. “It costs them five times more to get rid of it then to sell it.”

– END –

NOTE FROM FAN: See these Waterloo Chronicle articles

– Interview with Robert Fleming:Water expert looks at how fluoride gets in our water and its origins

– Guest Column by Robert Fleming: Water bottle ban just a cover

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