Department of Health to concerned citizen
Richmond House 79 Whitehall London
SW1A 2NS
Tel: 020 7210 3000
9 May 2005
Dear
Thank you for your letter of 3 May to the Department of Health about water fluoridation. Your letter has been passed to me for reply.
In response to the concerns that you raised in your letter, it may be helpful if I set out the Government's latest position concerning water fluoridation. As you may know, the 2003 Water Act requires drinking water suppliers to accede to requests from Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) to increase the concentration of fluoride in their water supplies, where a local population has first indicated its support. Section 58 of the Water Act 2003 provides for regulations to be made on the consultation and opinion gathering processes, which SHAs must follow if they wish to fluoridate their water supplies. It also makes provision for indemnities for drinking water suppliers in respect of liabilities that they may incur in fluoridating water.
The Department of Health published draft regulations on 27 July 2004. These proposals required SHAs who want to fluoridate to publish their proposals first in the local media and to consult on this decision for three months. SHAs would ask the relevant water companies to fluoridate only if the response to the proposals showed that the local population was in favour of fluoridation. The , draft consultation closed on 29 October 2004.
The Government's policy on fluoridation has been informed by the University of York report A Systematic Review of Water Fluoridation, published in September 2000, the working group appointed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in September 2002. The York Review concluded that water fluoridation would result in a 15 per cent increase in the proportion of children with no experience of tooth decay.
The York Review found no evidence of adverse effects on overall health, other than dental fluorosis. Dental fluorosis is a mottling of the teeth, which in a small minority of cases may be aesthetically unacceptable but can usually be removed
by routine dental treatment.The York Review also summarised the quality of
research to date and the MRC Report made recommendations about the research necessary to strengthen the evidence base on the effect of fluoridation on health. The Government accept that further, high-quality research into many aspects of fluoridation is needed, which is why they have considered the findings of the York Review and the MRC.
The MRC Report provides quantitative data on exposure to fluoride. It explains such information as the margin of safety between recommended water fluoridation levels to reduce tooth decay in children and the level likely to cause harm over a lifetime exposure. The York and MRC reports are available online, at www.vork.ac.uk/inst/crd/fluorid.pdfandyvww.mrc.ac.uk respectively.
The fluoride used in water fluoridation is hexafluorosilicic acid. I would like to assure you that this is not highly toxic, nor a poison or an industrial waste by-product, butderives from a natural mineral source and is contaminant-free.
Before hexafluorosilicic acid can be added to the public drinking water supply, it must first meet the strict purity criteria laid down in the relevant European standard, published as a BS EN in the UK. This ensures that the levels of impurity and trace element concentrations that may originate from the apatite used during manufacture are extremely Iow.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (OWl) within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for ensuring that water companies use only chemicals approved for use in the treatment of public water supplies, either via the national scheme of approvals given under drinking water Regulations, or via the European Standards route. Regulation 31 (3)(b) of the 2000 Regulations (which came into force on the 1 January 2004) permits the introduction of a substance or product to water intended for human consumption where it conforms to an appropriate British Standard or some other national standard of an EEA State which provides an equivalent level of protection and performance. Thus, where a permitted fluoridation chemical like hexafluorosilicic acid conforms to the criteria specified by the European Standards (BS EN 12175:2001) it may be added to water intended for human consumption.
At the very dilute rates at which fluoride is added to drinking water (one part per million), no evidence has been found of risks to health. The MRC working group found no evidence to support claims that fluoridated water affects the immune and central nervous systems, the reproductive system, child development, the kidneys or the gastro-intestinal tract, nor for claims made linking fluoride to osteoporosis, cancer, thyroid damage, dementia and other conditions. Ministers regard MRC advice as authoritative.
Finally, you may not be aware that your drinking water already contains fluoride:
this occurs naturally in all water. Fluoride is also found naturally in tea and in
salt. It is added to most toothpastes in a typical concentration of 1100 -1450 parts per million. These products are being widely used or consumed now, and most people should have little to fear from fluoridation in a dilution ratio of one part per million. I hope this reply is helpful and thank you again for writing.
Yours sincerely, ____Hazel Mendonca Customer Service Centre
SW1A 2NS
Tel: 020 7210 3000
9 May 2005
Dear
Thank you for your letter of 3 May to the Department of Health about water fluoridation. Your letter has been passed to me for reply.
In response to the concerns that you raised in your letter, it may be helpful if I set out the Government's latest position concerning water fluoridation. As you may know, the 2003 Water Act requires drinking water suppliers to accede to requests from Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) to increase the concentration of fluoride in their water supplies, where a local population has first indicated its support. Section 58 of the Water Act 2003 provides for regulations to be made on the consultation and opinion gathering processes, which SHAs must follow if they wish to fluoridate their water supplies. It also makes provision for indemnities for drinking water suppliers in respect of liabilities that they may incur in fluoridating water.
The Department of Health published draft regulations on 27 July 2004. These proposals required SHAs who want to fluoridate to publish their proposals first in the local media and to consult on this decision for three months. SHAs would ask the relevant water companies to fluoridate only if the response to the proposals showed that the local population was in favour of fluoridation. The , draft consultation closed on 29 October 2004.
The Government's policy on fluoridation has been informed by the University of York report A Systematic Review of Water Fluoridation, published in September 2000, the working group appointed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in September 2002. The York Review concluded that water fluoridation would result in a 15 per cent increase in the proportion of children with no experience of tooth decay.
The York Review found no evidence of adverse effects on overall health, other than dental fluorosis. Dental fluorosis is a mottling of the teeth, which in a small minority of cases may be aesthetically unacceptable but can usually be removed
by routine dental treatment.The York Review also summarised the quality of
research to date and the MRC Report made recommendations about the research necessary to strengthen the evidence base on the effect of fluoridation on health. The Government accept that further, high-quality research into many aspects of fluoridation is needed, which is why they have considered the findings of the York Review and the MRC.
The MRC Report provides quantitative data on exposure to fluoride. It explains such information as the margin of safety between recommended water fluoridation levels to reduce tooth decay in children and the level likely to cause harm over a lifetime exposure. The York and MRC reports are available online, at www.vork.ac.uk/inst/crd/fluorid.pdfandyvww.mrc.ac.uk respectively.
The fluoride used in water fluoridation is hexafluorosilicic acid. I would like to assure you that this is not highly toxic, nor a poison or an industrial waste by-product, butderives from a natural mineral source and is contaminant-free.
Before hexafluorosilicic acid can be added to the public drinking water supply, it must first meet the strict purity criteria laid down in the relevant European standard, published as a BS EN in the UK. This ensures that the levels of impurity and trace element concentrations that may originate from the apatite used during manufacture are extremely Iow.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (OWl) within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for ensuring that water companies use only chemicals approved for use in the treatment of public water supplies, either via the national scheme of approvals given under drinking water Regulations, or via the European Standards route. Regulation 31 (3)(b) of the 2000 Regulations (which came into force on the 1 January 2004) permits the introduction of a substance or product to water intended for human consumption where it conforms to an appropriate British Standard or some other national standard of an EEA State which provides an equivalent level of protection and performance. Thus, where a permitted fluoridation chemical like hexafluorosilicic acid conforms to the criteria specified by the European Standards (BS EN 12175:2001) it may be added to water intended for human consumption.
At the very dilute rates at which fluoride is added to drinking water (one part per million), no evidence has been found of risks to health. The MRC working group found no evidence to support claims that fluoridated water affects the immune and central nervous systems, the reproductive system, child development, the kidneys or the gastro-intestinal tract, nor for claims made linking fluoride to osteoporosis, cancer, thyroid damage, dementia and other conditions. Ministers regard MRC advice as authoritative.
Finally, you may not be aware that your drinking water already contains fluoride:
this occurs naturally in all water. Fluoride is also found naturally in tea and in
salt. It is added to most toothpastes in a typical concentration of 1100 -1450 parts per million. These products are being widely used or consumed now, and most people should have little to fear from fluoridation in a dilution ratio of one part per million. I hope this reply is helpful and thank you again for writing.
Yours sincerely, ____Hazel Mendonca Customer Service Centre
posted by Bill at
9:48 PM
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