Canada - Grave concerns

Grave concerns
Calgary Herald January 7, 2011 1:06 AM
Re: "Remove the fluoride," Editorial, Jan. 5.
Opposition to fluoridation has usually been based on effects like dental fluorosis or other cosmetic concerns. However, recent studies point to serious effects of long-term exposure even to very low levels of fluoride ingested in drinking water, including links to various cancers.
A good summary of published research on such effects can be found at www.fluoridealert.org/fluoride-facts.htm
My own concern about fluoridation stems from past professional interest in hydrogen-bonding, which plays a key role in enzyme function and many other biological processes. The fluoride ion forms the strongest known hydrogen bonds, and these very stable bonds can be expected to interfere with or impair normal biological functions.
The issue is not a short-term one. Long-term exposure to fluoride in drinking water, even at the low concentrations used, can have cumulative effects; the common denominator is most likely the impact the fluoride ion has on hydrogen bonding in biosystems. We have little understanding of this because it has never been studied properly.
Chemicals commonly used to fluoridate water, such as hydrofluosilicic acid and its sodium salts, are waste products of fertilizer manufacturing and other industrial processes.
Water fluoridation provides a convenient and even profitable way to dispose of such waste, which explains some of the pressure to keep doing it.
Walter R. Thorson, Calgary Walter R. Thorson is an emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of Alberta.