Peel asks Ontario government to test toxicity of fluoride added to local drinking water

FEBRUARY 16, 2017 BY COF-COF

By: Roger Belgrave, Brampton Guardian, Region of Peel, Ontario 16-Feb-2017 – Peel is asking the provincial government to conduct toxicity tests on the additive used to fluoridate the region’s drinking water.

Regional council wants the Ontario government to provide clear evidence the additive is safe for human consumption.

After months of hearing scientific studies that have concluded water fluoridation has proven oral health benefits and contradictory arguments that the practice poses serious health risks, Peel councillors decided to drop the local controversy in the Ontario government’s lap.

For a year now, councillors on Peel Region’s Community Water Fluoridation Committee have been re-examining the benefits and potential health risks associated with adding fluoride to the municipal drinking water system.

The committee was established to form a recommendation for the regional position on continued use of water fluoridation in Peel.

However, it appears council members are no closer to forming that position than they were a year ago.

Committee Chair Carolyn Parrish admitted councillors have been “struggling” with the contradictory information presented on the benefits and dangers of fluoridation.

“It’s not been an easy committee,” she confessed at recent council meeting, where council agreed to request the province take responsibility for testing and/or regulating the drinking water additive.

Peel is currently using hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFSA) produced from Phosphorite Rock............