Fluoride in Drinking Water

Most people associate fluoride with the practice of intentionally adding fluoride to public drinking water supplies for the prevention of tooth decay. However, fluoride can also enter public water systems from natural sources, including runoff from the weathering of fluoride-containing rocks and soils and leaching from soil into groundwater. Fluoride pollution from various industrial emissions can also contaminate water supplies. In a few areas of the United States fluoride concentrations in water are much higher than normal, mostly from natural sources. Fluoride is one of the drinking water contaminants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because it can occur at these toxic levels. In 1986, the EPA established a maximum allowable concentration for fluoride in drinking water of 4 milligrams per liter, a guideline designed to prevent the public from being exposed to harmful levels of fluoride. Fluoride in Drinking Water reviews research on various health effects from exposure to fluoride, including studies conducted in the last 10 years.Table of ContentsFront matterSummary1 Introduction2 Measures of Exposure to Fluoride in the United States3 Pharmacokinetics of Fluoride4 Effects of Fluoride on Teeth5 Musculoskeletal Effects6 Reproductive and Developmental Effects of Fluoride7 Neurotoxicity and Neurobehavioral Effects8 Effects on the Endocrine System9 Effects on the Gastrointestinal, Renal, Hepatic, and ImmuneSystems10 Genotoxicity and Carcinogenicity11 Drinking Water Standards for FluorideReferencesAppendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Fluoride inDrinking WaterAppendix B Measures of Exposure to Fluoride in the United States:Supplementary InformationAppendix C Ecologic and Partially Ecologic Studies in EpidemiologyAppendix D Comparative Pharmacokinetics of Rats and HumansAppendix E Detailed Information on Endocrine Studies of Fluoride