However, water fluoridation was not always this well-regulated. In the year 1992 (in Hooper Bay, Alaska), a man died of acute fluoride poisoning due to a malfunction in the community’s water well. “Fluoride at levels 40 times what the federal government considers safe for deterring tooth decay were measured in drinking water, and epidemiologists later concluded that it was probably the most widespread fluoride poisoning ever documented, with more than 200 people estimated to have been stricken” (Hulen, 1992). It is no surprise that too much of anything can be toxic, but it is unfortunate that something intended to help a community ended up hurting it. “The sicker he got, the more he drank. The more he drank, the sicker he got” (Hulen, 1992). If fluoride can be so dangerous, why are we adding it into as many community water systems as possible? What are the other health risks that we may be
However, water fluoridation was not always this well-regulated. In the year 1992 (in Hooper Bay, Alaska), a man died of acute fluoride poisoning due to a malfunction in the community’s water well. “Fluoride at levels 40 times what the federal government considers safe for deterring tooth decay were measured in drinking water, and epidemiologists later concluded that it was probably the most widespread fluoride poisoning ever documented, with more than 200 people estimated to have been stricken” (Hulen, 1992). It is no surprise that too much of anything can be toxic, but it is unfortunate that something intended to help a community ended up hurting it. “The sicker he got, the more he drank. The more he drank, the sicker he got” (Hulen, 1992). If fluoride can be so dangerous, why are we adding it into as many community water systems as possible? What are the other health risks that we may be