Swapping Water Fluoridation Chemicals Could Reduce Arsenic in Drinking Water by 99 Percent

About 150 million Americans drink tap water that is fluoridated, a now controversial practice meant to cut rates of tooth decay. This might not come as a surprise, but the fact that your water is likely fluoridated not with pharmaceutical-grade sodium fluoride (the kind used in toothpaste) but rather with fluorosilicic acid, might. Fluorosilicic acid, a byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer industry, is known to contain cancer-causing substances, including arsenic and lead (as well as to leach lead from water pipes). New research suggests that replacing fluorosilicic acid with the more expensive, and arguably less toxic, sodium fluoride could save billions in reduced cancer costs. Read More...