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High Levels of Fluoride in Ethiopian Water

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In case you were wondering, Ethiopia doesn’t intentionally contaminate its water with fluoride chemicals. They come naturally from magma and other volcanic matter beneath the earth’s crust, rising to the surface via hot springs and other surface water that’s eventually drunk by local people groups.

And the amounts of fluoride found in the water aren’t any higher than the maximum “safe” limit established by the U.S. government for American water supplies. Reports indicate that fluoride levels in Ethiopian water range from about 1.5 to 4 milligrams per liter (or parts per million), which falls within the range considered “safe” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it’s important to note, now recommends an “optimal” fluoride level of 0.7 ppm, after recently revising the maximum amount of 1.2 ppm.

“Fluoride… causes bone deformities and fractures,” stated Dr. Aweke Kebede, a nutrition researcher at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, to Worldbulletin News. “Sometimes, excessive intake of fluoride-mix water causes nerve problems, though not directly.

Naturally occurring fluoride isn’t the same as the fluoride added to U.S. water supplies

Sadly, the type of fluoride Dr. Kebede is talking about here isn’t even as harmful as the kind intentionally added to U.S. water supplies. Naturally occurring calcium fluoride, which is what Ethiopia is currently dealing with, is an actual mineral; sodium fluoride, hexafluorosilicic acid and various other synthetic fluoride chemicals, on the other hand, are flat-out industrial waste.

Naturally occurring fluoride, it turns out, isn’t very water-soluble, meaning it lacks some of the ionic configurations necessary for toxic uptake by humans and animals. The synthetic kind, which American taxpayers actually pay to have laced into their tap water, is highly soluble, hence its dual use as an insecticide and rodenticide.

“The main source of fluoride are [sic] the basaltic rocks in the Rift Valley [of Ethiopia], which have both elevated fluoride content and low soluble calcium concentrations,” explains a Water Resource Quality report on the fluoride epidemic in Ethiopia, the purpose of which was to find a solution to effectively remove this contaminant.

Meanwhile, Americans are being forced to guzzle down, shower in and breathe the fumes from fluoride-laced water which corrupt health authorities claim is “good for teeth.” The contrast between how Ethiopia, a supposedly “Third World” nation, sees fluoride — as a clear and present toxin! — and how the U.S. sees fluoride — as a nutrient that corrupt politicians continue to force on the public — is absolutely striking.

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How Safe Is The Public Water You Drink?

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Under the Safe Water Drinking Act, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for setting national drinking water standards. The EPA regulates over 80 contaminants—including arsenic, e-coli, cryptosporidia, chlorine, and lead—that may be found in drinking water from public water systems. While the EPA says that 90 percent of US public water systems meet its standards, you may want to use a water filter to further ensure your water’s safety.

A study by the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that due to a combination of pollution and deteriorating equipment and pipes, the public water supplies in 19 of America’s largest cities delivered drinking water that contained contaminant levels exceeding EPA limits (either legal limits or unenforceable suggested limits) and may pose health risks to some residents. So even though it may test fine at its source, public water may still pick up contaminants on the way to your house.

Contaminants that sneaked into city water supplies studied by the NRDC include rocket fuel, arsenic, lead, fecal waste, and chemical by-products created during water treatment.

“Exposure to the contaminants [sometimes found in public and private drinking water] can cause a number of health problems, ranging from nausea and stomach pain to developmental problems and cancer,” notes Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) in its booklet, Drinking Water: What Health Care Providers Should Know. PSR estimates that up to 900,000 people get sick and 900 die in the US per year from contaminated public and private drinking water. Despite the problems with public water, it’s still just as safe as bottled water, despite the billions of dollars beverage companies spend to make you think bottled is better.

1697

Freshwater Crisis: A Clean Water Crisis

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Photograph by Jonathan Hodgson, My Shot / Article: National Geographic

 

A Clean Water Crisis

The water you drink today has likely been around in one form or another since dinosaurs roamed the Earth, hundreds of millions of years ago.

While the amount of freshwater on the planet has remained fairly constant over time—continually recycled through the atmosphere and back into our cups—the population has exploded. This means that every year competition for a clean, copious supply of water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and sustaining life intensifies.

Water scarcity is an abstract concept to many and a stark reality for others. It is the result of myriad environmental, political, economic, and social forces.

Freshwater makes up a very small fraction of all water on the planet. While nearly 70 percent of the world is covered by water, only 2.5 percent of it is fresh. The rest is saline and ocean-based. Even then, just 1 percent of our freshwater is easily accessible, with much of it trapped in glaciers and snowfields. In essence, only 0.007 percent of the planet’s water is available to fuel and feed its 6.8 billion people.

Due to geography, climate, engineering, regulation, and competition for resources, some regions seem relatively flush with freshwater, while others face drought and debilitating pollution. In much of the developing world, clean water is either hard to come by or a commodity that requires laborious work or significant currency to obtain.

 

Water Is Life

Wherever they are, people need water to survive. Not only is the human body 60 percent water, the resource is also essential for producing food, clothing, and computers, moving our waste stream, and keeping us and the environment healthy.

Unfortunately, humans have proved to be inefficient water users. (The average hamburger takes 2,400 liters, or 630 gallons, of water to produce, and many water-intensive crops, such as cotton, are grown in arid regions.)

According to the United Nations, water use has grown at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century. By 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world’s population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change.

The challenge we face now is how to effectively conserve, manage, and distribute the water we have. National Geographic’s Freshwater Web site encourages you to explore the local stories and global trends defining the world’s water crisis. Learn where freshwater resources exist; how they are used; and how climate, technology, policy, and people play a role in both creating obstacles and finding solutions. Peruse the site to learn how you can make a difference by reducing your water footprint and getting involved with local and global water conservation and advocacy efforts.