A translation by Judith Turcotte
The debate on the addition of fluoride in our drinking water made the headlines when the city of Montréal recently announced that it stopped the fluoridation process in the drinking water production plants of Pointe-Claire and Dorval. I retain two of the reasons mentioned: the fluoride is a very corrosive product which damages infrastructure in the long term and the treatment of our wastewater does not remove the fluoride. It is therefore discharged into the river and the scientists are unable to evaluate the impact of the fluoride on the aquatic fauna and flora of our river.
According to the government, the fluoridation of drinking water remains the most effective measure in the prevention of dental cavities hence the justification of incorporating fluoride in our drinking water. For that matter, vitamins are considered as excellent for health; why not incorporate them in our drinking water? The idea that scientists, employed by the state, in collusion with the politicians, decide to add a product in my drinking water has always bothered me. This idea is a good example of the remnants of our paternalistic state.
This debate on the fluoridation of the drinking water hides a situation even more disturbing. Pharmaceutical and chemical products are found in the water from our tap (I will save you from the scientific terms): medications used against cancer, against epilepsy and moods, acetaminophen, caffeine and the list goes on. The actual drinking water purification systems are unable to eliminate these substances. According to the government, we should not panic, the concentrations detected are low; however, nobody can predict their effects long term on our health.
Even more serious is the presence of chemical products, including atrazine, in our drinking water at levels considered dangerous by other countries. Atrazine is an herbicide used for the cultivation of corn and wheat. The product is no longer used in the European Union since 2003, but, in Canada, atrazine is still authorized for commercial uses. Atrazine is known as an endocrine disruptor to which fetuses and children are most vulnerable. Google explains that the endocrine or hormonal system is made up of our thyroid glands, the ovaries, the testicles and the pancreas.
Our water treatment systems cannot eliminate the fluoride from the river water and our water purification systems cannot eliminate the pharmaceutical and chemical residues from our drinking water while nearly half the population of Québec draws its water from the St. Lawrence River. Given that Health Canada does not seem to know the long-term effects of these products on the environment and our health, should it not look for ways to resolve this situation?