With this
test you can you can test for both fluoride and chlorine levels in your
drinking water. Use it to see how well your water filter is at removing
these poisons from your water. If you know that your water is being
fluoridated and you still don't have a fluoride pre-filter to filter
your tap water then we recommend that you read the reports on this page
showing alarming reports of fluoride being linked to bone cancer and
other health problems. This test will begin to give you a reaction when
the sample water has 2 parts per million of fluoride as indicated on the
strip you will receive with your kit. When we tested our water we did
not get a reaction, so this means that our tap water has less than 2 ppm.
The EPA has set 4ppm of fluoride as the maximum contaminant level MCL).
We have added important information about fluoride from the EPA website
for your convenience, but the link in also provided for you to visit the
site directly. Please read the other reports on the health effects of
drinking to much fluoride in drinking water.
What are fluoride's health effects?
Some people who drink water containing fluoride well
in excess of the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for many years could
get bone disease (including pain and tenderness of the bones); children
may get mottled teeth.
This health effects language is not
intended to catalog all possible health effects for fluoride. Rather, it
is intended to inform consumers of some of the possible health effects
associated with fluoride in drinking water when the rule was finalized.
How is fluoride regulated?
In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water
Act. This law requires EPA to determine safe levels of contaminants in
drinking water which do or may cause health problems. These
non-enforceable health goals, based solely on possible health risks and
exposure over a lifetime, are called maximum contaminant level goals (MCLG).
Contaminants are any physical, chemical, biological or radiological
substances or matter in water.
The MCLG for fluoride is 4 mg/L or 4 ppm.
EPA has set this level of protection based on the best available science
to prevent potential health problems.
What are EPA's
drinking water regulations for fluoride? EPA has set an enforceable regulation for fluoride,
called a maximum contaminant level (MCL), at 4 mg/L or 4 ppm.
MCLs are set as close to the health goals as possible,
considering cost, benefits and the ability of public water
systems to detect and remove contaminants using suitable
treatment technologies. In this case, the MCL equals the
MCLG, because analytical methods or treatment technology do
not pose any limitation.
EPA has also set a secondary standard
(SMCL) for fluoride at 2 mg/L or 2 ppm. Secondary standards are
non-enforceable guidelines regulating contaminants that may cause
cosmetic effects (such as skin or tooth discoloration) or aesthetic
effects (such as taste, odor, or color) in drinking water. EPA
recommends secondary standards to water systems but does not require
systems to comply. However, states may choose to adopt them as
enforceable standards. Tooth discoloration and/or pitting is caused
by excess fluoride exposures during the formative period prior to
eruption of the teeth in children. The secondary standard of 2.0
mg/L is intended as a guideline for an upper boundary level in areas
which have high levels of naturally occurring fluoride. It is not
intended as a substitute for the lower concentrations (0.7 to 1.2
mg/L) which have been recommended for systems which add fluoride to
their water. The level of the SMCL was set based upon a balancing of
the beneficial effects of protection from tooth decay and the
undesirable effects of excessive exposures leading to discoloration.
This information was taken on 1/17/10 You can visit the EPA site for the latest updates they may
have made to this information
This is a very compelling interview with
Dr. Neil Carman giving some eye popping details of fluoride. You must
see this. Click
here to view this interview.
Reuters: Another Study Links Fluoride to Bone Cancer
This news report shows that
blood fluoride levels were significantly higher in patients with
osteosarcoma than in control groups, according to research published
in Biological Trace Element Research (April 2009). Osteosarcoma, a
rare bone cancer, occurs mostly in children and young adults. To
read the full article click
here.
Human and animal cancer evidence prompts review of fluoride
This article reports that California EPA committee
designates fluoride as priority for review for public
warnings about risk of cancer to consumers over the
objections of the powerful lobbyists for the American Dental
Association and the Personal Care Products Council who
oppose further evaluation of fluoride as cancer-causing.
Click
here to read the full article.
The
fluoride test is especially suited for rapid control of fluoride
concentrations. Its purpose is to define concentration ranges and
detect values which fall short of or exceed given limits.
Color
Reaction: The pink test disc is bleached by fluoride containing hydrochloric
acid solutions. The size of the bleached area corresponds to the
total fluoride concentration.
Fluoride Test Kit Contents:
3 test discs 1 bottle Chlorine/Fluoride test solution (hydrochloric acid) 1 disc color scale,
1 pin/needle,
Fluoride Test Instructions:
1. Fill a 20ml (beaker/small plastic container) about half-way with
the water sample (about 10ml) 2. Add 20 drops hydrochloric acid. The pH value must be below 1.
3. Remove one fluoride test disc from ziplock bag. Close bag
immediately. 4. Pierce the round test disc in the middle with the enclosed
needle! 5. Throw test disc into the water sample and submerge completely.
6. after 5 - 7 minutes the test disc is saturated with the solution,
i.e. it does not absorb any more liquid. At the latest 2 minutes
after saturation remove the test disc from the sample and compare
the size of the bleached zone with the disc color scale. This test
will give you a reaction when the sample water has at least 2 parts
per million of fluoride. Otherwise no changes will be observed.
For high concentrations the sample has to be
diluted. After evaluation the dilution has to be
taken into account.
Storage:
Avoid
exposing the sticks to sunlight and moisture. Store the kit below + 30
degrees centigrade in a dry place.
We included
three tests discs so you can test your tap water, then the water
produced by your water filter to see if fluoride was removed by
filtration and one extra disc if something went wrong with your testing.
The
solution in this test is the same as in the Chlorine Test Solution. This
means that you can use the solution to test for chlorine in your water.
Refer to the
Chlorine Test Solution page for instructions.
The statements enclosed herein have not been
evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, Canadian or
Mexican health authorities. The products mentioned on this site
are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any
disease. Information and statements made are for education
purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your
family doctor.