Approximately 40% of Canadians live in communities that add fluoride to their municipal tap water. (Source: The State of Community Water Fluoridation Across Canada, 2017 Report, Public Health Agency of Canada).
To find out whether your municipality adds fluoride to tap water, call your city’s public works department and ask them the question.
The Berkey PF-2 fluoride and arsenic removal filters are optional water filters that can be added to your Berkey system if you live:
- in an area where fluoride is added to the municipal water system, or
- in an area where unusually high levels of fluoride or arsenic are naturally present in groundwater.
Unlike the Black Berkey elements that are cleanable and can last for many years, fluoride water filters need to be changed once a year or after approx. 4000 liters of use.
CONTROVERSY AROUND WATER FLUORIDATION
The addition of fluoride to municipal tap water is a very controversial subject. Many public health officials claim that adding small doses of fluoride to water helps avoid tooth decay in young children, most notably in low-income families where oral health is a serious issue. Critics, on the other hand, argue that fluoridation is a medical treatment that is imposed upon the population at large and that people should have the choice of when and how to receive fluoride. Furthermore, some individuals are highly sensitive to low levels of fluorine, and other subsets of
Several resources exist online to further investigate the subject of water fluoridation. Here are a few links
Water Fluoridation in Canada – Safe Drinking Water Foundation
Inadequate or Excess
The State of Community Water Fluoridation Across Canada – Public Health Agency of Canada