March 22, 2006

Running Time: 00:49:14

Format: RealAudio (Requires free RealPlayer)

Children exposed to drinking water containing 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter -- the Environmental Protection Agency's maximum allowable concentration -- risk developing severe tooth enamel fluorosis, says a new National Research Council report. About 200,000 Americans have drinking water with that much fluoride, which comes from both naturally occurring sources and pollution. A majority of the committee that wrote the report also said that people who consume water containing that much fluoride over a lifetime are likely at increased risk for bone fractures. The report does not examine artificially fluoridated water, which contains much less fluoride.

Chair, John Doull, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City