Activists lobbying to halt the long-standing Government policy of fluoridating public water supplies are planning to sue local authorities for the damage which excessive fluoride may have caused to teeth.
The Fluoride Free Water Action Group is to target initially the local authorities in Dublin, where public water supplies have been fluoridated since 1964. It will take the first step in its campaign this week, when it aims to identify as many people as possible who are suffering from dental fluorosis - a condition leading to discoloration of teeth enamel due to excessive fluoride.
Ireland is currently the only EU state which operates a compulsory fluoridation programme.
Over 73 per cent of supplies are now fluoridated and there are plans to fluoridate further supplies this year. It is added at a rate of one milligram per litre to reduce tooth decay.
Campaigners against fluoride warn that it is dangerous to human health and the environment, and say it is added to less than 2 per cent of European water supplies. They claim that the side-effects include links with skeletal fluorosis, where the bones become brittle, increased bone cancer in young males, reduced IQ levels in children and lower birth rates due to decreased sperm and testosterone.
But the Department of Health, citing the World Health Organisation, said fluoride was most effective in caries prevention. Evidence that fluoridation might be a risk factor for hip fractures was weak. Research did not support claims of a link between fluoridated water and cancer.
The Dublin action group has launched a website featuring photographs of teeth with fluorosis, in a move to increase awareness of the condition. It will hold a public meeting in Dublin tomorrow evening to highlight the issue.
The campaigners also plan to organise a meeting of those who believe they have fluorosis. They are seeking legal advice on how they should proceed once a group of fluorosis suffers is identified.
The Fluoride Free Water Action Group's website address is www.fluoridefree.com, and it can also be contacted at 0868720907. Its meeting will be held at St Raphaela's Secondary School, Upper Kilmacud Road, Stillorgan, Dublin, tomorrow evening.