Too Much Fluoride is Bad For the Environment
Excessive fluoride isn’t just potentially harmful to health; it can also have negative effects on the environment. Although fluoride is a mineral that naturally occurs in the environment, too much is dangerous to plants, animals, and other organisms. When large amounts of fluoride are released into the environment, usually through industrial pollution, it can accumulate in the environment and inside living organisms. This leads to toxicity and other negative effects. For example, high levels of fluoride have been found to disrupt aquatic ecosystems, altering the pH. This is harmful to many marine animals like brine shrimp and freshwater fish, especially the developing young. Like humans, fluoride exposure is also linked to dental fluorosis and bone abnormalities in other large mammals like deer and cows. Plants and microorganisms are also vulnerable to high fluoride levels. The chemical can seep into the soil and water. When this happens, the environment may become uninhabitable for the growth of certain microbes and plant life.