Fluoridation of public drinking water in America has, at times, been questioned

Question

Fluoridation of public drinking water in America has, at times, been questioned for various reasons. One argument cites that consumption of fluoride is toxic. According to the CDC, the probable lethal dose of fluoride for a human is about 5g.
If a typical water source is fluoridated to 1 part per million gallons of water and an adult human drinks .75galloms of water per day, how long will it take to ingest the lethal dose?
Another source claims that a dose at 5% of the lethal dose can cause skin rashes and complaints of gastric, intestinal, circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems. How much water would have to be ingested to reach this toxic dose in 1 day? Fluoridation of public drinking water in America has, at times, been questioned for various reasons. One argument cites that consumption of fluoride is toxic. According to the CDC, the probable lethal dose of fluoride for a human is about 5g.
If a typical water source is fluoridated to 1 part per million gallons of water and an adult human drinks .75galloms of water per day, how long will it take to ingest the lethal dose?
Another source claims that a dose at 5% of the lethal dose can cause skin rashes and complaints of gastric, intestinal, circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems. How much water would have to be ingested to reach this toxic dose in 1 day?
If a typical water source is fluoridated to 1 part per million gallons of water and an adult human drinks .75galloms of water per day, how long will it take to ingest the lethal dose?
Another source claims that a dose at 5% of the lethal dose can cause skin rashes and complaints of gastric, intestinal, circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems. How much water would have to be ingested to reach this toxic dose in 1 day?

Explanation / Answer

Hi,

A) 1ppm means 1X 10^-6 g Fluorine is present in 1gallon of water

So, 5g of Fluorine wil be present in = 5 X 1 / 1 X 10^-6 = 5 X 10^6 gallon of water

Average person drinks 0.75 gallon of water a day

Therefore, it would take 5 X 10^6 / 0.75= 6.66 x 10^6 days or 18265 years to ingest the lethal dose of fluorine.

B) 5% of lethal dose means 5/100 x5 =0.25 g

So, 0.25g of Fluorine wil be present in = 0.25 X 1 / 1 X 10^-6 =25 X 10^4 gallon of water would have to be ingested to reach this toxic dose in 1 day

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