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On February 27, the Austin City Council addressed agenda item no. 19, an action to authorize and award an extending million-dollar contract with Mosaic Crop Nutrition, LLC, the city’s hydrofluorosilicic acid supplier.

The Fla.-based company commends itself for being the world’s leading supplier of “potash,” an alkaline potassium compound, and phosphate, which is mined from nearly 2,000 acres of Mosaic-owned land in central Fla. The silicofluorides used to fluoridate the water are unprocessed industrial byproducts of the phosphate fertilizer industry.

The City of Austin, like many cities across the nation, spends millions of dollars on contracts with companies like Mosaic to fluoridate, or pollute, the region’s water supply based on a few inconclusive studies alleging that it protects children’s teeth from cavities. Not only is fluoride unnecessary to prevent tooth decay, but it’s been known to cause fluorosis in children, a condition that changes the appearance of tooth enamel, leaving permanent white stains.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognizes this condition; however, the agency justifies this side effect by referring to it as a “cosmetic” effect and not an adverse health effect.

The harmful consequences of fluoride became even more prominent after a recently released study conducted by Harvard University and published in July 2012 in
Environmental Health Perspectives, a U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences journal, showed “children in high fluoride areas had significantly lower IQs than those who lived in low fluoride areas.”