Fluoride pollution is a problem in all industrialized countries. The topic of fluorides in medicine and agriculture, and fluoridation of public water supplies is one that has attracted much controversy. This book aims to review the research findings, and provide a comprehensive reference on the effects of fluorides on plants and animals. It also includes information on conducting field surveys, establishing air quality criteria and standards, and the problems associated with fluoride analysis in air, water, soil and vegetation.

Advances in Fluorine Science is a new book series presenting critical multidisciplinary overviews on areas in which fluorine and fluoride compounds have a decisive impact. The individual volumes of Advances in Fluorine Science are thematic, addressing comprehensively both the science and applications on topics including the Environment, Green chemistry, Medicine, Health & Life Sciences, New Technologies & Materials Science, Energy and the Earth Sciences. In the present volume, the key-position of fluoro-products in agriculture is reviewed, since a large percentage of agro-chemicals and pesticides contain at least one fluorine atom. However, improvements in the use of fluorine-based products in agrochemicals cannot be developed without taking into consideration a safer environment, on both levels of greener synthesis routes and a reduction of the negative impact on plants and organisms. Within this scope, fluorine has a very peculiar place, since its high reactivity yields several advantages, for instance in by-passing various polluting multi-step reactions. Fluorine-based materials are reviewed as efficient tools for protecting our cultural heritage. Also using up-to-date techniques such as ion beam analysis, this element can help relative dating applications, ranging from burial durations of archaeological bones and teeth to the determination of exposure ages of meteorites on the Antarctic ice shield. - Providing an original approach of the complex relationships between chemistry and the environment - Reviewing the key-position of fluoro-products in agriculture - Multidisciplinary contributions from chemists, geologists, biologists, environmentalists and industry staffs

This book describes in detail various aspects of fluoride toxicity in animals. Animals, like human beings, suffer from the toxic effects of excess fluoride intake. They show pathological changes in their teeth and bone, together with a marked reduction in appetite, productive and reproductive potentials, which can result in severe economic losses in the dairy industry. Laboratory and wild animals also suffer from this ailment. Animal suffering and economic losses alike can be minimized through early diagnosis of the problem and by adopting suitable preventive and therapeutic measures. The book details the susceptibility of different animal species, important sources of toxicity, clinical signs and symptoms, pathophysiology, diagnostic methods, preventive and therapeutic approaches. It offers a valuable resource for scientists working in the fields of toxicology, veterinary science, animal nutrition, and environmental science, as well as for public health workers, animal welfare activists, public health veterinarians, field veterinarians, medical professionals and all others interested in the subject.

Functionalized Inorganic Fluorides: Synthesis, Characterization & Properties of Nanostructured Solids covers several classes of nanostructured and functionalized inorganic fluorides, oxide-fluorides, and fluorinated oxides such as silica and alumina. Ranging from powders or glass-ceramics to thin layers and coatings, they have applications as more efficient and less aggressive catalysts, UV absorbers, planar optical waveguides, integrated lasers and optical amplifiers, luminescent materials, anti-reflective coatings and high Tc superconductors. With a focus on new types of solids, such as nanopowders, hybrids, mesoporous fluorides, and intercalation compounds, the book covers new synthesis routes; physical-chemical characterizations - including morphology, structure, spectroscopic and optical behaviour; detailed ab initio investigations and simulations; and -last but not least- potential applications.

Collects 43 Research Articles Relating To Environmental Pollution And The Steps Required To Be Taken For Their Eradication. Useful For Students, Academics, Researchers Etc. In Short For All Those Interested In Conservation Of Non-Renewable Resources For Future Generations.

Fluoride is known to occur at elevated concentration in a number of parts of the world, where it can be a significant cause of disease. The primary focus of this book is the prevention of adverse health effects from excessive levels of fluoride in drinking water. The book fills the urgent need, identified for updating the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, for information on the occurrence of fluoride, its health effects, ways of reducing excess levels, and methods for analysis of fluoride in water. The draft document, produced by a working group of experts convened to consider protection from fluoride and its control, was issued for extensive review and consultation. The resultant book, which incorporates the comments received, was further peer reviewed by experts in developed and developing countries. It is aimed at a wide range of individuals, including health workers and sanitary engineers who may require a broad introduction to the subject with more detailed guidance in some specific areas. Fluoride in Drinking-waterwill be an invaluable reference source for all those concerned with the management of drinking water containing fluoride and the health effects arising from its consumption, including water sector managers and practitioners, as well as health sector staff at policy and implementation levels. It will also be of interest to researchers, students, development workers, and consultants.

When the U.S. Public Health Service endorsed water fluoridation in 1950, there was little evidence of its safety. Now, six decades later and after most countries have rejected the practice, more than 70 percent of Americans, as well as 200 million people worldwide, are drinking fluoridated water. The Center for Disease Control and the American Dental Association continue to promote it--and even mandatory statewide water fluoridation--despite increasing evidence that it is not only unnecessary, but potentially hazardous to human health. In this timely and important book, Dr. Paul Connett, Dr. James Beck, and Dr. H. Spedding Micklem take a new look at the science behind water fluoridation and argue that just because the dental and medical establishments endorse a public health measure doesn't mean it's safe. In the case of water fluoridation, the chemicals that go into the drinking water that more than 180 million people drink each day are not even pharmaceutical grade, but rather a hazardous waste product of the phosphate fertilizer industry. It is illegal to dump this waste into the sea or local surface water, and yet it is allowed in our drinking water. To make matters worse, this program receives no oversight from the Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency takes no responsibility for the practice. And from an ethical standpoint, say the authors, water fluoridation is a bad medical practice: individuals are being forced to take medication without their informed consent, there is no control over the dose, and no monitoring of possible side effects. At once painstakingly documented and also highly readable, The Case Against Fluoride brings new research to light, including links between fluoride and harm to the brain, bones, and endocrine system, and argues that the evidence that fluoridation reduces tooth decay is surprisingly weak.