Comparison of Adjusted Fluoride Concentrations Between Water Treatment Facilities and Endpoints in Alberta, Canada.

Abstract

Objectives: This investigation aimed to determine whether fluoride concentration in water at the user endpoint remains the same as at the adjusted source, i.e., water treatment facilities.

Methods: Daycares in Alberta, Canada, were used as the endpoint to measure fluoride concentration. They were randomly selected from a list of 400 licensed daycares provided by the Ministry of Children's Services. All water samples collected from the daycares were sent to the accredited Alberta Centre for Toxicology (ACFT) for analysis within 7 days of collection. ACFT used ion chromatography to determine fluoride concentration levels. Statistics analyses were conducted using the software SPSS 25.

Results: Water samples were collected from 141 daycares in 35 municipalities. In municipalities that adjust fluoride content, public water is supplied by 8 Alberta Environment & Parks regulated water systems. Fluoride concentration in water samples examined at the endpoint ranged from 0.58 mg/L to 0.79 mg/L. The differences between fluoride concentration at the water treatment facilities and the daycares ranged from -0.03 to 0.22 mg/L.

Conclusions: This study confirms that the concentration of fluoride adjusted at water treatment facilities in Alberta is maintained at endpoints at the approximate optimal level of 0.7 mg/L.