We the people of Athlone have a right to safe and drinkable water....flouride in our water systems does not make our water safe to drink therefore we would like Westmeath County Council to make our water in Athlone flouride free.

Fluoride is a commonly known product, which is generally understood to be a cavity-fighting ingredient. Those that use this product tend to consider this a gift of modern science. It's in our toothpaste, our drinking water, various bottled drinks, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. It's taken for granted that since it's in trusted goods found at local markets that it's totally safe for public consumption. Many do not know this but, in the case of water fluoridation, the chemicals used to fluoridate the water supply are not pharmaceutical grade, but instead are hazardous waste products of the phosphate fertilizer industry. It's illegal to dump this chemical into rivers and lakes or release the parent gases into the atmosphere, yet we drink it readily every day. Even proponents of fluoridation concede that the major benefits are only topical, so why swallow it? Ninety percent of the chemicals used for fluoridation in the United States are not natural fluorides but are instead synthetic acids. More and more research shows that consumption of fluoride is linked to numerous health conditions including a common condition called hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism is a commonly diagnosed thyroid condition in North America. It is more common in people with other endocrine disorders like diabetes. According to the American Thyroid Association, iodine deficiency is the most common cause of hypothyroidism, which affects 15% of women in the country. Symptoms of Hypothyroidism include low body temperature, fatigue, menstrual irregularity, decreased sweating, dry itchy skin, or Bradycardia (low heart rate- fewer than sixty beats-per-minute) amongst others. Uncommon symptoms include impaired memory, cognitive function (brain fog) and inattentiveness.

A trend has been occurring in the states that may exacerbate the risks associated with fluoride ingestion. According to the CDC, the average urinary iodine level today is half what it was in 1971. The agency estimates that 36% of U.S. women now have sub-optimal iodine intake. They also stated that iodine deficiency results in disorders such as goiter, cretinism, stillbirth, spontaneous abortion, and retarded physical and intellectual development. It's also established that adequate levels of iodine are essential for producing normal amounts of thyroid hormone.

Fluorine (a halogen) is in the same chemical family as iodine, but it is more active and can replace it in the body if iodine levels are deficient. That is not preferable as fluoride is a toxin with no physiological function and shouldn't be used to replace iodine, which is by far the most important element in the body. Iodine is vital for healthy bones, teeth, growth and metabolism. Fluoride can affect thyroid hormone production by compromising the chemical attaching process of iodine to the amino acids needed to convert to the critical thyroid hormones: Thyroxine (T4) and liothyronine (T3). Disruption of this vital gland can cause numerous ailments including: chronic exhaustion, anemia, obesity, depression, arthritis, infertility and chronic illness. The compromising of the thyroid hormone can mean a slide toward hypothyroidism. A cross sectional analysis shows a tremendous decrease in iodine in American society is occurring namely in children which is a precursor to numerous future ailments, conditions, and impairments. As if there isn't a crisis already, the interaction and ejection of iodine by fluoride only ties fluoride to this health crisis that much more. (quoted from www.naturalnews.com)