Health
(1) Whether any municipalities in the province add fluoride to drinking water; if so, (a) which municipalities and (b) what is the fluoride level in the water of each municipality;
(2) whether her Department monitors or gives advice on the appropriate fluoride levels for human consumption; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
1. (a) None
(b) There might be natural fluoride found in the water in the rural parts of the province. However, the amounts may not be of any significant and oral health benefit/value. The City of Cape Town monitors all its drinking water (water sampled at the various Water Treatment Plants and within the Distribution System) as per the guidelines published in the South African National Drinking Water Standard (SANS 241). The average fluoride concentration in the City’s drinking water never exceeded 0.1 mg/l the past year. The standard limit for fluoride published in SANS 241 related to a chronic health risk is 1.5 mg/l over a lifetime of consumption (2 liters of water per day for 70 years by a person that weighs 60 kg)
2. The Department of Water and Sanitation monitors the levels. The recommended maximum fluoride concentration is 1 part per million which is the appropriate fluoride level for human consumption. In the Metropole, the City of Cape Town uses the standard limit for fluoride as published in the South African National Drinking Water Standards (SANS 241) to assess and understand if all water tested pose a chronic health risk – in terms of fluoride concentration present in the drinking water – or not. No such risk has be identified.
