Normal Urinary Fluorine Excretion and the Fluorine Content of Food and Water1

Abstract

Since the original discovery of fluorine in the enamel of teeth by GayLussac and Berthollet (1) in 1805, fluorine has been found to be a usual constituent of plant, animal and human tissues. This fact is an almost necessary corollary of the extremely widespread occurrence of fluorine in soils and waters. With the exception of the bones and teeth, the amounts found in the tissues of man or animals without specific fluorine exposure are usually small; in our experience generally less than 1 milligram per kilogram of tissue. Our observations on fluorine storage following exposure to hydrogen fluoride (5) and more recent studies of the urinary fluorine excretion of workers exposed to hydrogen fluoride and other fluorides, 2 demonstrate not only that there is a usual level of intake and excretion of fluorine but also that storage of fluorine in the bone, teeth and parenchymatous organs will occur if the intake is disproportionately high. It is generally assumed that the presence of fluorine in human tissues is of incidental occurrence and that it serves no useful physiologic purpose.The results of Sharpless and McCollum (8) indicate that rats will grow and reproduce on a diet containing very little fluorine and that the fluorine content of the teeth can be reduced below the limits of detection by the analytical

Production and Inhibition of Dental Caries in Syrian Hamsters

“…The amount of fluorine in the coarse (I) and fine (II) corn diets was considerably lower (0.4 p.p.m.) and of the same order as obtained for common cereals by Machle, Scott, and Treon (13).…”

Urinary Fluoride Concentration in 6- to 9-Year-Old Children Drinking Water with a Very Low Fluoride Level

“…Machle [1936], Machle and Largent [1943] and Machle et al [1939Machle et al [ , 1942 mea sured urinary F in 130 adult subjects and found a mean of 1.00 ppm (range 0.5-2.8 ppm). Their studies indicated that uri nary F excretion could be utilized as a mea sure of ingestion and F storage, even at very high levels of intake.…”

“…Available evi dence indicates that urine F measurements in a population drinking water with a F con centration ranging from 0.3 to 1.0 ppm or higher can be used to predict the water F level with confidence [Machle, 1936;Machle et al, 1939;McClure and Kinser, 1944;Largent, 1954], There is, however, some controversy concerning the water F-urine F correlation in a population ingesting water with very low F levels. Investigators have studied in dividuals drinking water containing 0.06-1.36 ppm F and have found the mean uri nary F concentration to range from 0.06 to 1.12 ppm [Smith et al, 1950].…”

Nitroparaffins as Solvents in the Coating Industry

“…A detailed study has been made of the toxicity of the nitroparaffins, and in this respect they are similar to the ester-type solvents of approximately equal vapor pressure (6,8,9), They therefore offer no unusual hazards, either with respect to toxicity or flammability. The ordinary precautions exer-cised in handling the common lacquer solvents are sufficient for the nitroparaffins.…”