Fluoride Fanatics Versus The Volcano
Iceland's farmers try to save herds from toxic ash
"SKOGAR, Iceland — In Europe, the volcanic ash danger travels at high altitudes, but for Iceland's farmers the problem is very much on the ground.
Farmers across the region where the volcano erupted this week under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier have been scrambling to protect their herds from inhaling or ingesting the ash, which can cause internal bleeding, long-term bone damage and teeth loss.
Near Skogar, south of the volcano, the ash blew down from the mountain, blotting out the sunlight and covering everything — pastures, animals and humans — in a thick, gray paste.
Berglind Hilmarsdottir, a dairy farmer, teamed up with neighbors Saturday to round up her cattle, some 120 in all, and get them to shelter. In the panic, some of the animals got lost in the fog of ash, and the farmers had to drive around searching for them.
"The risk is of fluoride poisoning if they breathe or eat too much," Hilmarsdottir said through a white protective mask.
The fluoride in the ash creates acid in the animals' stomachs, corroding the intestines and causing hemorrhages. It also binds with calcium in the blood stream, and after heavy exposure over a period of days makes bones frail, even causing teeth to crumble.
"The best we can do is put them in the barn, block all the windows and bring them clean food and water as long as the earth is contaminated," said Hilmarsdottir."
"SKOGAR, Iceland — In Europe, the volcanic ash danger travels at high altitudes, but for Iceland's farmers the problem is very much on the ground.
Farmers across the region where the volcano erupted this week under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier have been scrambling to protect their herds from inhaling or ingesting the ash, which can cause internal bleeding, long-term bone damage and teeth loss.
Near Skogar, south of the volcano, the ash blew down from the mountain, blotting out the sunlight and covering everything — pastures, animals and humans — in a thick, gray paste.
Berglind Hilmarsdottir, a dairy farmer, teamed up with neighbors Saturday to round up her cattle, some 120 in all, and get them to shelter. In the panic, some of the animals got lost in the fog of ash, and the farmers had to drive around searching for them.
"The risk is of fluoride poisoning if they breathe or eat too much," Hilmarsdottir said through a white protective mask.
The fluoride in the ash creates acid in the animals' stomachs, corroding the intestines and causing hemorrhages. It also binds with calcium in the blood stream, and after heavy exposure over a period of days makes bones frail, even causing teeth to crumble.
"The best we can do is put them in the barn, block all the windows and bring them clean food and water as long as the earth is contaminated," said Hilmarsdottir."
And for those who insist volcanoes spew fluorine and not fluoride: "Fluorine is the most reactive nonmetallic element, a pale-yellow, corrosive, toxic gas that occurs combined, esp. in fluorite, cryolite, phosphate rock, and other minerals. Symbol: F; atomic weight: 18.9984; atomic number: 9.Fluoride is compound containing fluorine and another element or radical. Fluorine combines readily with nearly all the other elements, except the noble gases, to form fluorides. In some countries, fluoride is added to the drinking water as a preventive measure against tooth decay."
Govt pushes ahead with water fluoridation
posted by nolocontendere at 5:10 AM
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