Re: 'Fluoridating water is toxic' [Letter, Village News, 11/18/10]

In reading Dr. Donald Brust’s opinion on fluoride toxicity to humans, fluorides are also toxic to plants. The Metropolitan Water District regularly maintains a fluoride level of 0.7 to 1.3 mg/l. At 1.0 mg/l, fluoride is toxic to certain species of plants, such as Dracaena, Cordyline, Chlorophyllum, etc.

Many of these are used as houseplants. The fluoride causes marginal leaf necrosis. The leaf edge burn may be caused by other elements in excess such as sodium, chlorides, or high soil salinity, but fluoride adds to the problems.

It helps to set your house plants outdoors in the rain to leach out excess salt and fluorides. The rain is essentially distilled water. I don’t think the water districts consider plants in their effort to fluoridate water.

Conrad Skimina