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Environment
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| Note: | The Fluoridation Code of Practice specifies that samples should be within the range of 0.9-1.5 mg/L, with no samples exceeding 1.5 mg/L. |
| Source: | Sydney Water and Hunter Water Corporations (Quarterly Reports) and NSW Health Drinking Water Monitoring Program (Database). |
Fluoridation of drinking water supplies provides a significant oral health benefit by reducing dental caries, along with the associated savings in the cost of dental treatment. Fluoridation is carried out under the provisions of the Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies Act 1957. Under the Act, water utilities are responsible for fluoridating water, for daily testing of fluoride concentration, and for submitting results of testing to NSW Health.
Optimal caries reduction is achieved with a dose of approximately 1.0 milligram per litre (mg/L) of fluoride. The Code of Practice for the Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies 2002 requires that greater than 95% of all routine fluoride samples fall within the fluoride concentration operating range of 0.90 mg/L to 1.50 mg/L (Australiasian Legal Information Institute (auslii) website).
Water testing results from Sydney Water Corporation indicate that 99.6% and 99.9% of daily fluoride samples were within the operating range for the years 2004 and 2005 respectively. The mean fluoride concentration for Sydney Water's supplies was 1.0 mg/L for both 2004 and 2005.
Hunter Water Corporation data shows that 95.4% and 91.6% of daily fluoride samples were within the operating range for the years 2004 and 2005 respectively. The mean fluoride concentrations for Hunter Water's supplies were 0.98 mg/L and 0.95 mg/L for 2004 and 2005 respectively.
In rural and regional water supplies that fluoridate, a 81% and 80% of daily fluoride samples were within the operating range for the years 2004 and 2005 respectively. The mean fluoride concentration for all these supplies was 0.96 mg/L for both 2004 and 2005.
| For more information: |
National Health and Medical Research Council and Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council. Australian Drinking Water Guidelines 2004. Canberra: NHMRC, 2004. Available at: www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/synopses/eh19syn.htm. New South Wales Consolidated Acts. Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies Act 1957. Available at www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/fopwsa1957400/. New South Wales Consolidated Acts. The Code of Practice for the Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies 2002. Available at www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/fopwsr2002491.txt The Sydney Water Corporation website at www.sydneywater.com.au The Hunter Water Corporation website at www.hunterwater.com.au Department of Environment and Conservation. New South Wales State of the Environment 2003. Sydney: Department of Environment and Conservation, 2003. Available at www.environment.nsw.gov.au/SOE/soe2003/index.htm. The next edition of the report is expected at the end of 2006. |
| Print version: | Although this page can be printed directly from your Web browser, a higher quality version of this entire page (graph, table and text) is available as an Acrobat PDF file which can be printed or viewed on screen using free software. |
| Downloadable files: | The data contained in the table on this page are available for download as a CSV file which can be imported into many software packages. The graph is available for download as an EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) file and as an EMF (Enhanced Metafile Format) file. Files in these formats can be imported into most word processing, presentation and graphics software packages. |
| Copyright notice: | This work is copyright NSW Department of Health, 2006. It may be reproduced in whole or in part, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source. Commercial usage or sale is prohibited. |
| Suggested citation: | Population Health Division. The health of the people of New South Wales - Report of the Chief Health Officer. Sydney: NSW Department of Health. Available at: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/chorep/env/env_watfluor.htm. Accessed (insert date of access). |
| Produced by: | Centre for Epidemiology and Research, Population Health Division, NSW Department of Health. |
| Last updated on: | 16 October 2006 |
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