What is the problem with fluoride, and what is harmful about it?

Did you know that recent rainwear is moving away from the use of fluorine? There are fabrics and videos that say fluorine is harmful and that it has an effect on the human body, so they have changed to not using fluorine, and fluorine gives the impression of being a very dangerous substance, but in fact fluorine exists all around us, and it is also contained in food. In this article, we will explain what the problem is with fluorine and what points we need to be careful about.

It's an exaggeration to say that fluorine is harmful

There is a certain number of people who perceive fluorine as harmful, but this is clearly an exaggeration. As mentioned earlier, fluorine is an element that exists in nature. It is not the case at all that everything containing fluorine is dangerous and should be avoided, and in fact we need to be careful about what form it exists in.

Whether we are talking about fluorine on its own or as a compound makes a huge difference, and even if we are talking about it as a compound, it is safe to say that it is completely different depending on what kind of compound it is. It is meaningless to talk about whether fluorine as an element is harmful or harmless.

The same is true for chlorine, which exists as chlorine gas and as an element in table salt. It has also been found in plastic bags and is an element in dioxin. It is not possible to determine whether chlorine is harmful or not based on the element alone.

The same is true of fluorine, which is actually also contained in food, and we can say that we are consuming it every day. Fluorine is also found in trace essential nutrients, and it is fluorine that helps to build up our healthy bodies. First of all, let's understand that not all fluorine is dangerous or harmful.

Fluorine contained in toothpaste is also safe

One question that is often asked here is about the fluoride contained in toothpaste. To cut a long story short, there is no problem. Please be aware that this is completely different from the fluoride compounds that are later considered to be problematic.

The fluoride contained in toothpaste is called inorganic fluoride, while the fluoride that is later considered to be problematic is called organic fluoride. The main difference is that inorganic fluoride also exists in nature, but organic fluoride is a compound that has been artificially created.

Even if the fluoride contained in toothpaste is not a problem, it is still important to be careful not to take too much. In particular, because young children have a low tolerance, we do not recommend using fluoride mouthwash. This is because if swallowed by mistake, fluoride can cause an excess of fluoride in the body. It is generally recognized that fluoride contained in toothpaste does not cause an excess and is therefore not a problem.

Excessive intake of any nutrient, not just fluoride, is toxic to the body. Even salt, which is essential to our nutrition, is known to be toxic in excessive amounts. Just as excessive intake in the short term or long term is toxic to the body, fluoride is also beneficial to our bodies in the right amount, but excessive intake is also toxic, so be careful.

The problem is with organic fluorine compounds

The problem is with organic fluorine compounds, which I will talk about now.

However, not all organic fluorine compounds are harmful. To be more precise, it is more accurate to say that we don't know whether they are all harmful, and to go even further, it can be said that only a very small number of organic fluorine compounds have been confirmed to be harmful.

This means that it is not possible to say that those that are not yet known are safe.

There are said to be several thousand types of organic fluorine compounds, or even more than ten thousand. This is because the number depends on the definition. Even though there are so many types, the toxicity of only a few dozen has been confirmed.

Are products that use organic fluorine compounds dangerous?

The question is whether using rainwear or other products that use organic fluorine compounds, such as pans with a fluorine coating, will have any effect on the human body. The answer is no, so you can be reassured.

The problem with organic fluorine compounds is that they are considered a problem when they are taken into the body in the form of low-molecular-weight monomers, but the fluorine used in commercial products exists in the form of high-molecular-weight polymers. For example, even if the surface of a fluorine-coated frying pan chips off and you swallow it, it will not be absorbed into your body. Therefore, it is not dangerous to use products that use organic fluorine compounds.

Ultimately, the problem is that we need to be careful about the factories that manufacture these organic fluorine compounds themselves, and also about the products that use them in a state similar to that of a monomer. In Japan, there have also been cases where organic fluorine compounds collected from factories have been disposed of as waste in mountains, and then leaked from the waste. Since there are also cases where organic fluorine compounds have been detected in places where there are no factories or such facilities, it is important to check the information issued by local governments.

Shifting away from the use of organic fluorine compounds

Currently, many countries have regulations in place for the organic fluorine compounds that have been found to be problematic, and both production and use of these compounds have been banned. There is also a shift towards organic fluorine compounds that have not been found to be harmful, and a shift away from using organic fluorine compounds in the first place.

Even though it would be sufficient to shift to organic fluorine compounds that have not been found to be harmful, the shift to not using organic fluorine compounds at all is not just about the effects on the human body.

Because organic fluorine compounds are extremely stable, they have the characteristic of remaining in the environment. Whether or not they have an effect on the human body, the fact that substances that do not exist in nature continue to remain in the environment without breaking down is a problem.

If we continue to use organic fluorine compounds as we are, the concentration of organic fluorine compounds in the environment will increase, and there is a possibility that what is not currently considered harmful will become harmful as the concentration increases. For this reason, it is becoming increasingly important to shift away from using organic fluorine compounds.

The disadvantages of not using organic fluorine compounds

The move towards not using organic fluorine compounds is not an easy one. Organic fluorine compounds have excellent performance that cannot be matched by changing to other elements. In terms of chemical properties, there are many characteristics that make it difficult to achieve performance that exceeds that of fluorine, and finding replacements is not an easy task.

This is the point where, while saying that we are shifting towards not using organic fluorine compounds, we cannot change everything at once.

At present, the switch is gradually beginning in fields where there are no fatal problems that could affect human life.

Impact on the outdoor industry

The outdoor industry, in which we work, is also taking the lead in making changes. For example, fluorine has traditionally been used in the water-repellent treatment of rainwear, but this is being switched in recent years. As a result, it has become more difficult to maintain the same level of water-repellency as before, and the importance of supplementing water-repellent performance through maintenance has increased.

In addition, although fluorine was used in the past as a waterproof film, this waterproof film is also being changed to a form that does not use fluorine. As one would expect, stability was extremely high when fluorine was used, but stability has decreased as a result of not using fluorine.

However, despite these problems, we are boldly moving towards a direction of not using fluorine in the outdoor field. In order to protect the global environment, we also need to review the performance we have become accustomed to and be patient.