Despite the 4,974 miles that separate them, Mexico and Argentina suffer from the same disease: fluoride pollution. Both Sierra de Álvarez in San Luis Potosí and the province of Chubut on the Patagonian coast are victims of the lack of regulation of two large companies whose socio-environmental impact doesn't seem to be a priority for anyone.
MEXICO
Fluoride City, sewage sludge in Sierra de Álvarez
The Koura fluorspar mine, part of the Orbia Advanced conglomerate, devastated the landscape with its dams, displacing species and transforming valleys into industrial sewers and bodies of water into pumping stations. A mile from Sierra de Álvarez, the company has established a small city where the mine "dictates" the laws.
ARGENTINA
Aluar: the secret of fluoride in Patagonia
In Argentina’s Patagonia, one of the ten largest companies in the southern cone and the largest aluminum factory in Latin America is accused of fluoride pollution. The company denies it but does not provide evidence and the government does not control it.
Fluoride in our lives
It is a dangerous substance, an irritating, pale yellowish to greenish gas that smells bad, but is rarely seen or felt. Its name is derived from Latin fluere, “to flow”, as it helps other minerals, such as iron, to flow.
What is it used for?
 |
The manufacture of toothpaste. It makes tooth enamel more resistant to bacteria. |
 |
The water purification process. |
 |
The manufacture of general anesthetics, because its chemical properties cause muscle and joint relaxation. |
 |
Lighting systems using fluorescence, which is characterized by bright, white light. |
 |
Many industrial processes, from enhancing the combustion of rockets, production of antibiotics, electrical isolation, production of fire extinguishing gases, obtaining pure uranium, or in the electrolysis of alumina, which produces pure aluminum. |
 |
The manufacture of plasma televisions, although this technology is no longer in use. |
Risks!
Excessive exposure to fluoride in the air or in water consumption causes:
| Alterations in brain morphology and biochemistry. |  |
| Negative impacts on neurological development, learning and memory. |  |
| In more severe cases, it may cause skeletal fluorosis. |  |
| Dermatological effects such as dermatosis. |  |
| Hypothyroidism. |  |
