The current name of fluoride comes from the Latin, fluo,which means to flow.With this word they baptized in the Middle Ages “fluorine spar”, a mineral that was used in foundries so that iron could melt at a lower temperature and that also reduces the viscosity of the liquid metal, whichHelps it flow more easily through channels and molds.As fluorine was first isolated from this metallurgical additive, which today we refer to more often as fluorite, it was decided to name the Latin word for the mineral.
Due to its high reactivity,It is not advisable to be around fluoride without very strict protection measures.In fact, the first attempts to isolate this element left behind a trail of dead chemicals, the so-called “fluoride martyrs”.
This is because fluorine reacts vigorously with almost any compound it comes into contact with, but is especially dangerous when it binds with the hydrogen in water to form hydrofluoric acid.This acid not only makes it difficult to handle the element by corroding any laboratory material with which it comes in contact, but also attacks the organic tissue exposed to it.The lungs and eyes are first affected by hydrofluoric acid fumes, but even contact with the acid through just 160 square centimeters of skin can lead to poisoning and death.
Although today we have controlled fluoride, we must bear in mind thatThe first chemists to work with this element had to discover its dangers the hard way.That is why the element was isolated for the first time in 1886 after 74 years of unsuccessful and, in some cases, lethal attempts.
But is fluoride dangerous?
At this point, you may have put your hands to your head because you have remembered that fluoride is present in your toothpaste.
Don’t worry, the fluoride is not corroding you from the inside: in the products destined to enter the human body, neither pure fluoride nor hydrofluoric acid are used, of course, but rather inert compounds such as sodium fluoride. In the same way that the chlorine and sodium in table salt are very dangerous separately, but harmless when joined to form a molecule, these fluorine-containing compounds can be consumed in moderate amounts without problems.
This is the same reason why tiny amounts of fluoride compounds are added to tap water: after it was noticed that in places where the water naturally had more fluoride, people suffered fewer dental problems, treatment was started water with this element to improve the oral health of the population at a very low cost . It’s that simple, no matter how some conspiracy theories insist on saying otherwise.
