A report issued on Wednesday says that fluoride in drinking water, deliberately added to strengthen teeth, can in fact damage bones and teeth. So much fluoride is allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency that children in some areas are developing discolored teeth and weakened tooth enamel. Even if the majority of Americans drink water with fluoride levels below the ones set by the EPA, 200,000 people in the United States in areas where there is natural fluoride present may get more of the substance than it is necessary. EPA allows 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter, four times the amount needed to fight cavities. States like Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia have great levels of natural fluoride, levels which are above EPA standards. Throughout the country, most areas with public water supplies have such low fluoride levels that they must add more to reach the optimal levels. This recent study is an impulse for people who have opposed the chemicals added in drinking water. 50 years ago, some of them accused the government of trying to poison Americans or make them ill by adding fluoride in the water. People who drink water with fluoride levels close to the maximum permitted have a higher risk for bone fractures. A few studies have shown a connection between fluoride and bone cancer, but the results were called "tentative and mixed."