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US government proposed reduction of fluoridation does not go far enough.
Washington Action for Safe Water PRESS RELEASE
Summary Statement Issued by Dr. Bill Osmunson, dentist and President of Washington Action for Safe Water:
“On January 7, 2010, US Health and Human Services (HHS) admitted that we are getting too much fluoride and that the amount added to drinking water should be lowered – from a maximum of 1.2 ppm to a flat 0.7 ppm to reduce dental fluorosis. HHS states that 41% of 12 – 15 year olds have dental fluorosis, primarily from drinking fluoridated water. Because of increases from other fluoride sources, this reduction will not greatly reduce fluorosis and will certainly not eliminate it. Fluorosis is the first clinical sign of fluoride poisoning. Excess fluoride does not affect only teeth. It also harms bones, kidneys, thyroid, brains, and other organs. Fluoride is not a nutrient and the body has no need for any of it. The absence of fluoride does not cause tooth decay. Fluoridation chemicals are toxic waste and contain heavy metals such as lead and arsenic. The amount of fluoride added to drinking water should be reduced – to zero.”
Dr. Bill Osmunson, WASW President, dentist and holder of a masters degree in public health, can be interviewed on the following topics and may be quoted as saying the following:
“The recent HHS recommendation to lower the maximum amount of fluoride to be added to drinking water from 1.2 ppm down to 0.7 ppm still does not make the water safe, particularly for infants and children. Mother’s milk contains virtually no fluoride, even if the mother drinks fluoridated water. Formula made with fluoridated water will harm infant brains, lowering IQ, increasing the risk of mental retardation and cancer.”
“Nor does a 0.7 ppm level prevent harm to teens, adults, and the aged. Half of all fluoride consumed is retained in bones and other organs. A lifetime of drinking fluoridated water worsens kidney disease, arthritis, thyroid disease, and possibly Alzheimer’s disease.”
“Dental fluorosis is a sign of a general fluoride poisoning of the entire body. It is caused by ingesting too much fluoride. The maximum contaminant level goal for fluoride should be zero, which means we should be adding no fluoride to drinking water.”
“Over twenty peer-reviewed human studies say drinking fluoridated water lowers IQ and damages the human brain. Teeth are not more important than brains. No one at HHS seems to care about IQ. Artificial fluoride is a protected pollutant, and HHS must stop defending it.”
“Some of the studies which HHS cites are half a century old. Most studies cited focus only on teeth and dental fluorosis and ignore other organs. HHS fails to include current studies showing serious harm from fluoride exposure. The studies cited assume that naturally occurring calcium fluoride, sodium fluoride (from aluminum plants) and silicofluorides (from fertilizer plants) are all the same. They are not. Silicofluorides are far more harmful because they contain lead, dissolve lead in pipes, and facilitate uptake of lead into the brain.”
“I have submitted an analysis to the FDA which the United States incurs economic harm in excess of $1.5 trillion per year from fluoridation. Lowering the concentration of fluoride to 0.7 ppm will still leave close to a trillion dollars a year of economic harm.”
“Fluoride mixed with drinking water meets the federal definition of a drug. The HHS proposal should recommend or require municipalities to apply to the FDA for drug approval. However, it is unlikely the FDA would approve the mass medication of everyone without his or her individual consent.”
“The Safe Drinking Water Act prohibits any agency from requiring the addition of anything to drinking water for health related purposes, except for disinfectants, and therefore HHS errs in recommending adding any amount of fluoride to water or supporting the alleged efficacy of fluoridation.”
“Most of Europe, Japan and China do not fluoridate water or recommend fluoride supplements, but tooth decay has dropped as much or more in those non-fluoridating countries. Better diet is what reduces tooth decay, not drinking fluoridated water.”
“China does not permit artificial fluoridation. The Chinese ship their industrial toxic waste fluoride to us by the tanker load, and our water districts force us to drink it.”
“HHS relies on a new study based on data collected from 1999 to 2004. There has been an increase in fluorosis since that study. New sources of fluoride intake, such as pesticides and post-harvest fumigants, have risen sharply since then. Further, the data in that study pertain to children aged 12 – 15, and their fluorosis resulted from exposure when they were four years old and younger, meaning the data is at least 20 years old. There is much more fluorosis in the pipeline. So the proposed reduction 0.7% will only slow the increase in fluorosis and will not reduce it.”
Attorney James Robert Deal, vice-president of WASW and president of Fluoride Class Action can be interviewed on the following topics and may be quoted as saying the following:
“Fluorosis is caused by ingesting too much fluoride. No kid should have any dental fluorosis, because it is a marker for fluoride poisoning throughout the body. The best way to eliminate fluorosis is to reduce fluoride added to drinking water down to zero.”
“The Health Service is recommending the addition of a level of fluoride that the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) prohibits any federal agency from requiring. The SDWA prohibits requiring the addition of any chemical to drinking water for medical purposes. This is the exact wording:
‘No national primary drinking water regulation may require the addition of any substance for preventive health care purposes unrelated to contamination of drinking water.’
“The SDWA is also binding on states and may be binding on municipalities. It is illegal for states to make fluoridation mandatory. California, for example, is ignoring the SDWA. No federal agency has ever approved water fluoridation. The CDC, which is under the HHS, praises fluoridation, but it has no jurisdiction to approve or require it.”
“The EPA 4 ppm limit is not an authorization to add fluoride up to 4 ppm. It is a regulation requiring removal of any naturally occurring calcium fluoride in excess of 4 ppm.”
“To get around the SDWA, the FDA in 1979 entered into an illegal memorandum agreement with the EPA in which the FDA assigned all jurisdiction over fluoridation to EPA. There was a little problem: The SDWA forbade the EPA or any federal agency from requiring fluoridation. So in the 1980s the EPA transferred authority it did not have over fluoridation to the National Sanitation Foundation, a private trade association. The NSF claims it does toxicological tests or receives them from fluoride suppliers, but in fact it has no toxicological studies. Most states allow fluoridation using only fluorides which meet NSF 60 certification. But NSF 60 certification is meaningless. Most water districts do not even have a copy of NSF 60. NSF is a sham regulatory agency which has usurped the role of the FDA and the EPA.”
“This proposal by HHS to reduce fluoride added to drinking water is a response to the 2006 National Science Council report on fluoridation. As such, it is an inadequate response. It ignores the effect of fluoride on bones, kidneys, pineal, thyroid, brain, and many other organs and bodily functions. It focuses only on teeth, as if fluoride magically went only to teeth. As science this proposal is bad science.”
“Another big concern is lead. The silicofluorides used by 90% of water districts contain lead. Silicofluorides dissolve lead in pipes and fittings. And silicofluorides bind with lead and facilitate lead uptake into the body, including the brain.”
“The chemical industry donates money to dental schools, so dental associations pressure dentists to support fluoridation. They instruct dentists not to try to understand the science behind fluoridation. When we offer to debate, those who are pro-fluoridation refuse to debate.”
“People are being harmed. Lives are being shortened. I believe that municipalities are going to be sued and penalized with million dollar verdicts unless they stop fluoridating. They have been warned.”
Audrey Adams, WASW treasurer can be interviewed on the following topics and may be quoted as saying the following:
“I am the mother of an autistic son who is profoundly sensitive to fluoride. Around one percent of the population is allergic to fluoride and have severe reactions. I go to extreme lengths to help my son avoid any exposure to fluoride. Even the tiny amount absorbed in a shower causes him to have severe headaches. Fluoride supporters ignore those who are fluoride sensitive. Water should be safe for everyone.”
“The ADA and the CDC have recommended that parents not use fluoridated water to mix infant formula. Most mothers have not been informed of this. How are low income parents going to afford bottled water? How are people without cars going to haul water home? Ultimately, the negative impact of fluoridation is an environmental injustice of the worst kind as it’s negative effects hit children, the poor, the disabled and the elderly the hardest and they have the least ability to avoid it.”
Alli Larkin, Water Commissioner and WASW board member, can be interviewed on the following topics and may be quoted as saying the following:
“As a Water District Commissioner in Washington State in a district that does not fluoridate, I was surprised to learn from the Washington State Attorney General’s office that I had the authority to medicate everyone in my water district with a drug that is not approved by the FDA and is classified as a contaminant and that I can do it without a vote or the support of the people.”
“Fluoride is a drug known to cause dental and skeletal fluorosis and suspected to cause mental retardation, cancer, hypothyroidism and more ills. I am not a medical doctor or pharmacist, so it is absurd that I would have the authority to add this toxic drug to the water with no continuing oversight of the health effects it causes. This is just plain wrong.”
End
For radio, TV, and newspaper interviews contact:
Dr. Bill Osmunson, DDS, MPH, WASW President, 425-466-0100, Bill@WashingtonSafewater.com
James Robert Deal, Attorney, WASW Vice-President, 425-771-1110, James@WashingtonSafewater.com
Audrey Adams, WASW Treasurer, 425-271-2229, mother of fluoride sensitized child Audrey@WashingtonSafewater.com
Alli Larkin, WASW board member and water commissioner, 206-878-1203 Alli@WashingtonSafeWater.com
Last updated 21 January 2011
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