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Helping Our Peninsula's Environment |
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Monterey Peninsula Faces Water Poisoning Threat From Anti-Science Fluoridation Activists (c) Copyright 2001-2003 David Dilworth |
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Monterey County's so-called "Health Department" is now taking steps to put a poison, fluoride, in our Peninsula's drinking water supply as directed by a recent and extremely controversial state law that was passed with little debate. We want you to be aware of the best science on Water Fluoridation and have included two articles. They illustrate four important points --
The first article is an overview of the science by Rachel's Environment and Health Weekly. The second is an article put out by a US-Environmental Protection Agency and employees union (scientists, attorneys and engineers) explaining their strong opposition to drinking water fluoridation, and some critical ethical and public health issues related to the way the US-EPA twisted the science and outrageously abused their authority to allow fluoridation of drinking water. (Click here for EPA article) But first let's start with the question -- Q. What's the difference between the fluoride put in drinking water, in toothpaste and rat poison? A. Absolutely nothing, except the intent. Rat poison fluoride is highly toxic, is intended to kill mammals and it does so easily. Fluoride put in drinking water and toothpaste is chemically identical to rat poison, but is claimed to "improve" tooth health. Since 1997 all fluoridated toothpaste is now required to carry a warning, (go take at a look at the tube in your bathroom) which states in part to "keep out of reach of children," and if you accidentally swallow more than needed for brushing teeth "Contact the Poison Control Center!" Q. How many foods, nutrients or vitamins do you eat with a warning like that? A. None. Would you eat a hamburger or a milkshake with a warning to "Contact the Poison Control Center" if you ate too much? What do fluoridation activists want? Water fluoridation is typically performed in the U.S. by adding sodium fluoride, a waste product of aluminum production, sodium silicoflouride or hydrofluosilicic acid to drinking water supplies (at 1 ppm). All three are poisonous in small amounts. In concentrations exceeding 1.5 ppm Sodium Fluoride "may cause mottling of tooth enamel." Van Nostrands Scientific Encyclopedia, 1976 Fluorine is the most reactive element and one of the strongest oxidizing agents known. Prior to 1945 fluoride was not added to water anywhere in the world. Some areas, notably China, have significant amounts of fluoride naturally occurring in drinking water. Switzerland, after fluoridating its water for 40 years, just passed a law against Water fluoridation because it has shown no benefit. Most European countries (e.g. Sweden, Holland, Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, Denmark) forbid adding fluoride to drinking water. Separately from fluoride's broad array of known cumulative poisonous effects on humans (including arthritis, mutations and death), water companies may be reluctant to add fluoridation because of the extreme difficulty in controlling the amount of it in each gallon of water. Too little (less than 1 ppm) and there is no claimed effect upon teeth; only slightly more (1.0 to 1.5ppm) and fluoride is known to damage teeth. MSDS stands for Material Safety Data Sheet. Every product for sale or for use in business in United States, which has dangerous properties (such as poisonous, toxic or deadly effects) must have an MSDS sheet. Products which do not have dangerous properties, such as most foods, do not need an MSDS sheet. All of the fluoride products put in drinking water are well-established , hazardous waste products. Each of them is required by law to have an MSDS sheet. Click here to read MSDS Sheets for -- Sodium fluoride (a waste product of aluminum production), Q. Why did the 2002 Monterey County Grand Jury recommend fluoridating our water? A. Is important to understand that the County Grand Jury willfully refused to look at the science about the dangers on fluoridation or listen to any toxicity experts. The Grand Jury only looked at one side of the issue, the pro-fluoridation side, before making their decision! Although Debra Diaz of the "Monterey County Fluoridation Task Force" seems well intentioned (she seems to genuinely care about protecting the teeth of children from poor families), her advocacy contradicts all the known science. She claimed "Fluoridation is the single most cost-effective way to fight dental disease, and its safe" and that fluoridation could benefit older people who suffer from root decay. First, as the above articles explain, fluoridation simply does not realistically fight dental disease, so fluoridation can hardly be the most "cost-effective." Brushing teeth, flossing and avoiding sugar are the most cost effective methods of preventing tooth decay. Ms. Diaz has provided no evidence of water fluoridation's benefit to the elderly or concerning root decay. The only studies we can find on water fluoridation related to the elderly is that it increases hip fractures. Hip fractures cause the deaths of some 50,000 older Americans each year. We urge you to read the science first, then make your own decision on whether you would like to pay to have poison added to your drinking water. You might ask Ms. Diaz what scientific evidence she is relying upon. Click here to read Fifteen (15) articles on fluoridation (including - Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, Project Censored, Chicago Tribune, San Jose Mercury). An alternative you might consider is how our neighbor Santa Cruz adopted a local initiative and joined most European countries in prohibiting drinking water fluoridation and non-consensual medication of the public. |
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Fluoride Accidents & Poisonings -END |
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Feedback - Info(at)1hope.org 831 / 624-6500 P.O. Box 1495, Carmel, CA 93921
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This Page Last Updated July 2, 2003 |
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