Facts about Fluoridation
\r\n <\/b>Fluoride Action Network
\r\n January 2002<\/i><\/p>\r\n
* 98% of WESTERN EUROPE <\/strong>has REJECTED<\/strong> \r\n WATER FLUORIDATION. <\/strong>This includes Austria, \r\n Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, \r\n Norway, and Sweden<\/b>. The predominant reason for Europe's rejection is \r\n the belief that public drinking water is NOT the appropriate vehicle with which \r\n to deliver medication to a population. <\/p>\r\n * <\/b>Fluoride is the only chemical added to \r\n drinking water for the purposes of medication (e.g. to prevent tooth decay, \r\n a NON WATER-BORNE DISEASE<\/strong>). All other treatment chemicals are \r\n added to treat the water (i.e. make the water safer and better to drink). \r\n<\/p>\r\n * <\/b>Fluoride is NOT<\/strong> AN \r\n ESSENTIAL NUTRIENT<\/strong>, which means that no human disease (including dental \r\n decay) has ever been linked to a fluoride deficiency. (1) *<\/b> Fluoridation adds between 0.1 and 1.6 \r\n parts per billion (ppb) ARSENIC<\/strong> \r\n to drinking water, and therefore violates the EPA's Maximum Contaminant Level \r\n Goal for arsenic - which is 0<\/b> ppb. (2)<\/p>\r\n * <\/b>Hydrofluosilicic acid & sodium silicofluoride, \r\n which are the chemicals used to fluoridate 91% of fluoridated water in the US, \r\n have NEVER BEEN TESTED<\/b> for safety and effectiveness. According to a November \r\n 16, 2000 letter<\/b> \r\n from the EPA, \"to answer your question on whether we have in our possession \r\n empirical scientific data on the effects of fluosilicic acid or sodium silicofluoride \r\n on health and behavior, the answer is no<\/u>.\"<\/p>\r\n * <\/b> When water fluoridation began 50 years \r\n ago, it was believed that fluoride needed to be ingested in order to be effective. \r\n This is NO longer the view of the dental establishment, which now generally \r\n concedes that fluoride's benefits are derived primarily from TOPICAL<\/strong> \r\n application. (3) According to the US Centers for Disease Control, \"[L]aboratory \r\n and epidemiologic research suggests that fluoride prevents dental caries predominately \r\n after eruption<\/u> of the tooth into the mouth, and its actions primarily \r\n are topical <\/u>for both adults and children.\" * <\/b>All fluoride products designed to be ingested \r\n (e.g. fluoride supplements) are available by PRESCRIPTION<\/strong> only. \r\n NO fluoride products designed for ingestion have EVER been approved as safe \r\n or effective by the US \r\n FOOD & DRUG AMINISTRATION<\/strong>. (4) By logical extension fluoridated \r\n water can appropriately be classified as an unapproved prescription drug. * <\/b> The dental community concedes that fluoride \r\n is ineffective at preventing the most common type of dental decay - PIT \r\n & FISSURES<\/strong>. Pit & fissure decay - which is the decay found \r\n in the crevices of the chewing surfaces - accounts for upwards of 85% of dental \r\n decay now experienced in the US. (5) * <\/b>One of the major dental health problems \r\n experienced in poor communities is a debilitating condition known as \r\n \"BABY BOTTLE TOOTH DECAY\"<\/strong> <\/strong>which \r\n is also referred to as \"EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES.\"<\/strong> \r\n This condition, which results from excessive consumption of sweetened liquids \r\n at a young age, is NOT prevented by water fluoridation. (9) According to a study \r\n in Pediatric Nursing<\/u> \"Data from Head Start surveys show the prevalence \r\n of baby bottle tooth decay is about three times the national average among poor \r\n urban children, even in communities with a fluoridated water supply.<\/b>\" * <\/b> TOTAL FLUORIDE EXPOSURE <\/b> has increased \r\n substantially since the early days of fluoridation. (13) When fluoridation first \r\n began, exposure to fluoride from sources other than fluoridated water, was minimal. \r\n Today that is not the case. People now receive fluoride from a whole host of \r\n sources, including pesticide \r\n residues, fluoridated dental products, mechanically \r\n deboned meat, fluoride air pollution, \r\n and processed foods & \r\n beverages prepared with fluoridated water (e.g. soda, juice, beer, cereal, \r\n etc). It has now reached the point where most people recieve the \"optimal\" \r\n 1 mg\/day of fluoride (which fluoridated water was designed to deliver) WITHOUT \r\n ever drinking a glass of fluoridated water. * <\/b>Due to the increase in total fluoride \r\n exposure, there has been a major increase in the rate of DENTAL FLUOROSIS<\/strong> \r\n found among American children. According to data from the US Government, approximately \r\n 1 in 3 children living in fluoridated areas have dental fluorosis on at least \r\n 2 teeth. (14) Dental fluorosis is the first visible sign that fluoride has poisoned \r\n enzymes in the body. * <\/b> High levels of naturally occuring fluoride \r\n causes a CRIPPLING<\/b> bone disease known as SKELETAL \r\n FLUOROSIS<\/strong>. According to UNICEF<\/strong>, \r\n skeletal fluorosis is endemic \"in at least 25 countries across the globe\" \r\n (16). The problem is particularly acute in India, China and other developing \r\n countries. * <\/b> Skeletal fluorosis comes in varying degrees \r\n of severity depending on the level of exposure. The earliest symptoms are characterized \r\n by joint pain that is difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish from ARTHRITIS<\/strong>. \r\n According to a review on fluoridation by CHEMICAL \r\n & ENGINEERING NEWS<\/b>: \"Because some of the clinical symptoms \r\n mimic arthritis, the first two clinical phases of skeletal fluorosis could be \r\n easily misdiagnosed [as arthritis].\" The World Health Organization states \r\n that \"early cases [of skeletal fluorosis] may be misdiagnosed as rheumatoid \r\n or osteo arthritis.\" (17) It is estimated that approximately 40 million Americans \r\n suffer from arthritis, the most common type being osteoarthritis. * <\/b> A 1995 study in the journal Neurtoxicology \r\n and Teratology<\/u>, found that fluoride accumulated in the brain of rats and \r\n produced age-specific behavioral deficits typical of most NEUROTOXIC \r\n <\/strong>agents. (21) In the study, fluoride induced damage to the hippocampal \r\n region of the brain. Damage to the hippocampal region has been linked to hyperactivity \r\n and cognitive deficits. * <\/b> 5 recent peer reviewed studies from China \r\n have found an association between elevated fluoride exposure and DECREASED<\/b> \r\n IQs<\/strong> in children. (22)<\/p>\r\n * <\/b> In the late 1990s, a British scientist \r\n discovered that fluoride accumulates to very high levels (avg = 9000 ppm) in \r\n the crystallized tissue of the human PINEAL \r\n GLAND<\/strong>. A subsequent animal study found that fluoride interferes \r\n with the pineal gland's production of melatonin, a hormone which helps regulate \r\n the onset of PUBERTY<\/strong>. In the study, animals dosed with fluoride \r\n had reduced levels of melatonin metabolites in their urine and had earlier onsets \r\n of puberty than the controls. (23) *<\/b> Dozens of laboratory studies have found \r\n that fluoride is a MUTAGEN<\/b> - a classification which frequently indicates \r\n that a substance is carcinogenic (i.e. that it causes CANCER<\/b>). (30) A \r\n cancer bioassay conducted by the National Toxicology Program found that rats \r\n dosed with fluoride had a statisitically significant increase in BONE TUMORS<\/b> \r\n (osteosarcomas), which were not found among the controls. The initial review \r\n of the study also reported that the fluoride-dosed rats had tumors of the thyroid, \r\n oral cavity and rare tumors of the liver; however these tumors were later downgraded \r\n under conspicuous and controversial circumstances. According to Dr. \r\n William Marcus, the Chief Toxicologist at the EPA's Office of Drinking Water, \r\n the downgrading of the tumors was politically motivated and not scientifically \r\n defensible. (31) <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n *<\/b> After years of overlooking the problems \r\n with fluoride & fluoridation, the environmental community is finally beginning \r\n to address the issue. In September of 2001, the SIERRA \r\n CLUB<\/b> announced that:<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\n","contact":"mconnett@fluoridealert.org","link":"http:\/\/www.fluoridealert.org","address":"","phone":"315-379-9200","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"To access the references for this fact sheet, visit http:\/\/www.fluoridealert.org\/fluoride-facts.htm","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2002\/01\/fluoridati.html","filesize":"19.8 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2002\/01\/13996.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}
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\r\n * <\/b>The fluoride used to fluoridate water is an INDUSTRIAL WASTE \r\n PRODUCT <\/strong>from the phosphate \r\n fertilizer industry<\/b>. It is an unprocessed hazardous waste, contaminated \r\n with a number of toxins, particularly arsenic. <\/p>\r\n
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\r\n * <\/b>Evidence now strongly suggests that fluoridation DOESN'T WORK<\/strong>. \r\n Cavities have declined at similarly impressive rates throughout the entire western, \r\n industrialized world over the past half century. This decline has occured irrespective \r\n of a country's fluoridation status. Western Europe, which is 98% unfluoridated, \r\n has experienced the SAME<\/b> \r\n decline in cavities as the heavily fluoridated US, and today enjoys the SAME \r\n low level of tooth decay. (6)
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\r\n *<\/b> The largest dental survey ever conducted in the US found virtually \r\n no difference in dental decay between children living in fluoridated vs. unfluoridated \r\n areas. The study, which was conducted by the NATIONAL \r\n INSTITUTE OF DENTAL RESEARCH (NIDR)<\/strong>, found that the average difference \r\n in tooth decay (0.6 tooth surfaces) between children living in fluoridated vs \r\n unfluoridated areas amounted to LESS than 0.5%<\/b> of the 128 total tooth \r\n surfaces in a child's mouth. (7)
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\r\n * <\/b>5 peer reviewed \r\n studies<\/b> published in the last 2 years have found that dental decay DOES \r\n NOT increase when communities stop fluoridation. (8)
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\r\n *<\/b> The rhetoric supporting fluoridation \r\n is increasingly centered around the notion that fluoridation benefits the neediest \r\n in society the most. This claim flies in the face of the experience of most \r\n US<\/b> INNER CITIES <\/strong>over the past 50 years. Despite the \r\n fact that nearly all large US cities have been fluoridated for decades, dental \r\n decay is currently rampant in virtually all poor urban areas. (Read \r\n about Boston's experience.) <\/p>\r\n
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\r\n * <\/b>The real \"oral health crisis\" in the US is not lack of fluoridation, \r\n but rather LACK OF PRIVATE DENTAL INSURANCE<\/strong> among the poor, \r\n and UNDERINVESTMENT in MEDICAID<\/strong> by the Government. According \r\n to a recent report from the Surgeon General, roughly 85% of US dentists do not \r\n treat Medicaid patients due to Medicaid's low rates of reimbursement. (10)
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\r\n * <\/b>Fluoride is a very toxic substance, which is why it is the active ingredient \r\n in a number of PESTICIDES<\/strong>. \r\n Just 2 grams of fluoride is enough to kill an adult, and just 500 mg is enough \r\n to kill a child. (11) In the US, people have died<\/b>, \r\n and many have become sick, when faltering fluoridation equipment has pumped \r\n excess fluoride into the water.
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\r\n * <\/b> POOR NUTRITION <\/strong>exacerbates the toxic effects of fluoride \r\n exposure, which is a further reason why it's wrong to target poor communities \r\n with fluoridation (as poor nutrition is more prevalent in low income communiites). \r\n According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, \"Existing \r\n data indicate that subsets of the population may be unusually susceptible<\/u> \r\n to the toxic effects of fluoride and its compounds. These populations include \r\n the elderly, people with deficiencies of calcium, magnesium and\/or vitamin C, \r\n and people with cardiovascular and kidney problems.\" (12) <\/p>\r\n
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\r\n * <\/b>Despite the increase in total fluoride exposure, the concentration \r\n of fluoride added to drinking water (0.7-1.2 mg\/L) as prescribed by the US Government, \r\n is still the same as it was back in the 1940s.<\/p>\r\n
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\r\n * <\/b>Approximately half of the fluoride we ingest each day ACCUMULATES \r\n <\/strong>in our bodies, primarily in the bones, but also in soft tissues. (15) \r\n <\/p>\r\n
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\r\n * <\/b>Fluoride stimulates ABNORMAL BONE DEVELOPMENT<\/b>. Clinical trials \r\n published in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/u> and Journal of Bone \r\n and Mineral Research<\/u> (18) report that high dose fluoride treatment increases \r\n bone mass but that the newly formed bone is \"structurally unsound<\/b>\" \r\n (19). Thus, instead of reducing HIP FRACTURES,<\/strong> the studies \r\n found that high doses of fluoride INCREASED <\/strong> hip fractures. \r\n
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\r\n * <\/b>There is concern that \"low\" doses of fluoride, taken over \r\n long periods of time (e.g. fluoridated water), may also increase the rate of \r\n hip fracture. Approximately 20 recent studies have investigated the relationship \r\n between fluoridated water and hip fracture, with approximately half of the studies \r\n finding an association. (20)
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\r\n * <\/b>Up until the 1950s, European doctors used fluoride to reduce the activity \r\n of the THYROID GLAND<\/strong> \r\n for people suffering from overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). (24) The daily \r\n dose of fluoride which people are now receiving in fluoridated communities (1.6 \r\n to 6.6 mg\/day) (25) actually exceeds the dose of fluoride which was found to \r\n depress the thyroid gland (2.3 to 4.5 mg\/day). (26)
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\r\n HYPOTHYROIDISM<\/strong> (under-active \r\n thyroid) is currently one of the most common medical problems in the United \r\n States. SYNTHROID<\/b>, the \r\n drug doctors prescribe to treat hypothyroidism, was the fourth most prescribed \r\n drug in the US in the year 2000. Symptoms of hypothyroidism include depression, \r\n fatigue, weight gain, muscle and joint pains, increased cholesterol levels, \r\n and heart disease.
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\r\n * <\/b>A recent study published in the journal Brain Research<\/u> found \r\n that 1 ppm fluoride in water faciliated the uptake of aluminum into the brain \r\n of rats, producing the type of brain tangles (amyloid deposits) that are associated \r\n with ALZHEIMERS<\/strong> disease and other types of dementia. (27)
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\r\n * <\/b>An epidemiological study \r\n published in the December 2000 issue of the journal Neurotoxicology<\/u>, \r\n found that fluoridated water was associated with elevated levels of LEAD<\/strong> \r\n in children's blood. (28) The study's findings parallel the findings of an earlier \r\n study published in the September 1999 issue of the International Journal \r\n of Environmental Studies<\/u>. (29) Lead in the blood is associated with a variety \r\n of neurological problems, including reduced intelligence, aggression and hyperactivity.<\/p>\r\n
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\r\n * <\/b>A recent epidemiological study conducted by a scientist from the US \r\n Public Health Service found that female INFERTILITY<\/strong> was associated \r\n with elevated levels of fluoride ( >3ppm) in drinking water. The study concluded \r\n that more emphasis needs to be given to the effects on health from total \r\n fluoride exposure<\/u> - not just exposure to fluoridated drinking water. (32) \r\n
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\r\n * <\/b>In light of the recent research indicating health risks from low level \r\n fluoride exposure, the UNION<\/b> \r\n of SCIENTISTS and PROFESSIONALS at EPA HEADQUARTERS<\/b> \r\n has voted to oppose fluoridation (33) and has called upon Congress to issue \r\n a \"national moratorium\" on the fifty year old policy. According to \r\n the Vice President of the Union, Dr. J. William Hirzy,
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\r\n \"In summary, we hold that fluoridation \r\n is an unreasonable risk. That is, the toxicity of fluoride is so great and \r\n the purported benefits associated with it are so small - if there are any \r\n at all - that requiring every man, woman and child in America to ingest \r\n it borders on criminal behavior on the part of governments.\"<\/td>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n<\/table>\r\n \r\n
\r\n \"There are now valid concerns regarding the \r\n potential adverse impact of fluoridation on the environment, wildlife, and \r\n human health. The Sierra Club therefore supports giving communities the \r\n option of rejecting mandatory fluoridation of their water supplies. To protect \r\n sensitive populations, and because safer strategies and methods for preventing \r\n tooth decay are now available, we recommend that these safer alternatives \r\n be made available and promoted.\"<\/td>\r\n <\/tr>\r\n<\/table>\r\n