Anne Parr PRO TRAINER

THE HEALTH & ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS OF ARTIFICIAL FLUORIDATION

*A TOXIC INDUSTRIAL WASTE COMPOUND

Do you know that a promotional campaign to persuade the citizens of Thunder Bay to have fluoride added to the city’s drinking water supply has begun? $90,000 of taxpayer’s money will be spent on this campaign this year and $76,000 in 2010.

1.Dental, medical, health professionals and the general public have been misled to believe that the pharmaceutical grade fluoride (Sodium Fluoride NAF) used in dentist’s offices is the one that is used to fluoridate city drinking water. This is not the truth. The forms of fluoride used to fluoridate municipal water are Fluorosilicates- Hydrofluorosilicic Acid (HFSA) or Sodium silicofluoride. These chemicals are toxic, unprocessed, industrial waste compounds of the phosphate fertilizer, mining /aluminum manufacturing industries. They are obtained from the smoke stack scrubbers, which are used to prevent the toxins from being released into the air, as mandated by pollution legislation. Because of their origins, the industrial grade fluorides are contaminated with heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, barium, and radium, which are harmful to humans, animals and the environment.

2. Ingested HFSA enters every cell and tissue of the body - not just the teeth, with known and unknown consequences. Fifty percent (or more depending on age and health) of all ingested fluoride remains in the skeletal system, pineal gland and other tissues and accumulates with age. Several studies suggest that only a few years of fluoride ingestion from fluoridated water increases the risk for bone fracture. People unable to eliminate fluoride under normal conditions (kidney impairment) or people who ingest more than average amounts of water (athletes, diabetics) are more at risk to be affected by the toxic effects of fluoride ingestion.

3. Excessive ingestion of HFSA during early childhood years may damage the tooth-forming cells leading to a permanent defect in the enamel known as dental fluorosis. Teeth impacted by dental fluorosis have visible discolouration, ranging from white spots to brown and black stains which are permanent.

4. In November 2006, the American Dental Association advised that parents should avoid giving babies fluoridated water. Babies exposed to HFSA are at a high risk of developing dental fluorosis. Other tissues in the body may also be affected by early life exposures to fluoride. The medical journal ‘The Lancet’ states that fluorides may damage the developing brain causing learning deficits and other problems.

5. According to the U.S. National Research Council (NRC), risks of fluoride to health involve more tissues than the teeth:

• fluoride (HFSA) can damage the brain.

• fluoride is an endocrine (hormone) disruptor. The NRC warned that drinking fluoridated water may reduce the function of the thyroid among individuals with low iodine intake. Reduction of thyroid activity can lead to loss of mental acuity, depression and weight gain.

• fluoride can diminish bone strength, increase the risk for bone fracture and can cause Skeletal Fluorosis - pain in the joints, calcification of the ligaments.

• According to the NRC, and a recent study from a team of Harvard scientists, a strong association between fluoride and bone cancer (osteosarcoma) in males under 20 is demonstrated.

• People with kidney disease have a heightened susceptibility to fluoride toxicity. The heightened risk stems from an impaired ability to excrete fluoride from the body. As a result, toxic levels of fluoride can accumulate in the bones, intensify the toxicity of aluminum build up and cause or exacerbate a painful bone disease known as renal osteodystrophy.

6. Artificial fluoride not only contains lead, it also leaches lead from lead pipes, lead solder and leaded brass. The Environment Protection Agency lists as health problems caused by lead, the following conditions: Interference with formation of red blood cells, anemia, kidney damage, impaired reproductive function, interference with vitamin D metabolism, impaired cognitive performance, delayed neurological and physical development and elevations in blood pressure. The agency also suggests lead may be a carcinogen, causing kidney tumours and lymphocytic leukemia.

7. We cannot control the dose. Many people from fluoridated cities are exceeding the recommended daily intake putting them at an elevated risk of suffering toxic effects. Other sources of fluoride include fluoride dental products, fluoride pesticides, fluoridated pharmaceuticals, processed foods with fluoridated water, fruit juice and pop- when water has been added from fluoridated cities (i.e. Toronto).

8. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the ongoing IOWA Fluoride Study, any benefit that accrues from the use of fluoride, comes from the direct application of pharmaceutical grade sodium fluoride(NAF) to the outside of teeth, not from ingestion of the industrial grade hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFSA). There is no need, therefore, to expose all other tissues to fluoride by swallowing it. Ninety eight percent of Western Europe has rejected fluoridation, yet they have had the same reductions of tooth decay as the fluoridated cities in the U.S. over the past 50 years.

9. Studies indicate that fluoride concentrations above .2 ppm can be harmful to aquatic life. Background levels of fluoride in the Great Lakes are now exceeding these levels. It is also being questioned in B.C. whether fluoride effluent is contributing to the decline in salmon stocks.

10. The Great Lakes United (GLU) resolution of May 20th/09 supports the end of fluoridation. GLU is an international coalition dedicated to preserving and restoring the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River ecosystem. GLU is made up of member organizations representing environmentalists, conservationists, hunters and anglers, labour unions, community groups and citizens of the U.S., Canada, and First Nations people.

.For further information:

1) www.fluoridealert.org/health 2) www.greenfacts.org/en/fluoride/fluorides-2/06--effects-environment.htm#1

4) www.waterloowatch.com

Call your City Councillor to voice your concern. SAY NO TO FLUORIDATION!