GPIWA Rescinds Decision to Fluoridate
11 December 2012
In a 6 to 3 decision, the Greater Pine Island Water Board of Directors voted to halt the controversial water fluoridation project following a referendum vote by the membership that favored not fluoridating the Pine Island and Matlacha water supply. The meeting was tense at times, and was filled with the typical disinformation from some board members that has become the hallmark of our current water board.
This comes as a relief to Islands residents who have taken the time to research the harmful health effects of fluoride on those who ingest it directly, and have found that fluoride is especially harmful to young children, and the elderly. Many Pine Island Businesses were also opposed to water fluoridation because fluoride aware customers refuse to patronize restaurants or purchase property in fluoridated areas.
Reports of Citizens for Safe Water President, Ron Parker, performing the "Church Lady Dance" after being notified of the decision have proved to be true. ( I told you I'm tired folks) Citizens for Safe Water urges everyone to continue to spread the word about the harmful effects of ingesting fluoride as millions of children, the ill, and the elderly are forced to drink it every day in the US, and that is enough to break your heart ……………………
Go international by supporting Fluoride Action Network whose scientifically documented material we used extensively during the Pine Island Citizens for Safe Water Campaign. http://fluoridealert.org
We will post further reports, and links to local media coverage as it becomes available.
GPIWA Expected to Announce Decision on Water Fluoridation
The Greater Pine Island Water Association Board of Directors will announce the results of the member's referendum vote to fluoridate, or not to fluoridate the Pine Island and Matlacha water supply at the regular board meeting on Tuesday, December 11th at 3:00PM, at the Pine Island United Methodist Church meeting hall. The referendum vote was completed on Thursday, December 6th 2012.
It is expected that the GPIWA Board of Directors will also vote upon the issue of whether or not to continue with the controversial water fluoridation project that has divided our community. Although the board members have the authority to cast their votes as they feel will best serve our community, they have announced that they will weigh the results of the member referendum with great consideration when making their decision.
Citizens for Safe Water urges all GPIWA members to attend this meeting, and to support our ongoing efforts to keep hydrofluorosilicic acid, a derivative of industrial waste, out of our drinking water. We are committed, and will remain indefinitely committed to keeping our drinking water free of forced medication compounds.
Citizens for Safe Water Protest at GPIWA
Members of Citizens for Safe Water, and concerned Pine Island residents conducted a second protest in front of the Greater Pine Island Water Association on Friday, November 30th. As with the first protest, many Islanders blew their horns in support of the protesters as they passed by. The effort to stop the water fluoridation project has been supportedby many local residents and business leaders since it was first announced.
Fox-4 News was there to serve our community by interviewing islanders on both sides of the water fluoridation issue. Fox-4 reporter, Kelli Stegeman, interviewed Citizens for Safe Water members Jack Mills, and Mark Dean, but Greater Pine Island Water Association General Manager, Bill Thacher, would only release a statement in which he once again cited the non-existent "government studies" that our community has been asking him to provide for several months now. One of the more reprehensible facts of the water fluoridation issue is that government agencies have refused to conduct such studies as Mr. Thacher has referenced.
Mark Dean told Ms. Stegeman that "fluoride metabolizes in the body" once it is swallowed. This is another important fact of water fluoridation. Fluoride only works to strengthen teeth when applied directly to them. The US Centers for Disease Control and the American Dental Association have admitted that it does not work internally. It is foolish to expect that there exists an element that will magically harden the teeth when exposed to it, but will not effect other parts of the body if swallowed.
The truth is that fluoride concentrates in other parts of the body as well as teeth, and does great harm. Fluoride is a good way to harden teeth when applied directly to the tooth surface in toothpaste or mouth-wash, and then expelled, but drinking it in every ounce of water is very harmful and unnecessary. In fact, the US Food and Drug Administration classifies fluoride as a poison, and requires a poison control label on toothpaste.
You can read Fox-4's report, and watch a video of Kelli Stegeman's report at the link in our off-site links section below.
Links to Off-Site Articles and Video
Fox-4 News Kelli Stegeman Reports -- Citizens for Safe Water Protests Fluoridation Video and Article
Guy Wagner -- An Inconvenient Tooth Video
Dr. Paul Connett -- 50 Reasons To Oppose Fluoridation Article
Fluoride Action Network -- First they Remove It With Pollution Scrubbers, Then They Put It In Your Water Article
The Industrial Waste that They Put In Our Water Article
Why EPA Makes Industry Remove Fluoride From The Environment (and then puts it back in your water)Video
Fluoride and the Pineal GlandVideo
FAN -- Fluoride and the Thyroid Gland (depression, weight gain, slowed metabolism) Video
Fluoridated Water Kills Dogs and HorsesVideo
Chemical company Admits That Fluoride Harms ChildrenVideo
Fluoride In Drinking Water Has Never Been Tested For Safety By GovernmentArticle
EPA Admits That They Consider Your Body To Be Their Pollution SolutionEPA Letter
FAN -- Fluoride Health Effects DatabaseHealth Database
GPIWA Board of Directors Given Proof of Fluoride Harm to Children
At the last regular meeting of the Greater Pine Island Water Association on Sept. 25th, the Board of Directors were individually presented with a letter of notice that children are harmed by drinking normal amounts of water that is fluoridated at their proposed level of .7 miligrams per liter of water.
The letter of notice was based upon evidence published in the 2006 National Academies of Science - NRC report titled, Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA Standards.
As can be seen from the screenshot below that was taken from page 83 of the online version of the NRC report, the NRC establishes the daily fluoride exposure rate for children who drink fluoridated water at the GPIWA's "optimal rate" of .7 milligrams pre liter (0.7 mg/L). They establish that children from birth to two years of age (up to 2 years and 11 months) are exposed to .05 to .13 milligrams of fluoride - per kiligram of their body weight - per day. This is actually the international standard for fluoride exposure that was first established by our National Institutes of Medicine in 1997 (IOM 1997.)
The evidence in the NRC report that proves this level of fluoride exposure to be harmful to humans is found in Chapter 8, Effects on the Endocrine System. In the shaded area of the Chapter 8 screenshot below, the NRC established that the fluoride exposure range that causes immediate thyroid dysfunction is .05 to .13 milligrams of fluoride - per kilogram of body weight -per day. This is the exact same fluoride exposure range that children up to two years suffer when drinking normal amounts of water that is artificially fluoridated at the level that the GPIWA proposes.
This page also directs us to Table 8-2. In the screenshot below of Table 8-2, the NRC establishes that all humans who are exposed to the high fluoride levels that children are exposed to will be suffer the following adverse health effects:
- Altered T3 and T4 hormone levels.
- Elevated TSH level (indicates hypothyroidism or depressed thyroid function, mood depression, weight gain)
- Elevated calcitonin levels (test used as diagnosis for C-cell hyperplasia and medullary thyroid cancer)
- Increase goiter prevalence
- Impaired glucose tolerance (pre-diabetic state of hyperglycemia)
Citizens for Safe Water members provided volumes of other documents at the meeting proving that fluoridated water consumption is harmful to everyone due to fluoride's effect of accumulating within the internal organs of everyone who drinks it. Based upon this wealth of information provided to the GPIWA Board of Directors, the Board has announced that it will allow the GPIWA membership to vote in a non-binding referendum to choose whether or not to artificially fluoridate GPIWA water.
As a matter of public health and safety, Citizens For Safe Water urges all GPIWA members to validate this information for yourselves, and to vote no to water fluoridation when you receive your ballot.
The letter of notification that was presented to the GPIWA Board of Directors at the September 2012 meeting can be viewd by clicking on this link. http://citizensforsafewater.org/index.php/gpiwa-fluoridation-project/letter-of-notification-to-gpiwa-citing-danger-to-children.html
What Is Fluoride?
Many people want to know what the fluoride that the Greater Pine Island Water Association wants to add to our water is. Fluoride is the bonded (solid) form of the fluorine ion. It occurs naturally in the earth, and is also produced as an industrial waste by-product of the aluminum and fertilizer refinement industries. The waste disposal solution of these industries is to sell their waste fluoride as commercial products. The global fluorochemical market in 2006 was estimated to be $16 billion annually, and projected to sell 2.6 million tons of fluoride annually by the year 2016. (1) The US Environmental Protection Agency classifies fluoride as a hazardous waste, which would require industry to dispose of it as a toxic waste if they could not market it as a product. (2)
The raw fluoride toxic waste by-product is refined for use as a pesticide, also for use as the active ingredient in pharmaceutical antidepressants, and also for use as an anti-dental caries (cavities) agent in water and toothpaste. When used as a toothpaste ingredient, it comes with a poison control warning that advises you to seek medical attention if you swallow it. When they integrate it into your water, they do so in small enough quantity that it must accumulate in your internal organs over time to do physical harm. Fluoridated water supporters like to tell everyone that the fluoride they put into your water is not an industrial waste by-product. This is like telling you that a french fry is not a potato.
Does fluoride prevent tooth decay?
Fluoride prevents tooth decay when it is applied to the surface of the teeth by hardening tooth enamel. Fluoridated water only works for tooth decay before it is swallowed. Scientists and dental practicioners on both sides of the fluoridated water debate agree that fluoride does not prevent tooth decay internally, and therefore serves no useful purpose after it is swallowed.
The US Centers for Disease Control states:
"Laboratory and epidemiologic research suggests that fluoride prevents dental caries predominately after eruption of the tooth into the mouth, and its actions primarily are topical for both adults and children" (CDC, 1999, MMW)
The National Academy of Sciences, National Review Council 2006 report states:
“the major anticaries benefit of fluoride is topical and not systemic.”
SOURCE: National Research Council. (2006). Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards. National Academies Press, Washington D.C. p 13.
Therefore, if you brush daily with a fluoride toothpaste, you are already receiving adequate fluoride protection, and do not have to risk the adverse side effects associated with the ingestion of fluoride.
Is Fluoride Harmful To Our Health?
Ingested fluoride is documented as causing harm to human health in many scientific and medical publications. One of the more prominent publications is the National Academy of Sciences- NRC report, Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards. (3) This report, commissioned by the EPA, reveals several of the more profound adverse health effects of fluoride. You will find details of these effects in our article NRC Reveals Scientific Evidence of Fluoride Dangers.
What Can We Do About Fluoride Exposure?
The best course of action to protect you and your family from fluoride exposure is to read as much information from credible sources as you can find, and then take measures to isolate yourself from exposure to it. If your water is artificially fluoridated by your water company, you can start or support a community effort to remove it. You can also purchase a commercial reverse osmosis system to remove the fluoride from your water regardless of whether it is from a natural or artificial source.
Fluoride has a sedative effect upon the brain, and is used as the active ingredient in antidepressants such as Prozac, Paxil, and Celexa. (4) Since the NRC reports that fluoride accumulates in your body over time, the cumulative effect of fluoride in your drinking water combined with the fluoride in antidepressants will be greater in those who ingest fluoride from both sources. By understanding the dosage of fluoride in these medications, you can determine what your total daily fluoride intake is if you take them, and take steps to reduce it.
Fluoride is also sold as an agricultural pesticide. The fluoride compound 4-fluorophenyl, that is used as the active ingredient in anti-depressants, is also used as the active ingredient in the pesticides Flusilazole, and Fluorbenside. The USDA National Fluoride Database of Selected Beverages and Foods (5) lists the various foods that contain fluoride pesticide residue. This can help you to determine your total daily intake of fluoride, and reduce it.
Reducing your family’s exposure to fluoride is your responsibility. Since commercial annual fluoride sales are a $16 billion dollar market, there will always be plenty of corporate officers and government agencies that will force you to consume it in return for a piece of the sixteen billion dollar pie. If you are satisfied with integrating an industrial waste into your water supply, that has a sedative effect on the body, that is known to cause serious detrimental health effects, and is used worldwide as a pesticide, then we wish you well. However, if you are opposed to this, please support our efforts to make drinking water safe for everyone.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorine
- http://www.des.umd.edu/hw/rest/manual/codes.html
- http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11571&page=R1
- http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/2003-08-Prozac-Paxil-Fluorophenyl.htm
- http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12354500/Data/Fluoride/F02.pdf
NRC Reveals Scientific Evidence of Fluoride Dangers
In 2006, the National Research Council of The National Academy of Sciences published the results of a study titled: Fluoride in Drinking Water: A scientific Review of EPA’s standards.The study targeted the health effects of drinking water that contained fluoride at levels of 2.0 mg/L (milligrams per liter,) to 4.0 mg/L . This is a higher level of fluoride than will be placed in the GPIWA water, which is 0.7 mg/L .
However, the study concluded that children and infants consume up to four times more water than the typical adult, which would place their total consumption of fluoride within the range of the detrimental health effects noted in their study, based upon body weight and total daily water consumption. The EPA determined their safe fluoride recommendations based upon an adult consuming 2 liters of water per day. People with renal disease also fall into the category of people who drink high quantities of water, and are more susceptible to the negative effects of fluoride.
Therein lies the problem with forcing people to consume fluoride in their water. The EPA dosages are established for normal healthy adult populations without regard to infants, children, the sick, and the elderly. This would be similar to physicians prescribing the same dose of medication for an infant that they would for a 25 year old.
The NRC report also revealed that T3 and T4 hormones, that are produced by the thyroid, are affected (by reduced production) at fluoride consumtion levels of 0.01mg/kg/day for subpopulations with dietary iodine deficiencies (which accounts for 4.5% to 8% of the US population,) and at 0.05mg/kg/day for normal healthy populations.
“In humans, effects on thyroid function were associated with fluoride exposures of 0.05-0.13 mg/kg/day when iodine intake was adequate and 0.01-0.03 mg/kg/day when iodine intake was inadequate.”
SOURCE: National Research Council. (2006). Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards. National Academies Press, Washington D.C. p 218.
The following are excerpts from the summary section of the NRC’s report of the EPA’s standards for fluoride in our drinking water:
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“This project was supported by Contract No. 68-C-03-013 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “ [Front Matter page II]
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“Some subpopulations consume much greater quantities of water than the 2 L per day that EPA assumes for adults, including outdoor workers, athletes, and people with certain medical conditions, such as diabetes insipidus. On a per-body-weight basis, infants and young children have approximately three to four times greater exposure than do adults. “ [Summary, page 3] (This is very important to remember when reading the following key findings. If an average adult drinks 0.7mg/Liter of water by EPA standards, a child drinking four times more water by body weight is drinking an equivalent dose of 2.8mg/Liter. Many of the adverse effects of fluoride in this report are cited to occur at fluoride exposures between 2mg/Liter and 4mg/Liter. One of the greatest flaws in the concept of dosing everyone at the same level of fluoride content in water is that some subpopulations will be exposed to a far higher overall dose than the average adult drinking 2 liters of water per day.)
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“Concerns about fluoride’s effects on the musculoskeletal system historically have been and continue to be focused on skeletal fluorosis and bone fracture. Fluoride is readily incorporated into the crystalline structure of bone and will accumulate over time.” [Summary, page 5]
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“Skeletal fluorosis is a bone and joint condition associated with prolonged exposure to high concentrations of fluoride. Fluoride increases bone density and appears to exacerbate the growth of osteophytes present in the bone and joints, resulting in joint stiffness and pain.” [Summary, page 5]
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“At stage II ( of skeletal fluorosis,) mobility is not significantly affected, but it is characterized by chronic joint pain, arthritic symptoms, slight calcification of ligaments, and osteosclerosis of the cancellous bones. Whether EPA’s MCLG of 4 mg/L protects against these precursors to more serious mobility problems is unclear.” [Summary, page 5 and 6]
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“Overall, there was consensus among the committee that there is scientific evidence that under certain conditions fluoride can weaken bone and increase the risk of fractures. The majority of the committee concluded that lifetime exposure to fluoride at drinking-water concentrations of 4 mg/L or higher is likely to increase fracture rates in the population, compared with exposure to 1 mg/L, particularly in some demographic subgroups that are prone to accumulate fluoride into their bones (e.g., people with renal disease). However, 3 of the 12 members judged that the evidence only supports a conclusion that the MCLG might not be protective against bone fracture. Those members judged that more evidence is needed to conclude that bone fractures occur at an appreciable frequency in human populations exposed to fluoride at 4 mg/L and that the MCLG is not likely to be protective. “[Summary, page 7]
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“Animal and human studies of fluoride have been published reporting adverse cognitive and behavioral effects. A few epidemiologic studies of Chinese populations have reported IQ deficits in children exposed to fluoride at 2.5 to 4 mg/L in drinking water. Although the studies lacked sufficient detail for the committee to fully assess their quality and relevance to U.S. populations, the consistency of the results appears significant enough to warrant additional research on the effects of fluoride on intelligence.” [Summary, page 8]
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“The chief endocrine effects of fluoride exposures in experimental animals and in humans include decreased thyroid function, increased calcitonin activity, increased parathyroid hormone activity, secondary hyperparathyroidism, impaired glucose tolerance, and possible effects on timing of sexual maturity. Some of these effects are associated with fluoride intake that is achievable at fluoride concentrations in drinking water of 4 mg/L or less, especially for young children or for individuals with high water intake.” [Summary, page 8]
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“Bone is the most plausible site for cancer associated with fluoride because of its deposition into bone and its mitogenic effects on bone cells in culture. In a 1990 cancer bioassay, the overall incidence of osteosarcoma in male rats exposed to different amounts of fluoride in drinking water showed a positive dose-response trend.” [Summary, page 9]
In summary, it is reprehensible that the EPA does not consider those who are adversely affected by fluoride in our drinking water at much higher rates that the general population when determining that fluoride is safe for everyone.
The NRC’s full report can be read online at the following link: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11571&page=R1
ADA Recommends That Infants Not Be Given Fluoridated Water
"If using a product that needs to be reconstituted, parents and caregivers should consider using water that has no or low levels of fluoride."
- American Dental Association (2006). Interim Guidance on Reconstituted Infant Formula. November 9, 2006.
In 2006, the American Dental Association published a warning to parents of infants titled, Interim Guidance on Reconstituted Infant Formula that advised the parents of newborns to use "no or low" levels of fluoride in their baby's diet. It specifically stated that CDC recommended fluoride levels of 0.7 mg/L were unsafe for infants.
In 2009, the ADA once again reaffirmed their previous warning:
“Infants who are only fed powdered and liquid concentrate formulas mixed with optimally fluoridated water (0.7 to 1.2 ppm) are likely to exceed a fluoride intake level established by the Institute of Medicine designed to reduce the risk of moderate to severe enamel fluorosis" Source: November 2009 ADA News Release
These reports sent the entire pro-fluoride lobby of physicians and industry lobbyists into a panic. It is difficult to find the original reports today unless you are a physician because the ADA keeps them buried in their archives that are available to physicians and clinical researchers only. When you go to their site now, all you will find is a "Page Not Found" notice.
The 2011 warning reads:
"The panel offers the following suggestions to practitioners to use in advising parents and caregivers of infants who consume powdered or liquid concentrate infant formula as the main source of nutrition:
- Suggest the continued use of powdered or liquid concentrate infant formulas reconstituted with optimally fluoridated drinking water while being aware of the potential for development of enamel fluorosis, which is mild in most children
- Practitioners can also suggest ready-to-feed formula or powdered or liquid concentrate formula reconstituted with water that either is fluoride free or has low concentrations of fluoride to reduce the potential for developing enamel fluorosis"
Source: http://www.ada.org/5199.aspx
In other words, if you choose to use fluoridated water for your infant child's reconstituted formula, that will be okay because they will just label the resulting tooth damage as "mild" in "most" infants, and that will make it "safe." For the dental practitioners who refuse to go along with this comical medical word game, they include the original option of recommending that infants not be given fluoridated water at all.
So how did they go from "moderate to severe enamel fluorosis" to "mild enamel fluorosis?" It seems that their test results became "mild" when they removed the data accrued from infants ingesting fluoride from other dietary sources, such as commercial baby food and juices. The ADA has admitted that “the study did not factor an infant’s consumption of baby foods and other beverages, such as juice, that may also contain fluoride.” Source:ADA For a few months following that admission, you could have found the quote on the ADA website, but it seems that this document is now unavailable also.
Here are a couple of good links to information about giving fluoridated water to infants. Most of their links work except the ones going to the ADA site.
http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/infant
http://www.thenhf.com/article.php?id=1292
Fluoride and the Thyroid
One of the more profound effects of fluoride on the human body is the destructive effect that it has on the human thyroid gland. According to the 2006 National Academies of Science, National Research Council publication titled Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards, fluoride was found to have a suppressive effect on the human thyroid, contributing to, and sometimes causing a condition known as hypothyroidism.
“In humans, effects on thyroid function were associated with fluoride exposures of 0.05-0.13 mg/kg/day when iodine intake was adequate and 0.01-0.03 mg/kg/day when iodine intake was inadequate.”
SOURCE: National Research Council. (2006). Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards. National Academies Press, Washington D.C. p 263.
As is supported by the scientific basis of the NRC report, everyone's T3 and T4 hormone levels will be adversely effected by the consumption of water fluoridated at 0.7mg/Liter to some degree. It is therefore expected that those who now suffer from borderline hypothyroidism without drinking fluoridated water, will soon suffer the full effects of hypothyroidism as a result of fluoride induced reduction of T3 and T4 hormones after drinking fluoridated water.
Perhaps this is the reason that the US Environmental Protection Agency reduced their recommended levels of fluoride in drinking water following the release of the NRC report. When the United States federal government finally admits that there is a problem, and cuts their recommended water fluoridation level, perhaps it is time for everyone to stand up and take notice.
You can read the NRC report chapter regarding fluoride’s effect on the thyroid and endocrine system at the following link. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11571&page=224
The article at this link provides a good overview of what 4.5% to 8% of greater Pine Island Water Association members can expect if our water supply is fluoridated according to the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001393/
New Hampshire Passes Water Fluoridation Warning Law
Legislators Cite Health Damage To Infants For Warning to Mothers
Beginning August 4, 2012, New Hampshire will require notification that 6-month-olds should not be routinely fed infant formula mixed with fluoridated water.
Passed by the House, 253-23, unanimously by the Senate, and signed by the Governor, HB-1416 reads: "If a public water supply is fluoridated, the following notice shall be posted in the water system's consumer confidence report: 'Your public water supply is fluoridated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if your child under the age of 6 months is exclusively consuming infant formula reconstituted with fluoridated water, there may be an increased chance of dental fluorosis. Consult your child's health care provider for more information.'" The bill was introduced by Rep. Anne Cartwright (R-Alstead), and had four co-sponsors.