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Home My WebLink About1989-03-23 - City Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes°F rq�'9s 7525 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321-2401 r TELEPHONE (305) 722.5900 * REVISED 3/14/89 February 28, 1989 NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA There will be a Workshop Meeting of the City Council on Thursday, March 23, 1989, at 10:00 A.M., in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 7525 NW 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The items to be discussed during this workshop meeting are as follows: 1. The Safe Drinking Water Act Evaluation. * 2. Criteria for sidewalks. . All meetings are open to the public. CAE/gt '10 CAROL A. EVANS CITY CLERK AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC 1 1 1 CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 1989 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on Thursday, March 23, 1989 at 10:00 A.M. in the Council Chambers. i3:i�'iai►i�1� ABSENT AND EXCUSED: ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Norman Abramowitz Vice Mayor Dr. H. Larry Bender Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry Rohr Councilman Jack Stelzer John P. Kelly, City Manager Richard Doody, City Attorney Bob Foy, Director of Utilities/ Engineering Patricia Marcurio, Office Manager City Clerk's Office 1. The Safe Drinking Water Act Evaluation. TAPE 2 City Manager Kelly said one of the discussions during this meeting pertained to the Safe Drinking Water Act Evaluation done by Hazen & Sawyer. He asked Bob Foy, Director of Utilities/Engineering, to inform the City Council about the evaluation. Bob Foy, Director of Utilities/Engineering, said the Report prepared by Hazen & Sawyer concluded that the City should continue with construction of an accelator which was a facility that softened the drinking water. He said the plans for the facility were drafted four years ago and, if the City Council approved the Report, the construction of the facility would begin. Mr. Foy said there was a possibility that a mistake could be made. He said in 1985, the Utilities/Engineering Department requested, and the City Council authorized, a Report by Montgomery Engineers. He said the Report recognized the need to expand the water treatment plant and included in the recommendations was the purchase of an 8-million gallon accelator. Mr. Foy said in 1986, the City presented to the voters two Referendums, one being for a $250,000.00 expenditure to complete the design for the expansion of the water treatment plant. He said the voters approved the Referendum and the design was completed which included the 8--million gallon accelator. Mr. Foy said also in 1986, there was another Referendum presented to the voters for an expenditure of 4.7 million dollars to cover the cost of expanding the water treatment plant. He said this Referendum was approved and several phases of the construction were completed; however, continued construction was occurring at this time. He said the first phase of the construction was to Page 1 3/23/89 rebuild the water treatment plant building and the second phase, presently under construction, was a new 8-million gallon per day greenleaf water filter. Mr. Foy said there were several other things included in the contract such as emergency generators, instrumentation, pumps, etc. which were under construction at this time and almost completed. Mr. Foy said approximately one year ago, the consultants recognized that the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was requiring new regulations; however, the regulations were not known at this time. He said the Environmental Protection Agency gave hints of what the regulations may be; therefore, the Utilities/Engineering Department was concerned about continuing to construct the facility as it was designed. He said as a result of this concern, the Utilities/Engineering Department requested authorization for Hazen & Sawyer to study the matter and the results of the study was before the City Council at this time. Mr. Foy said Hazen & Sawyer were present at the meeting and would be presenting the Report to the City Council. He said Hazen & Sawyer recently tested the City's water to see if the water would be compatible with the accelator. He read from the Report as follows: "Therefore, use of these disinfectants has a good potential for allowing the existing lime softening system to be adapted to meet the future standards." Mr. Foy said no one knew for sure what the standards would be and no one could assure the City Council that continuing with the construction would not be a mistake. He said every study available was done and it is assured that the proposed facilities would be satisfactory and he recommended the City Council approve the Safe Drinking Water Act Report. City Manager Kelly said he reviewed the Report prior to the meeting and he recommended that the City Council review the chart submitted by Hazen & Sawyer during the presentation. C/M Hoffman asked the cost of the accelator and Mr. Foy said the cost would be approximately $500,000.00. He said there was auxiliary equipment which accompanied the accelator and the total cost would be approximately 1.6 million dollars. Mayor Abramowitz asked how a study could be conducted on the matter if no one was sure of the regulations and Mr. Foy said there were requirements based on using service water in other States. Mr. Foy said it was anticipated that Florida would adopt the standards for well water; therefore, there were people working with the agencies and assumptions were made as to the future requirements. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council would make a very f , serious financial mistake if they voted to approve a 1.6 million dollar project that may not be required in the future. Mr. Foy said there was no backup for the accelator for the lime softening facility in the water treatment plant. He said there was an emergency last month and the water treatment plant had to borrow water from the surrounding Page 2 3/23/89 facilities. He said this emergency caused the pressure to be cut to 50 GSI. He said the facility was a requirement and was needed to backup the other equipment and for future expansion. He said if the City Council voted not to proceed with project, the City was taking a chance that one day there would be no water. City Manager Kelly suggested that Hazen & Sawyer make their presentations before further questions were asked. Dr. George Budd, Project Engineer from Hazen & Sawyer, said the existing facility had a raw water source which was pumped to the plant. He said the lime softening system, which was the accelator, consisted of chlorine and filters for the water that was sent to the distribution system. He said conceptually the system was relatively simple; however, the problems were reduction of hardness. Dr. Budd said there were several issues surrounding the plant. He said there was a need to consider the reliability of the plant and the need has existed for some time. He said one of the accelator was 20 years old and the other was 17 years old which was making the problem more critical. He said when one unit stopped working the concern was that the water was being treated reliably. He said the first question was whether the master plan should be continued to provide reliability and additional capacity. Dr. Budd said presently, the City had an existing average daily demand of 6 MGD which could be higher under certain conditions. City Manager Kelly asked Dr. Budd to explain the meaning of MGD and Dr. Budd said Million Gallons per Day. Dr. Budd said there were two existing softening units, one had a 4 MGD capacity and the other had an 8 MGD capacity. He said the question was what the reliable capacity would be if a unit was out of service especially the largest unit out of service. He said with the largest out of service there would only be a capacity of 4 MGD which was being used for a requirement of 6 MGD and the unit was 20 years old. He said if the softening continued additional reliability was required and this decision was made approximately 4 years ago. He said the question being raised was if this decision should continue at this point in time or, because of the possibility of new regulations, should continued investment in the lime softening system be reduced. Dr. Budd said the question was not whether to do one thing or the other but what should be done because there was a need for reliability. He said with a water utility the luxury of having an off day was not available because water had to be provided every day of the year. He said the City Council had to concern themselves with the reliability of the existing system. Dr. Budd said the testing performed was oriented towards looking at the general capabilities to change the finished water characteristics by undertaking certain modifications presently under discussion throughout the field from meeting standards under consideration. He said as indicated, the final form was not reached; however, there was a lot of discussion regarding Page 3 3/23/89 tri-alomethanes and the present standard was at 100 parts per billion. He said the discussions were to lower the standard and the procedures in lowering the standard. Dr. Budd said there were similar disinfectant by-products and two parameters were investigated, one being the tri-alomethanes specifically discussed and the other being a total alogenated or chlorinated organic content reduction. He said the objective was not to shoot for specific goals because the goals were not known; however, the objective was to identify how much flexibility existed if the existing chlorine practice was modified to an ozone as an alternative disinfectant. He said ozone did not form a lot of the disinfectant by-products that chlorine did. Dr. Budd said chlorine did other things in the plant that improved the quality of the water and concern in replacing it with other disinfectants was investigated in the study. He said it was a very difficult problem in other Cities such as Fort Lauderdale who would have a difficult problem in controlling the color if they shifted from chlorine to another disinfectant. He said the study indicated what problems would occur in Tamarac if other disinfectants were used as opposed to chlorine. Dr. Budd said there were other regulations that were being considered and most of the regulations would not have a significant impact on the facilities needed. He said most of the regulations would require additional monitoring and modest in -plant changes such as chemical feed systems to address the lead problems. Dr. Budd said the study found that if chlorine was discontinued as a disinfectant, color, taste and odor problems would not exist at the Tamarac plant and there was a chance that ozone could replace chlorine while achieving desirable goals significantly. He said there was a lot of flexibility in the existing plant for modification and there was a good chance that the plant could be modified at a modest cost compared to some of the more exotic technologies available as an alternative. Dr. Budd said one of the things under consideration for dealing with ground water was a process referred to as "membrane softening". He said this was a pressure applied to one side of the membrane with water passing through it and the membrane was not permeable to certain undesirable contaminants. He said a lot of the organic material which reacted to chlorine to form the disinfectant by-products were removed by this process; therefore, the process was another way of addressing the problem. Dr. Budd said this process was reviewed as an alternative to see what the cost implication would be. He said the main concern was what the cost effectiveness would be in continuing investment in the lime softening facilities. He said the City needed reliability at this time regardless of the process used. Dr. Budd said three different courses of action were reviewed and the first course was the construction of a new accelator to provide the reliability and additional capacity needs of the City. He said in this case, it was assumed that the new accelator would be constructed in the near future. He said in addition to this, the cost was determined over a 20 year planning period and assumed Page 4 3/23/89 that under the worse case, ozone and chlorimines would be needed by 1992, which was when the new regulations were scheduled to be implemented. He said the regulations were not confirmed for ground waters and there may be opportunities to lower cost with this particular alternative. Dr. Budd said the capital, operation and maintenance costs over a 20 year period would be approximately 11 million dollars. He said if the accelator unit was purchased at this time and lime softening was used on an interim basis until 1992 and, if the regulations dictate a more stringent treatment approach, reverse osmosis could be used instead. He said capital, operation and maintenance costs for this type of process would be approximately 23 million dollars for 20 years. Dr. Budd said if lime softening was eliminated and reverse osmosis began this year, the capital, operation and maintenance costs for a 20 year period would be approximately 27 million dollars. Dr. Budd said if the City continued with the lime softening process they would be hedging against their bets both economically and technologically. He said the technology being demonstrated for requirement would be the reverse osmosis process which was a very minimal risk because the reverse osmosis could be used on a long term basis. Mayor Abramowitz asked what gallons were being referred to and Dr. Budd said approximately 14 MGD designed. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the costs being quoted would increase the capacity and Dr. Budd said yes. Dr. Budd said the operation and maintenance was based on the estimate of the actual daily usage; however, when a system was designed, it was designed for the peak design flow because the facility would be needed in the future. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the 14 MGD would be in one tank and Dr. Budd replied, no, multiple tanks would be existing and the operation and maintenance costs would be based on the actual gallons from year to year. C/M Rohr asked what capacity was available at this time and Mr. Foy said the existing plant capacity was 8 MGD. C/M Rohr said the construction would allow the existing capacity to be increased 6 MGD at peak flow. He asked if it was anticipated that in 10 years the capacity would be doubled and Mr. Foy replied, yes. C/M Hoffman asked how the -capacity would be increased and Mr. Foy said the plan would be followed which was created 4 years ago. C/M Hoffman asked if more water would be pulled from the ground and Mr. Foy replied, yes. Dr. Budd said if the City purchased the accelator and used the ozone process it would be cheaper than any process. He said if the City purchased the accelator and used the reverse osmosis process in 1992, it would be cheaper than constructing the process this year. He said the existing plant could be built around another Page 5 3/23/89 accelator needed to be added to the existing facility which favored continuing the lime softening process on an interim basis and; hopefully, it would be a long term solution. C/M Hoffman said he knew nothing about the technical aspects; however, at this moment, the City had excellent water. He asked what would be the best way to maintain the water as it is today. Dr. Budd said with the ozone process the color could be reduced very well and the taste may be better. C/M Hoffman asked if the ozone process could be used in the future, if needed, if the accelator was purchased at this time and Dr. Budd said it would not preclude either option. Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council was more concerned about the health and safety of the citizens and he asked if Dr. Budd was favoring the existing system. Dr. Budd said the existing system did not preclude the use of reverse osmosis in the future; however, he did not feel that enough was known about the use of the reverse osmosis process. C/M Rohr said he wanted to go back to Mr. Foy's statement regarding a mistake. He said Mr. Foy indicated that he was concerned with the City making a mistake; however, the presentation indicated that there would be no mistake. He asked Mr. Foy to explain why there may be a mistake in the future. Mr. Foy said 4 years ago, there was a master plan approved to expand the water plant. He said there were two phases in the plans and some of the things in phase one were transferred to phase two. He said phase two was presently under construction and the concern of a mistake was placing a new accelator in the plant when the regulations may change; therefore, the study was done to answer this concern. He said Dr. Budd concluded that a mistake would not be made if the accelator was purchased and installed. C/M Rohr said the recommendation was to continue with the plans previously approved and Mr. Foy agreed. C/M Hoffman asked City Manager Kelly where the money would come from for the new accelator. City Manager Kelly said he was assured during his meetings regarding this matter that the capital costs would be paid with all the CIAC Fees and Mr. Foy indicated that the monies were available without increasing the water rates. C/M Hoffman asked if the money was available and Mr. Foy replied, yes. Mr. Foy said the funds were available to do what was planned 4 years ago; however, if the Environmental Protection Agency came up with new regulations, a new facility may be needed. Mayor Abramowitz asked if the costs for operation and maintenance would be large and Mr. Foy said the costs would be minimum. Page 6 3/23/89 C/M Rohr asked if the system could be modified if the Environmental Protection Agency changed the regulations and Mr. Foy said the system could be modified to comply with any new regulations. C/M Hoffman asked if this matter pertained to Utilities West only and Mr. Foy replied, yes. C/M Hoffman asked if the City had control over the water purchased from Fort Lauderdale for Utilities East and Mr. Foy replied, no. C/M Hoffman asked if there was any way that the City could have control over Utilities East water and Mr. Foy said the only practical way to have control was to run the line over to the area. Mr. Foy said there were only 1,000 customers at Utilities East and they could not afford this type of modification. C/M Hoffman asked if the residents east Rock Island Road received water from another source other than the City. Mr. Foy said only certain developments east of Rock Island Road received water from the City. Mayor Abramowitz asked Mr. Foy if there was anything else that staff wanted to present to the City Council. Mr. Foy said when this matter was addressed 4 years ago, it was decided to go with a sole source for the equipment. He said a quote for the needed equipment was received and Hazen & Sawyer contacted the sole source which increased the quote by 2.2%. He said a contract would be submitted to the City Council at a City Council meeting. Mayor Abramowitz asked competitive bidding for Kelly said sole source provide the equipment. if the City could go to the equipment and City Manager meant that no one else could Mr. Foy said the City was very pleased with the sole source in the past and the increase over several years was only 2.2%, which was very good. He said he was confident that using the sole source would be in the best interest of the City. He said there were other companies that provided the services; however, the facility was from the sole source and it would not be feasible to change sources. Mayor Abramowitz asked if other companies would be compatible with the present system and Mr. Foy said the new source may be compatible; however, new engineering drawings and plans would be required and the savings would not exist. C/M Hoffman asked if the existing plans could not be given to another company to follow and Mr. Foy said the design would have to be changed. TAPE 3 At this time, Mayor Abramowitz asked the public if they had any questions. Carl Alper, Resident at 8202 NW 91 Avenue, said water was „- one of the first obligations of a Municipality. He said the Safe Drinking Water Act was having problems such as passing regulations that are not feasible for the future. He said adding chemicals to the existing water system Page 7 3/23/89 may be harmful because the chemicals reacted with the organic materials in the water and produce contaminated water. Mr. Alper said the water in Tamarac was the best in Broward County; however, the water in Broward County was of a low level. He said the Water Department Commissioner in Davie indicated that he would not drink the water. He said water was being contaminated daily because of chemicals and he suggested that the public be advised of the problems. He said Hazen & Sawyer may be correct by stating that the monies should be spent to insure that in 1992, when the regulations are confirmed, extra monies would not be needed to correct the problem. Mr. Alper said the water supply was a tremendous problem and in today's newspaper there were three Articles regarding contamination of the wastewater and drinking water. He said gas stations had water lines that dripped directly into the canals which was creating a problem. Lucille Doyle, Resident at 2610 NW 51 Place, said Mr. Alper mentioned the bacteria in the water which was a big concern. She had concerns about the fluoride going into the water. She said there was extensive research done on the toxicity of fluoride and the findings indicated that there was 1 part of fluoride to 1 million parts of water or, hydrofluoric acid. She said this was a very high corrosive in toxic waste products in the phosphate fertilizer industry. Ms. Doyle said all of the studies indicated that hydrofluoric acid was a poison and the City was using it. She said the residents were requesting that the City study the fluoride chemicals. She said there were several dangerous side effects caused by fluoride. Morris Gisser, Resident at 9600 NW 82 Street, submitted a statement into the record (SEE ATTACHMENT 1). He read a portion of the statement into the record. Mr. Gisser said fluoride caused hyper -sensitivity, muscular weakness, heart fatigue, excessive thirst, headaches, skin rashes, joint pains, digestive upsets and loss of mental acuity. He said fluoride caused interference with the normal actions of enzymes which were proteins which facilitated chemical reactions in the body. Ruth Epstein, Resident at 10400 NW 71 Place, said fluoride was a drug and was dosed by prescription. She said the prescription had a skull and bone on it and indicated that it was toxic. She said the young and the old suffer from the toxicity of fluoride. She said she would rather not have drugs in her water and it was unfair that the residents were forced to consume the drug. She asked that the City Council review the studies submitted into the record and reconsider having fluoride in the water. Cony Brown, Resident at 760 Azalea Court, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said there were two plants which produced 12 MGD; however, the plant producing the 8 MGD was the newest. He said the chances of the newest facility malfunctioning was remote and the older plant had approximately 25% reserve available from the newer Page 8 f] 1 1 3/23/89 1 H plant to handle 6 MGD. He suggested that this matter be detained until the new regulations were available. Mr. Brown said he has been studying fluoride for 12 years and the latest research done in 1988, indicated that even if fluoride was healthy there were several adverse effects. He said there were people who have died of fluoride poisoning and fluoride was similar to rat poison. At this time, Mr. Brown submitted information into the record (SEE ATTACHMENT 2). Pat Brett, Resident of Pompano Beach, submitted information into the record (SEE ATTACHMENTS 3 and 4). She said she opposed fluoridation because the residents were not familiar with its effects. She said there were several studies done which indicated that fluoride was more dangerous than fighting tooth decay. She said the information she submitted indicated the truths about fluoride. She said she had very serious effects from fluoride water and could not drink it. She said there were studies recently released indicating there was correlation between Alzheimer's Disease and aluminum fluoride. At this time, Ms. Brett exhibited matters found in water that was boiled. Mayor Abramowitz thanked the public for their concerns and comments and he said the City Council and staff would review the information submitted. He said the City Council would continue being concerned about the health and welfare of the citizens as well as the financial problems. AT 11:00 A.M., Mayor Abramowitz RECESSED the meeting and RECONVENED at 11:05 A.M. with ALL WHO WERE PREVIOUSLY PRESENT. 2. Criteria for sidewalks. Mayor Abramowitz said staff could not attend this portion of a meeting because of an Emergency. He said the sidewalk criteria would be discussed at a future meeting. With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this meeting at 11:10 A.M. J CAROL A. EVANS, CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated at copy to inform the general public, public recent opinions and considerations of the ,Tamarac. Page 9 a cost of $82.20 or $10.28 officers and employees of City Council of the City per of STATEMENT OF MORRIS GISSER ON FLUORIDATION I am absolutely opposed to fluoridating our water supply. Aside from the fact that this has never been proven to be safe, and is in fact harmful, aside from the fact that the voices of opposition have been suppressed, aside from the fact that the claims for fluoridation are lies, aside from the fact that the history of fluoridation is a major scandal, the worst thing about fluoridating the public water supply, is that it violates our rights. A democracy is, in essence a way of life which wants to protect the most elementary rights of every person, and one of those is the right to take care of one's body. Precisely at the moment the State makes you swallow a medicine, without asking your permission and without the possibility of an alternative, democracy has ceased to be and we live in a totalitarian state. Are we going back to an older form of government, where the old, all --wise Priest -King, the almighty father image, took care of his subjects, and made all decisions for them? We get additional cause for concern when we look at some aspects of fluoridating water supplies. Hypersensitivity George L. Waldbott, M.D., was an allergy specialist who had observed fluoride -induced diseases among people living near fluoride -emitting factories (e.g. aluminum, phosphate, steel etc.) He was one of the first doctors to cope with the side effects of fluoridatinq s water supplies. He was the founder and chief of allergy clinics in 4 Detroit hospitals. Using double-blind tests, he reported treating at leat 500 patients, who he concluded reacted negatively to fluoridated rater. Symptoms included muscular weakness, chronic fatigue, excessive thirst, headaches, skin rashes, joint pains, digestive upsets, tingling in the extremities, and loss of mental acuity. In each of these patients, the symptoms disappeared when the fluoride was taken away without the patient's or the doctor's knowledge, and reappeared when the fluoride was given again. A number of Dutch doctors also performed double-blind experiments on patients who became ill after fluoridation began in the Netherlands. They got the same results as Waldbott. Enzyme Effects One of the most significant ways in which fluoride harms the body is interference with the normal actions of enzymes. Enzymes are proteins, which facilitate chemical reactions in the body. For example, all of us burn sugar in our cells to produce energy, at a temperature of 98.6 F. The sugar in the sugar bowl, doesn't burn even if the roost temperature gets up to 120 F. Enzymes are responsible for the breakdown of foods so that they can be used by the body. Enzymes perform thousaftds of functions, without which, life would be impossible. Fluoride at one part per million, or less, inhibits a number of very important enzymes. Because fluoride inhibits so many enzymes,wit is used in laboratory studies to inhibit enzyme activity. The fact that fluoride inhibits enzymes is not in dispute. After all, the National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization have published lists of enzymes that are inhibited at fluoride levels of one part per million or less. To minimize the importance of enzyme inhibition, the proponents for fluoridation claim that the soft tissue levels of fluoride (the amount of fluoride in kidneys, thyroid, spleen etc. would never reach 1 part per million. They fail to explain why the level of fluoride found in organs of people has significantly increased since the .4R beginning of fluoridation. The decrease in activity oof enzymes toxic ais one t. Tof the first detectable effects when people axe exposed rov proponents for fluoridation have never proved that inhibiting enzyme activity is harmless. ukeletal Fluorosis This complicated illness, which has a number of n the bones eta es is caused by the accumulation of too much fluoeelS ide iymptom:, but changes have taken p stag 2 stages are preclinical-that is, the patient f snono s of the The lace in the body. As the fluoride poisoning body continues, symptoms appear. These include pains in bones and joints, sensations of burning, pricking and tingling in the limps, muscle weakness, chronic fatigue, gastrointestinal disorders and reduced appetite. During 1 this phase, changes in the pelvis and spinal column can be detected on x- rays. In the next clinical stage, pains in the bones become constant and some ligaments begin to calcify. Osteoporosis may occur in the long bones, along with early symptoms of osteosclerosis (bones become more dens e and I have abnormal crystalline structure). Bony spurs may also appreiar on the ced limb bones, especially around the knee, skeletal fluorosis, called cripplingeletalefluorosis, extremities become weak and moving the joints is difficult. The vertebrae partially fuse together crippling the patient. In parts of India, China, Africa, Japan, and the Middle East, large numbers of people have skeletal fluorosis from drinking nature lU fluoridated water. In India about a million people have this disease. Most victims live in areas where the water fluoride level is 2 pp m or some cases are found in communities with natural fluoride levels below 1 ppm. Some of the worst problems with this disease are found in the village of xizilcaoern, Turkey, where the entire population suffers from this disease. Thirty -year -old men with hunched up shoulders painfully drag themselves around, leaning on sticks. Women often produce dead babies after pregnancies of only 4 months. Forty -year -olds look like old men and women. Both men and women suffer from this premature aging. AninvestDigationeighbohas shown a fluoride level of 5.4 ppm in their drinking water. villages, which receive water from different springs or wells, have no such health problems. In the US, more than a dozen cases of skeletal fluorosis have been reported. Some occurred at high fluoride levels, others at levels lower than 4 ppm when aggravating conditions were present, such as diabetes or impaired kidney function.body than have to that those thosewith onpoor healthy are more susceptible y damage fromfluor diet. Cancer Dean Birk, Chief Chemist Emeritus, U.S. National Cancer Institute, has stated that fluoride causes more human cancer death, and causes it faster, than any other chemical. He did this after a series of studies, in which he and John Yiamouyiannis, compared the cancer death rate of the ten largest fluoridated cities with that of the ten largest nonfluoridated cities that had comparable cancer death rates from 1940 to 1950, a period during wh2Qh000neither deathsgroup eachfyearcities were due°rtoafluorideThey concluded that 10,000 to 2 �� induced cancer. Their results were disputed by National Cancer Institute officials. In the fall of 1977, 2 full hearings on fluoridation and cancer were held before Rep. L. H. Fountain's Congressional Subcommittee. There they testified and showed how the NCI officials had left out 80% to 90% of relevant data, and when this was included, the results agreed with what Drs. Burk and John Yiamouyiannis had found. Congressman Fountain, chairman of the subcommittee, exposed the Purposeful withholding of information from Drs. Burk and Yiamouyiannis by the NCI officials. In addition he stated that they had sent erroneous data to professors at Oxford Univ. in England, who not surprisingly found no excess cancer deaths due to fluoridation. The Congressional hearings were followed by 21 days of court hearings in Pittsburg, Pa., from March to Nov. of 1978. The presiding Judge John P. Flaherty remarked:"Point by point, every criticism made of the Burk-Yiamouyiannis study was met and explained." Judge Flaherty pointed out that he was "compellingly convinced" of the adverse effects of fluoridation and ordered a halt to it as a public health hazard. However his verdict was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that ruled that the court did not have the power to intervene in behalf of the health and safety of its citizens. There have been many court cases, but they have all taken the position that the state has the power to add a substance to the public water supply that causes ill -health or death without violating the rights of its citizens, and that the public must seek legislative relief. Our courts are intimidated by the fluoridation issue. Other Damaging Effects of Fluoridation These include premature aging due to the disruption of collagen metabolism by fluoride. This leads to calcified ligaments, tendons, and muscles. In some cases, there is even calcification of thyroid cartilage. Fluoride, by disrupting production of collagen, and stimulating the calcification of arteries, speeds up another Phase of the aging process. Fluoride has been linked to partial calcification of skin and may be one of the major causes of scleroderma. Fluoridation has adverse effects on the immune system and also has been linked to genetic damage. Su ression of d Voices daOOposition Ever since the Public Health .�,�. of Voices of _ Service (PHS) endorsed 1950, detractors have charged that PHS and the medical and dental establishment, such as the AMA and the ADA have suppressed adverse scientific information about its effects. Even some who generally support fluoridation, make similar charges. For example, Zev Remba, the Washington Bureau editor of AGD Impact, the monthly publication of the Academy of General Dentistry, wrote last year, that supporters of fluoridation have had an "unwillingness to release any information that would cast fluorides ina a negative light," and that organized dentistry has lost "its objectivity -the ability to consider varying viewpoints together with scientific data to reach a sensible conclusion." Journal editors have refused for political reasons to publish information that raises questions about fluoridation. Fdr example, a letter from Bernard P. Tillis, editor of the New York State Dental Journal, written in February 1984 to Geoffrey E. Smith, a dental surgeon from Melbourne, Australia, says: "Your paper ... was read with interest," but it is not appropriate for publication at this time because 3 "the opposition to fluoridation has become virulent again." Sohan L. Manocha, now a lawyer, and Harold Warner, professor emeritus of biomedical engineering at Emory University medical school in Atlanta, received a similar letter in 1974 from the editor of AMA's ArchiveO of Environmental Health. The editor rejected a report Manocha and WaIrner submitted on enzyme changes in monkeys who were drinking fluoridated x4ater because of reviewers' comments such as: "I would recommend that this paper not be accepted for publication at this time" because "this is a sensitive subject and any publication in this area is subject to interpretation by antifluoridation groups." These papers were subsequently publish d in prestigious British journals, Science Progress (Oxford) and Histoche ical Journal. Many other authors have reported similar difficulties publi ping original data that suggest adverse effects of fluoridated water. Acco ding to Robert J. Carton, an environmental scientist at EPA, the scien ific assessment of fluoride's health risks written by the agency in 1985 "Omits 90% of the literature on mutagenicity, most of which suggests fluorideiis a mutagen." Several scientists in the U.S. and other countries who havel4one research or written reports questioning the benefits of fluoridation or suggesting possible health risks were discouraged by their employers from publishing their findings. After their paper had been rejected by the editor of Archives of Environmental Health, Manocha and Warner were told by the director of their department not to try to publish their findings in any other U.S. journal. The National Institute of Dental Research, a government organization that we support with taxpayer funds, had warned the director that the research results would harm the cause of fluoridation. Eventually, Manocha and Warner were granted permission to publish their work in a foreign journal. In 1982, John A. Colquhoun, former principal dental officer in the Department of Health in Auckland, New Zealand.* was told after writing a report that showed no benefit from fluoridation in New Zealand that the department refused him permission to publish it. The ADA and the PHS have actively discouraged research into the health risks of fluoridation by attacking the work or the character of the investigators. Benefits of Fluoridation For many years, most dentists believed that fluoridation of water supplies reduced tooth decay about 50 to 65%. But a great deal of evidence shows little or no reduction at all. For example, Mark Diesendorf, an applied mathematician and health researcher in the Human Sciences Program at Australian National University and an expert in research design, has found, by comparing results from about 24 studios of unfluoridated districts in 8 countries, that reductions in dental caries (cavities) are just as great in nonfluoridated as in fluoridated areas. In Queensland, which is primarily unfluoriidated, the rate of tooth decay is as low as it is in the fluoridated districts of Australia. A number of researchers in the U.S. have reported similar findings. No laboratory Study has ever shown that the amount of fluoride added to drinking water is effective in reducing tooth decay.-* There have been no epidemi.olo ical studies on humans showing that fluoridation reduces tooth decay that would meet the minimum requirements of scientific objectivity. These require ants are referred to by scientists as blind or double --blind design, in which neither examiner nor patient knows who is in the test group and who is in the control group. atzo F n in Europe In France, the Chief Council of Public Health Fluoridation rejected fluoridation in 1980 because of doubts about whether it harms human health. The minister for the environment in Denmark recommended in 1977 that fluoridation not be allowed primarily because no adequate studies had been carried out on its long-term effects on human organ systems other than teeth. In 1978, the West German Assn. of,Gas & Water Experts rejected fluoridation for legal reasons and because the so-called optimal fluoride concentration of 1 mg per L is close to the dose at which long-term da0ge (to the human body) is to be expected. For 10 years, the Netherlands tried fluoridation and gave it up in 1976 for legal reasons. A number of doctors there observed strong hypersensitivity reactions to fluoridated water in some people. Experience has shown, that when the public is aware that fluoridating water provides questionable benefits, at the cost of serious health risks, the public will overwhelmingly reject fluoridation of municipal water supplies. Morris Gisser March 22, 1989 1 n Cl 1 CHEMICAL. � p �)G(rj E tkwa OF -OS Adl; .l1(W SPECIAL REPORT SUO M1 TTF—f-> ay MOMRIS G-ISSCN, Fluoridation ■"q Hlleman, C&EN Washington The controversy over fluoridation of water supplies has raged ever since fluoride was first introduced into the drinking water of Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1945. Proponents of fluoridation say it prevents tooth decay -and presents absolutely no health risks. Detractors say it causes, or may cause, serious damage to the health of some people. Many also question its effectiveness. For 43 years, there seems to have been no middle ground between the two points of view. "Neither side has given the other one rational moment," explains Jacqueline M. Warren, senior staff attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. U.S. policy makers have had to make other scientif- ic decisions, such as choices about pesticide regula- tion, that involve the careful balancing of risks and benefits and about which information probably is even more complex. But none has aroused acrimony quite like the fluoridation question. There is hardly any individual interested in the issue who can be classified as neutral, hardly an expert in the field who seems not to be adamantly pro- or anti fluoridation. Neither side seems willing to listen to the other. Neither seems able to engage the other in construc- tive debate. On the surface this seems surprising. The goal of fluoridation is unarguably worthy. Since U.S. commu- nities began fluoridation in 1945, the prevalence of dental caries has decreased dramatically. The average number of decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth in U.S. school age children has declined from an ,a —August 1, 1988 CHN l of Water Questions about health risks and benefits remain after more than 40 years estimated seven to about three, according to a nation- al survey released by the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR)•in June. Why, then, is this issue so polarized? According to Edward Groth III, an associate techni- cal director of Consumers Union who wrote his Ph.D. thesis in biology on the fluoridation controversy in 1973, pro- and antifluoridationists approach the issue from completely different perspectives. "Proponents see it as a simple public health measure, effective and safe, which they need to 'sell' to the public, almost like a box of soap. Opponents tend to be much more concerned with risks than with benefits, and view fluoridation the same way society views many other 'environmental hazards' —granting that the risks may be small and uncertain, they believe-,ociety's attitude should be 'better safe than sorry.' Since any risks fluoridation may present are imposed involuntarily when a water supply is fluoridated, those risks --even if they are tiny or unsubstantiated --tend to provoke a disproportionate amount of outrage." Indeed, anyone looking closely at the fluoridation debate can discern several separate subdebates, most with more than two distinct positions. Regarding fluori- dation's benefits, proponents, such as the American Dental Association (ADA), claim it reduces the inci- dence of tooth decay 40 to 65% wherever it is used. Many proponents also insist dogmatically that there is absolutely no evidence that fluoridation has had, or ever could have, harmful effects of any kind ejn any- one. Some argue that because most natural drataking water contains 0.1 to 0.2 ppm fluoride and nearly all Cornrinunity Water Fluoridatit al td'ay fn f'r<vrvu Iknlal Ikrcnl It j �+ lie) F F + t FLU 14c food has traces of fluoride, human beings are adapted to it, For many years, they have also claimed that fluoridation may reduce the incidence and severity of osteoporosis —decreased bone density in old age. Oth- er proponents admit there are a number of recognized potential risks, but they believe there has been enough research of good enough quality to show that these risks are very remote and that the large benefits justi- fy society's taking those risks. For many opponents of fluoridation, the overriding issue is a moral one of personal rights. These critics oppose fluoridation for ethical reasons. They view it as a form of medication, imposed on the public in violation of individual choice. Given that there are several other ways for people who want fluoride to consume it (for instance, in pills, mouthwashes, tooth- paste, fluoridated bottled water), those who place a high value on freedom of choice argue that the state has no right to force them to consume fluoride. Other opponents of fluoridation claim that fluori- dation causes cancer, birth defects, and a large num- ber of other ills. Such claims are frequently made by unscientific activists, who cannot support them with scientific references. But here, too, there are other less extreme opponents who argue that research has not adequately answered most of the critical questions about potential risks. Such critics, many of whom are scientists, cite hundreds of papers pub- lished in reputable journals, a collective]}' large body of evidence of potential hazards that, at a mini- mum, demands objective assessment. From the start, they also have questioned the benefits of fluoridation, claiming that its effects on r tenth decay are nonexistent or greatly exaggerated. Yet another niche in the debate has lately been filled by environmentalists, who re- sist being called "antifluori- c dation" but whose arguments tend to support the opponents. In 1986, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), one of the U.S.'s pre-eminent envi- ronmental advocacy organiza- tions, filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agen- cy (EPA), seeking to block the agency's proposed relaxation of drinking water standards for fluo- )RIDIZATI01V ride in natural waters. NRDC ar- e of gued that EPA had inadequately �° century" considered the likely effects of A. er4.& fluoride on susceptible subsets of '•'�.r„r„„„» the overall population, had over- e. R"""'" 1,- looked a great deal of scientific literature that suggested possible harm, and had not adequately eval- uated a full range of possible haz- ards on which the evidence is incomplete or uncon- vincing. At best, NRDC asserted, EPA had no scientific basis for its action and more research is needed. In general, environmental advocates believe fluo- ride should be investigated in the same manner many other environmental pollutants have been studied in recent years. The range of total human intake from air, water, and food must be assessed, they say. The effects on the most susceptible individuals and the levels at which these effects begin to occur should be August 1, 1988 CAEN 27 1 1 I 1 "dal Report -- Promoters' style has fueled fluoridation controversy The style of promotion that fluorida- tion's proponents have used from the very beginning probably made the issue more controversial than it need have been. The Idea of fluoridating water sup- plies first arose from studies of dental mottling in areas, such as communities In Texas, where the water supply is fluoridated naturally. In the 1930s, H. Trendiey Dean, a dental surgeon at the U.S. Public Health Service, correlated the occurence of mottling or dental flux orosis with the fluoride content of water supplies in 345 U.S. communities. Fluo- rosis was most common in cities that had the highest concentration of fluo- ride in their water. He and his col - .leagues also unexpectedly found a low- er Incidence of dental caries in areas of endemic dental fluorosis. Dean concluded that the fluoride con- tent of the drinking water causes a low- er rate of dental caries. He also deter- mined that the incidence of mottling was very minor when the fluoride con- tent was 1 ppm or lower but rose linear- ly at higher concentrations. From this, PHS officials decided in 1943 that 1 ppm was an optimal level at which to artificially fluoridate water supplies in temperate climates. In areas where the fluoride content exceeded 2 ppm, they recommended fluoride be reduced to a level near 1 ppm. In 1945, PHS initially planned to con- duct 10-year studies of artificial fluori- dation in two experimental projects, one in New York and one in Michigan. One city in each state would be fluoridated artificially and another would serve as a control. PHS officials intended to com- plete these projects before deciding whether to recommend fluoridation of determined. Extensive epidemiological studies should be done to see if fluoride is causing cancer or any other more subtle health effects in the general popu- lation. Very little of the research advocated by the envi- ronmentalists has ever been done in this country and not mach of it has been done anywhere else either. Since the early 1960s, most studies on the long-term effects of chronic exposure to fluoride on human bio- logical systems other than teeth have been carried out in foreign countries. Current status of fluoridation Fluoridation of water supplies is largely confined to the English-speaking countries, the Soviet Union, and some Latin American nations. Of the estimated 250 million people in the world who drink artificially fluoridated water (usually fluoridated at 1 ppm), 120 million live in the U.S. (50%p of the U.S. population), about 50 million in Brazil (33% of its population), and 40 million in the Soviet Union (15% of its population). Nine percent of the U.K.'s population drinks fluoridat- ed water, two thirds of Australia's and New Zealand's, and 50% of Canada's. However, less than 1% of the population of continental Western Europe has artifi- cially fluoridated water. For 10 years, the Netherlands tried fluoridation and gave it up in 1976 for legal reasons. (Many citizens claimed that the government had no right to add fluoride, which they considered a medicine, to the water supply, and a number of doc- tors observed strong hypersensitivity reactions to fluori- dated water in some people.) It also was tried and then abandoned in a few towns in West Germany for legal and health reasons. 2$ Ausat 1, 1966 CdEN drinking water as a general pract.,Jor all communities. However, two public health officers In Wisconsin, Francis A. Bull and John Frisch, quickly became convinced of the effectiveness of fluoridation and launched a nationwide campaign to per- suade PHS to endorse it. Also, results from the two projects that leaked out in 1950, after the trials had been going on for five years, revealed a sharp reduc- tion in dental caries In the fluoridated cities. As a result of this disclosure and Bull's and Frisch's campaign, PHS offi- cials endorsed fluoridation on June 1, 1950. Several deficiencies in research by PHS were subsequently aired at Con- gressional hearings in 1952 and 1957. There had been almost no careful stud- ies to assess the possible adverse health effects of lifelong consumption of flw- In the U.S., fluoridation is endorsed almost univer- sally by medical and dental associations and by many scientific bodies. The American Medical Association, ADA, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS), and every Surgeon General since the early 1950s have agreed that water fluoridated at levels of about 1 ppm is a cheap, effective, and perfectly safe way to reduce cavities. Outside the U.S., a number of scientific groups and individuals have decided fluoridation is not safe. In Prance, the Chief Council of Public Health rejected fluoridation in 1980 because of doubts about whether it harms human health. The minister for the environ- ment in Denmark recommended in 1977 that fluori- dation not be allowed primarily because no adequate studies had been carried out on its long-term effects on human organ systems other than teeth and because not enough studies had been done on the effects of fluoride discharges on freshwater ecosystems. In 1978, the West German Association of Gas & Water Experts rejected fluoridation for legal reasons and because "the so-called optimal fluoride concentration of I mg per 1. is close to the dose at which long-term damage [to the human body] is to be expected." The battle lines between pro- and antifluoridationists in the U.S. used to be very clear, with the medical and dental establishment and a great many public health officials and scientists on one side and a number of other scientists, private citizens, and members of ex- treme right wing groups (such as the John Birch Soci- etv and the Ku Klux Klan, who claimed fluoridation was a communist plot) on the other. Most of those who spoke out against fluoridation were, according to profluoridationists, either members of one of-A-hese Ideted water. Aside from their dental health, the medical condition of resi- dents of naturally fluoridated areas had been examined superficially, at best. In one of the fluoridation trials, research plans Included a study of adverse ef- fects of artificial fluoridation on chil- dren, but none on adults. No studies focused on malnourished children and Infants, despite a warning in 1952 by Mawy Massler, professor of pedodontics at the University of Illinois College of Dentistry, that "low levels of fluoride Ingestion which are generally consid- ered to be safe for the general popula- tion may not be safe for malnourished Infants and children, because of dWur- bances In calcium metabolism." Neither PHS nor anyone else had in- vestigated potential carcinogenic effects, effects on pregnant women, or effects on people with chronic kidney Impair- ment or other chronic diseases. Even in die early 1950s, enough was known of fluoride's toxicity profile to Identify these as Important topics to Investigate. From the beginning, the movement to fluoridate water was conducted more like a political campaign than a scientlf- Ic enterprise. At a meeting of state dental directors with PHS officials in June 1951, Bull recommended tactics for promoting fluoridation. "If It is a fact that some Individuals are against fluori- dation, you just have to knock their objections down. The question of toxici- ty is on the same order. Lay off it altogether. Just pass it over. 'We know there is absolutely no effect other than reducing tooth decay,' you say, and go on. If It becomes an Issue, then you will have to take it over, but don't bring it up yourself." "The minute doubt is created in the minds of the public, any public health program is doomed to failure," Bull lat- er wrote in the Journal of the American Dental Association. radical groups or irrational, fanatic, unscientific, and fraudulent, even if they had legitimate scientific credentials. Now, however, the lines are not so clearly drawn. Zev Remba, the Washington Bureau editor of AGD Impact, the publication of the Academy of General Dentistry (a group of 28,000 dentists dedicated to promoting the continuing education of general prac- titioners), described the situation in an editorial last year: "Today ... the antifluoridation movement has found supporters on the left as well as the right, particularly among groups dedicated to safeguarding the environment. And as the base of support broad- ens, community fluoridation appears to be losing ground. In about 60% of 2000 referenda held in the U.S. since 1950, fluoridation has been voted down. A 1985 poll by the American Dental Association found that 36% of the 255 [planned or existing] fluoridation programs surveyed had been cancelled," primarily because they were rejected in referenda. Last year, the Commissioner for the Department of Health in New York State, David Axelrod, decided to turn the department's emphasis away from fluorida- tion of water supplies and toward the use of topical sealants and fluoriderinses for school children. The department is still in favor of fluoridating water sup- plies, but is no longer funding it. Even now fluoridation remains an issue in many cities across the U.S. Since 1983, referenda have been held on the question in well over 60 communities. In more than half of these, the majority of the people voted against fluoridation. Some referenda are held in cities without fluoridation in order to decide whether to initiate it. Others are called by opponents of fluori- The political role of dentists has been emphasized throughout the history of fluoridation. in 1970, even after 25 years of fluoridation, John W. Knutson, then professor at the University of California Medical Center, advised dentists that when they discussed fluoridation with the public, they must realize that "they are propagandizing, not simply educat- ing." This attitude, widely shared by political proponents, led early advocates to treat fluoridation campaigns as de- bates to be won with dogmatic asser- tions and attacks on the credibility of the opposition. To promoters, the de- bate has never been seen as a scier►tN- ic search for truth. As a result, prof luoridation ists pre- pare booklets for the public that contain highly biased information. If scientific studies are cited, only those that sup- port their side of the argument are men- tioned. Those opposed to fluoridation counter with equally biased propaganda dation in cities where it already exists in order to terminate it. ADA and NIDR carry on a continuous campaign to persuade state legislatures to pass laws making fluoridation mandatory in all communities. So far only eight states have passed such laws, but dozens of proposed similar laws have been defeated. Fluoridation is becoming more of an issue in devel- oping nations as their tooth decay rates rise with the increasing use of sugar and processed food. Countries such as Brazil are now deciding whether to expand fluoridation or initiate it. In May, an international conference was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to assess the benefits and risks of fluoridation and help the authorities evaluate the question. If more diverse interest groups are increasingly skep- tical of fluoridation, what are the reasons? Is fluorida- tion just as effective as it appeared to be in the past? Have scientists uncovered new evidence of real health risks? Benefits: a changing assessment Originally, it was thought that the fluoride ion prevented tooth decay solely by being incorporated in tooth enamel as the teeth formed in childhood. Fluo- ride ingested in water or food is absorbed into the bloodstream. Part of it is excreted and the remainder is deposited in the bones and teeth. The proportion of fluoroapatite in the hydroxyapatite of developing booth enamel is then increased: CaIO(PO4)6(OH)2 + 2F- -- CaIO(PO4)6F2 + 20H` Fluoroapatite is less easily dissolved by mouth acids than hydroxyapatite and therefore more resistant to decay. August 1, 1988 CAEN 29 1-1 1 L 1 1 Special Report ._,.A_ - But today dental researchers believe two other mech- anisms are just as important or more so. A number of factors, including fluoride ion, influence a constant exchange of ions across tooth surfaces. Bacteria in the mouth convert sugar to acids, which cause demineral- ization of tooth surfaces. Demineralization and remineralization take place constantly on the surface. When the pH of the surface drops, calcium and phos- phate ions pass from the enamel into the plaque, but if the pH becomes neutral, these ions may redeposit themselves into the enamel. Fluoride ions in the plaque inhibit the bacterial conversion of sugar to acids and thereby help maintain higher pH levels, allowing remineralization to occur. Therefore, the fluoride ions in saliva and plaque may be just as important in preventing tooth decay as the ions in blood --and perhaps just as easily provided by toothpaste as water. A third mechanism by which fluoride may prevent decay involves incorporation of fluoride into the remineralizing enamel surface, making it more resis- tant to decay. For many years, most dentists believed that fluori- Most major developed countries do not fkxxidate their water supplies Percent of population Population drinking artificially cow" (mllllons) fluorldsted water Albania 3.1 0 % Australia 16.1 66 Austria 7.6 0 BelglwM 9.9 0 "aria 9.0 0 Canada 25.9 50 Czechoslovakia 15.6 20 Denmark 5.1 0 East Germany 16.6 9 Fl ANW 4.8 1.5 From* 55.6 0 Greece 10.0 0 Hungary 10.6 0 Ireland 3.5 50 Italy 57.4 0 Japan 122.0 0 Luxofnbourg 0.4 0 HNherlands° 14.6 0 Now Zealand 3.3 66 Norway 4.2 0 Poland 37.7 4 Portugal° 10.3 0 Romania 22.9 0 Spain 39.0 Less than 1 % Sweden 8.4 0 Switzerland 6.6 4 U.K. 56.8 9 U.S. 243.8 50 U.S.S.R. 284.0 15 West Germanyd 61.0 0 Yugoslavia 23.4 0 a One experimental treatment plant now discontinued. b One small experimental treatment plant. c Discontinued in 1976 after 23 years of experiments. d Discontin- ued in 1970 after I years of experiments. 30 August 1. 1988 CAEN dation of water supplies reduced tooth decay about 50 to 65%. These figures were based primarily on four studies during the early years of fluoridation: in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Newburgh, N.Y.; Evanston, Ill.; and Brantford, Ont. But a great deal of evidence indicates that water fluoridation reduces dental caries much less. In fact, some research suggests little or no reduc- tion at all. Alan S. Gray, former director of the Division of Dental Health Services for the British Columbia Min- istry of Health, finds, for example, that the average number of decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth in British Columbia, where only 11% of the population uses fluoridated water, is lower than in parts of Canada where 40 to 70% of the people drink fluoridated water. School districts in the province with the highest percentage of children with no, tooth decay are totally unfluoridated. These differences could, of course, be caused by factors other than fluoridation. Tooth decay is a complicated process, influenced by many factors, including diet, oral hygiene, dental care, genetic predisposition, geochemical factors, and pos- sibly other trace elements, such as strontium, as well as fluoride in the water supply. Additional factors that may affect decay rates are the use of fluoridated toothpastes or topical rinses and the presence of fluo- rides in foods. Most people whose diet includes little sugar and few processed foods have very low rates of tooth decay. In those few developing countries in which only small amounts of sucrose and refined foods are eaten, decay rates are often lower than in the developed nations. And if other factors are equal, districts in the developed world where the socioeco- nomic status is higher generally have less decay. Therefore, comparisons between fluoridated and unfluoridated districts that don't adequately take such factors into account can be readily confounded. None of the early epidemiological studies controlled very well for most nonfluoride variables, so many scien- tists today have come to regard them as only part of the evidence one must consider to assess the size of fluoridation's benefits. One recent development that bears on the question is the widespread observation that tooth decay rates in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and in all countries of Western Europe have declined greatly during the past 40 years. Mark Diesendorf, an applied mathematician and health researcher in the Human Sciences Program at Australian National University and an expert in research design, has found, by com- paring results from about 24 studies of unfluoridated districts in eight countries, that reductions in dental caries are just as great in nonfluoridated as in fluori- dated areas. In Queensland, which is primarily unfluoridated, the rate of tooth decay is as low as it is in the fluoridated districts of Australia. Diesendorf concludes from such data that fluorida- tion of water supplies may not be nearly so important in preventing tooth decay as many authorities be- lieve. Some of the decline in dental caries in unfluoridated areas might be explained by the intro- duction of fluoride toothpaste, tablets, and mouth4nses, j 'ww.`r H. Trendley Dean's studies during 1930s and 1940s established relation of fluoride level in drinking water with tooth decay and dental fluorosis Many U.S. communities have 0.7 ppm or more natural fluoride in their water supply is 1 1 Spume: Nnoral kwifoe of Dental Research he says, but decay rates began to fall in many of the nonfluoridated regions long before these were avail- able. He believes that changes in nutrition, oral hy- giene, and possibly the immune status of the popula- tion may explain part of the decline. A number of researchers in the U.S. have reported similar findings. Stanley B. Heifetz and coworkers at NIDR note in the April issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association that "the current reported decline in caries in the U.S. and other Western indus- trialized countries has been observed in both fluori- dated and nonfluoridated communities, with percent- age reductions in each community apparently about the same." Robert L. Glass of Forsyth Dental Center, Boston, noted that in 1965, after more than 20 years of fluori- dation, counts of decayed, missing, and filled perma- nent teeth for Grand Rapids, Mich., and Newburgh, N.Y., were only minimally different from the average for the entire U.S., which then was about 33% fluori- dated. Because he had expected nonfluoridated areas to have higher decay rates than fluoridated .ones, and to therefore raise the average for the entire U.S., he concluded that the U.S. average had not been deter- mined correctly. It is also plausible, however, that the effects of fluoridation had been overstated, or perhaps that Grand. Rapids and Newburgh had exceptionally high levels of decay before fluoridation began. Other recent reports indicate that fluoridated areas have lower decay rates than unfluoridated areas, but by much less than the alleged 50 to 60% difference. A 1983 study of tooth decay in 10 cities by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Rand Corp. found that fluoridated cities have roughly one third less decay, which means that average 12-year-olds in fluor- idated cities have about 0.6 fewer cavities than those in nonfluoridated cities. Gray points out that decay reductions of even 33% taking place today, when av- erage base decay rates are at such a historically low level, do not mean as much as they did in the past. Research conducted in the 1930s and 1940s in the U.S. showed that the incidence of dental caries was reduced most effectively where the natural fluoride level of the water supply was 1 ppm or above. But five studies in India, Sweden, Japan, the U.S., and New Zealand do not support this trend. In the Japanese study, for example, children in an area with 0.3 to 0.4 ppm fluoride in the water have the lowest decay rates; above and below this range, caries prevalence in- creases rapidly. These results contradict a central te- net of the fluoridation theory —that the ideal fluoride level, producing low decay rates with minimal dam- age to the teeth, is about 1 ppm. At NIDR, officials are reassessing the decay reduc- tions that can be attributed to fluoridated water. Herschel S. Horowitz, formerly chief of the clinical trials section of the caries prevention and research program, says that recent studies suggest that reduc- tions are not so large as the 50 to 60'7t, indicated by early studies. NIDR scientists are trying to determine what they call a "new baseline." Whatever the ultimate result, a consensus seems to have emerged that the promise of "two thirds less tooth decay" with fluori- dation is no longer realistic, if indeed it ever was. In a similar vein, the economic benefits of fluorida- tion appear to have been exaggerated. NIDR states that every dollar spent on fluoridation, which costs only 20 to 50 cents per person per year, reduces dental costs $50. NIDR assumes that fluoridation reduces cavities some fixed percent, such as 40%, and then multiplies the total number of cavities theoretically prevented by the average cost of filling one cavity. But when the actual costs of dental care delivered in similar cities are compared, residents of fluoridated cities seem to reap no economic benefit from fluorida- tion. In one study, reported in a. February 1972 article Auwust 1, 198E UEN 31 1 1 1 1 1 ROW in the Journal of the American Dental Association, the cost of dental care in five unfluoridated cities in Illi- nois was compared with costs in five similar cities with naturally fluoridated water. Even though dentists' fees and the nature of treatments in the two groups of cities did not differ significantly, the cost per patient and the average number of visits to the dentist per year were greater in the fluoridated communities. Proponents also are trying to show that fluoride can be used to alleviate the symptoms of osteoporosis, and therefore that people living in fluoridated areas may be helped by the excess fluoride they are accumulat- ing in their bones. Because excess fluoride produces osteosclerosis (denser bones), patients in numerous clinical trials have been given and are still being given large doses of fluoride (60 to 80 mg per day) as treatment for osteoporosis. So far this method has produced no definitive beneficial results. In a 1987 review of fluoride therapy for osteoporosis, Louis V. Avioli, professor at the Washington University School of Medicine, concludes: "Sodium fluoride therapy is accompanied by so many medical complications and side effects that it is hardly worth exploring in depth as a therapeutic mode for postmenopausal osteoporo- sis, since it fails to decrease the propensity toward hip fractures and increases the incidence of stress frac- tures in the extremities." FDA has not approved the use of fluoride for osteoporosis. Health risks: more questions than answers The physiological effects of fluoride on the human body range from those about which there is a great deal of scientific information to those that are less certain, but about which there is some credible evi- dence, to those that are almost purely speculative. Even the effects for which there is good information are controversial. Some scientists define them as health effects, but others consider them as merely cosmetic or conditions without negative implications for health. More than any other area of fluoride research, sci- entific debate over potential health hazards has been polarized by the political controversy over fluorida- tion. Does a study show adverse effects? Is certain evidence relevant to an assessment of the safety of fluoridation at 1 ppm? The answers experts give dif- fer, depending on whether the experts favor or op- pose fluoridation. The political schism over the mea- sure has dominated scientific discourse on the topic, almost totally blocking consensus over what the evi- dence of adverse effects means —or in some cases, even over whether such evidence exists. The effects of fluoridation that have been studied the most are dental fluorosis (mottling of teeth), skel- etal fluorosis, kidney disease, hypersensitivity reac- tiallUSpzyme effects, genetic mutations, birth defects, and cancer. The information about dental fluorosis is clearest and least controversial. Knowledge of skeletal fluorosis is extensive, but not at all complete. The information about fluoride and kidneys is partly es- tablished and, in part, almost purely speculative ow- ingto a lack of research. Hypersensitivity reactions have been studied thoroughly by only a few investi- S! AuVAt 1, 1988 CAEN Fluoride in drinking water may affect teeth to various degrees during the years of tooth formation, depending on the degree of exposure and individual sensitivity. Compared with a normal tooth (top row, left), a tooth with questionable fluorosis (top row, right) shows no clear evidence of change, for instance, and one with very mild fluorosis (middle row, left) only has small white flecks. However, a tooth with mild fluorosis (middle row, right) has chalky white areas; moderate fluorosis causes yellow or brown mottling (bottom row, left); and a tooth with severe fluorosis (bottom row, right) is heavily stained, pitted, brittle, and susceptible to fracture gators and many important issues remain unresolved. Birth defects and cancer have been much discussed, but evidence in these areas is the most uncertain.. Though profluoridation statements almost always claim that all risks have been fully investigated and found to be groundless, in fact a number of important unanswered questions remain about each of these health risk areas. The 1977 National Academy of Sci- ences report "Drinking Water and Health" recom- mends research in 11 different areas. Even though more than a decade has passed, research in only three health effects areas, dental fluorosis, cancer, and birth defects, has been funded by the federal agencies re- sponsible for research on fluoride (PHS and EPA). The fluoride ion is unusual among trace e4ments in water or food because the same range of human exposure to fluoride ion that can produce beneficial physiological effects can also produce harmful Offects. For most trace elements, such as chromium, *kW- nese, and zinc, beneficial and harmful anges of expo- sure differ greatly. In 1962, PHS set fluoride levels of 0.7 to 1.2 ppm in drinking water as the ideal range to prevent dental caries with minimal dental fluorosis. The lower level was suggested for hot climates and progressively high- er levels were prescribed for cooler regions, because average water consumption varies with temperature. Natural fluoride levels exceeding twice the ideal for the climate, PHS said, constituted grounds for rejec tion of the water supply, but it had no power to force communities to remove excess fluoride. In 1975, EPA took over PHS's responsibility for regulating contaminants in drinking water and, in 1986, relaxed the maximum contaminant level to 4 ppm for all climates. Communities that add fluoride to drinking water still do so according to the old PHS formula. But communities with naturally fluoridated water are not required to remove fluoride unless the level exceeds 4 ppm. Some of the potential adverse health effects, however, may occur at levels of about 1 ppm and above and are both more pronounced and more widespread at levels near 4 ppm. In humans, 98% of the fluoride ingested in water is absorbed into the blood from the gastrointestinal tract. The fluoride diffuses to the body's cellular tissues and most of it is deposited in the bones and teeth or excreted by the kidneys. The aorta is the only other tissue that normally accumulates significant amounts of fluoride, mainly in calcified deposits. The amount stored in bones and teeth varies depending on the age of the subject. According to NIDR's Heifetz and Horo- witz, in children more than 50% of an ingested dose of fluoride may be deposited in bone, but in adults only about 10% is stored there. As with teeth, fluoride is deposited in bone by simple ionic exchange with the hydroxyl groups of hydroxyapatite. It also is re- moved from bone, though at a slower rate than it is deposited. If the intake remains constant, the level of fluoride in the bones increases linearly with age. The most obvious and common effect of fluoride on humans is dental fluorosis. This occurs only if children drink fluoridated water, receive fluoride sup- plements, or ingest significant fluoride from other sources (like toothpaste) during the years of tooth formation. In excessive amounts, fluoride interferes with the normal function of the enamel -producing cells in the jaw, called ameloblasts, in laying down amelogen matrix and in the mineralization of this enamel matrix. (Amelogen is a collagenlike material that forms the structural foundation and framework upon which calcium and phosphate are deposited, giving rise to tooth enamel.) The late H. Trendley Dean, a dental surgeon at PHS, defined five degrees of dental fluorosis: ques- tionable, very mild, mild, moderate, and severe. In the questionable form, evidence of fluorosis is uncer- tain; in the very mild form, teeth have small white specks; in the mild form, teeth have chalky white areas; in the moderate form, they may have yellow Some studies indicate that dental fluorosis is increasing Scientists disagree over whether the Incidence of dental fluorosis is Increas- ing In the U.S. as more children drink fluoridated water and use fluoride sup- plements, toothpaste, mouth rinses, and topical applications during the years of tooth formation. Dennis Leverett, chairman of the department of community dentistry at the Eastman Dental Center in Roches- ter, N.Y., claims that the prevalence of dental fluorosis today in communi- ties with fluoridated water is twice the level that H. Trendley Dean, a dental surgeon in the Public Health Service, reported In 1942 from his studies of communities with the same level of natural fluoride in their water supply. Leverett fears that if additional studies substantiate his findings, fluoride lev- els In supplements, toothpastes (most of which contain 1000 ppm fluoride), and water may need to be reassessed. He reasons that the increase in fluoro- sis may result from the Increased use of fluoridated toothpastes, supplements, and perhaps from higher levels of flu- oride in the food chain. Today, nearly all bottled drinks and canned foods In the U.S. are processed with fluoridat- ed water. Should further studies con- firm Leverett's conclusion, it would validate a warning that has been sounded by scientific critics of fluori- dation for at least 25 years. In contrast, William S. Driscoll, act- ing chief of the disease prevention and health promotion branch at the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR), and his coworkers report that surveys in 1980 "suggest that no im- portant changes in the prevalence and severity of fluorosis have taken place" since Dean's studies. However. Driscoll did find eight children with either mod- erate or severe fluorosis in a commu- nity with a fluoride level of 1 ppm. In the 1930s, Dean generally found no children with advanced forms of fluo- rosis in the many towns he surveyed with 1 ppm natural fluoride in the wa- ter supply. In 1985, Stanley B. Heifetz, Driscoll, and their coworkers at NIDFi surveyed the same areas In Illinois they had surveyed in 1980. The prevalence of fluorosis in eight- to 10-year-olds changed little between 1980 and 1985. But among 13- to 15-year-olds, the researchers note a greater prevalence and severity of fluorosis in 1985 than in 1980. In 1985, only 71 % of tooth surfaces were fluorosis-free in a com- munity with 1 ppm fluoride, compared with 89% in 1980. In a commurdty with 4 ppm fluoride, fluorosis had be- come so prevalent that 93 % of the visible tooth surfaces showed some signs of the condition, compared with 76 % in 1980. Several studies indicate, therefore, dot the prevalence of dental fluorosis Is rising, particularly at fluoride levels of 1 ppm, a level at which objectionalble fluorosis was extremely rare in the 1930s. But the populations studied are so limited that it is difficult to deter- mine how much fluorosis is Increasing. August 1, 1988 UEN 33 1 1 Special Report and brown stains; in the severe form, depending on the amount of fluoride ingested, they are pitted, brit- tle, and susceptible to fracture. Severe fluorosis not only produces unattractive teeth but also may in- crease the risk of tooth loss because it destroys parts of the protective enamel. According to a recent study conducted by NIDR in areas with different concentrations of naturally occur- ring fluoride in their water supplies, 2% of the chil- dren developed moderate or severe fluorosis and about 12% developed very mild and mild fluorosis at 1 ppm—the level of fluoride that NIDR considers ideal. But at 4 ppm, the maximum fluoride level EPA now allows in the U.S., 7% had moderate and 23% severe dental fluorosis (approximately the same total fraction of objectionable fluorosis Dean noted in the 1930s in 4-ppm areas). Since this study was very limited, the percents of fluorosis may not be representative of the country as a whole. But if the fraction of children subject to moderate and severe dental fluorosis is anywhere near 1 or 2% in most areas with 1 ppm fluoride, a great many children are at risk of developing disfiguring degrees of fluorosis. And, of course, a large fraction of chil- dren in the 4-ppm areas would develop noticeable fluorosis. To avoid dental fluorosis, children under five years of age should drink water diluted with a fluoride -free source in communities with 4 ppm fluo- ride," NIDR's Horowitz says. There seems to be little controversy over what lev- els of fluoride in water cause moderate and severe dental fluorosis. Scientists disagree, however, about whether moderate to severe dental fluorosis is a health effect. This may seem like an academic issue, but under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA is required to set recommended maximum contaminant levels (RMCLs) Municipa► treatment plant in Gila Bend, Ariz., uses selective adsorption with activated alumina to reduce execufluoride level in drinking water _ ,it t t. 198a UEN that will prevent known or anticipated adverse health effects with an adequate margin of safety and to set the maximum contaminant levels as close to the RMCLs as is feasible. (The RMCLs are unenforceable goals; the maximum contaminant levels are enforceable standards.) A special committee convened by the Sur- geon General in 1983 to guide EPA in setting its fluoride standard wrote in the first draft of its report that moderate to severe dental fluorosis per se is a health effect. The second draft, presented to the Sur- geon General in September 1983, said that moderate to severe dental fluorosis is only a cosmetic effect -- the position long held by political advocates of 'fluori- dation. This rationale allowed EPA to ignore dental fluorosis in setting the RMCL for fluoride. Skeletal fluorosis One solidly established concept in environmental health is that the effects of toxic agents fall on a continuum of biological change, ranging from unde- tectable effects at the lowest levels of exposure to severe health damage at very high doses. As exposure to an agent increases, the first detectable effect may be a subtle biochemical change, such as a decrease in the activity of an enzyme. At somewhat higher doses, measurable changes in some physiological functions may occur, but these often are not linked to clear symptoms or adverse effects, and may not be harmful. But as dosage increases, adverse effects begin to appear —at first mild ones, then moderate ones, and finally severe ones. Most environmental health experts believe that the subtlest detectable effects —those with no outward symptoms, which are not clearly harmful —should be considered "precursors" of more serious effects. By this logic, people who show such subtle changes should be considered at risk for more serious effects if expo- sure continues. Skeletal fluorosis, a complicated illness caused by the accumulation of too much fluoride in the bones, has a number of stages. The first two stages are preclinical—that is, the patient feels no symptoms but changes have taken place in the body. In the first preclinical stage, biochemical abnormalities occur in the blood and in bone composition; in the second, histological changes can be observed in the bone in biopsies. Some experts call these changes harmful because they are precursors of more serious. condi- tions. Others say they are harmless. In the early clinical stage of skeletal fluorosis, symp- toms include pains in the bones and joints; sensations of burning, pricking, and tingling in the limbs; mus- cle weakness; chronic fatigue; and gastrointestinal dis- orders and reduced appetite. During this phase, changes in the pelvis and spinal column can be detected on x-rays. The bone has both a more prominent and more blurred structure. In the second clinical stage, pains in the bones become constant and some of the ligaments begin to calcify. Osteoporosis may occur in the long bones, and early symptoms of osteosclerosis (a condition in which the bones become more dense and have abnormal EPA union's attempt to join lawsuit opposing fluoride standard was rebuffed In an unprecedented move, the Envi- ronmental Protection Agency's union of professional employees, Local 2050 of the National Federation of Federal Employees, attempted to file an ami- cue curiae brief In a lawsuit against the agency itself in 1986. The lawsuit In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia was Initiated by the Natural Resources Defense Coun- cM. It charged that the agency had Ignored scientific evidence of adverse health effects when it set the recom- mended maximum contaminant level (PA4CL) for fluoride In drinking water at 4 ppm. The EPA union, authorized by law to represent 1100 Washington area sdWists, lawyers, and engineers, tried to join In the suit because Its mem- bers believed that the support docu- ments for the RMCL were unprofes- skxmi and an embarrassment to the agency. They charged that the fluoride health effects document, which was written by an outside contractor, had been skewed to meet the political goals rJO of requiring very few communities to remove fluoride from their drinking wa- ter and avoiding the suggestion that levels of fluoride found in the drinking water of some communities (between 2 and, 4 ppm) might cause adverse health effects. The union's brief cited many stud- ies showing health effects at 4 ppm that had been omitted from the docu- ment. In particular, it opposed EPA's labeling moderate to severe dental flu- orosis a mere cosmetic effect that therefore did not need to be protected against by the new standard. It also pointed out that some Individuals liv- ing In areas with 4 ppm natural fluo- ride in their drinking water would be at risk of developing crippling skeletal fluorosis. Without comment, the court refused to accept the amicus brief from the EPA union. In 1984, the South Carolina Depart- ment of Health & Environmental Con- trol filed suit against EPA to raise or eliminate the fluoride standard. South Carolina objected to the 4-ppm stan- These men in India have developed crippling skeletal fluorosis from fluoride in water dard because It did not want any com- munity to have to spend the consider- able amount of money —as much as $10 per month per household --required to remove fluoride from its drinking water. Both suits were thrown out of court In February 1987 by a unanimous de- cision of the three judges, Ruth B. Ginsburg, Robert Bork, and James Buckley, They determined that "EPA reasonably interpreted the statute, re- sponsibly evaluated the sometimes conflicting evidence in an extensive record," and "provided rational expla- nations for its determination. We there- fore uphold EPA's rule as within the bounds of the agency's permissible discretion," Jaqueline M. Warren, senior staff attorney at the Natural Resources De- fense Council, believes the court made the wrong decision. "I don't think EPA should be allowed to set less protec- tive standards In the absence of sig- nificant new evidence that would justi- fy that," she says. crystalline structure) are present. Bony spurs may also appear on the limb bones, especially around the knee, the elbow, and on the surface of tibia and ulna. In advanced skeletal fluorosis, called crippling skel- etal fluorosis, the extremities become weak and mov- ing the joints is difficult. The vertebrae partially Buse together, crippling; the patient. Most experts in skeletal fluorosis agree that inges- tion of 20 mg of fluoride a day for 20 years or more can cause crippling skeletal fluorosis. Doses as low as 2 to 5 mg per day can cause the preclinical and earlier clinical stages. The situation is complicated because the risk of skeletal fluorosis depends on more than the level of fluoride in the water. It also depends on nutritional status, intake of vitamin D and protein, absolute amount of calcium and ratio of calcium to magnesium in drink- ing water, and other factors. In parts of India, China, Africa, Japan, and the Middle East, large numbers of people have skeletal fluorosis from drinking naturally fluoridated wafter. In India about a million people have this disease. Most of the victims live in areas where the water fluoride level is 2 ppm or above, but some cases are found in communities with natural fluoride levels below I ppm. In the U.S., more than a dozen cases of skeletal flmor- osis have been reported. Some have occurred at high fluoride levels, others at levels lower than 4 ppm when August 1, 1988 C&EN 35 Special Report I[ Voices of opposition have been suppressed since early days of fluoridation Ever since the Public Health Service Sohan L. Manocha, now a lawyer, noted a number of antifluoridation re- (PHs) endorsed fluoridation in 1950, de- and Harold Warner, professor emeritus views that were equally biased. tractors have charged that PHS and the of biomedical engineering at Emory Uni- According to Robert J. Carton, an medleal and dental establishment, such versity medical school in Atlanta, re- environmental scientist at EPA, the sci- as the American Medical Association ceived a similar letter in 1974 from the entific assessment of fluoride's health (AMA) and the American Dental Associ- editor of AMA's Archives of Environ- risks written by the agency in 1985 ation (ADA), have suppressed adverse mental Health. The editor rejected a "omits 90% of the literature on muta- scierttiflc information about its effects. report Mancha and Warner submitted genicity, most of which suggests ffuo- Some of those who generally support on enzyme changes in monkeys who ride is a mutagen." fluoridation make similar charges. For were drinking fluoridated water because Several scientists in the U.S. and example, Zev Remba, the Washington of reviewers' comments such as: "I other countries who have done research Bureau editor of AGO Impact, the monthly would recommend that this paper not or written reports questioning the bene- publ cation of the Academy of General be accepted for publication at this time" fits of fluoridation or suggesting possi- Dentistry, wrote last year that support- because "this is a sensitive subject and ble health risks were discouraged by ers of fluoridation have had an "unwil- any publication in this area is subject their employers from publishing their Ik"ss to release any information that to interpretation by antifluoridation findings. After their paper had been would cast fluorides in a negative light," groups." rejected by the editor of Archives of and that organized dentistry has lost These papers were subsequently pub- Environmental Health, Manocha and "Its objectivity ---the ability to consider lished in prestigious British journals, Sci- Warner were told by the director of varying viewpoints together with scien- ence Progress (Oxford) and Histocheml- their department not to try to publish tifc data to reach a sensible conclusion." cal Journal. Many other authors have their findings In any other U.S. journal. The dozen or so scientists C&EN was reported similar difficulties publishing NIDR had warned the director that the able to contact who have done research original data that suggest adverse ef- research results would harm the cause suggesting negative effects from fluori- fects of fluoridated water. of fluoridation. Eventually, Manocha and dation agree on this aspect. They all Most authoritative scientific overviews Warner were granted permission to pub - say that fluoridation research is unusual of fluoridation have omitted negative in- lish their work in a foreign journal. in this respect. formation about it, even when the over- In 1982, John A. Colquhoun, former If the lifeblood of science is open sight is pointed out. Phillipe Grandjean, principal dental officer in the Depart - debate of evidence, scientific journals professor of environmental medicine at ment of Health in Auckland, New are the veins and arteries of the body Odense University in Denmark, wrote to Zealand, was told after writing a repot scientific. Yet journal eflitors often have the Environmental Protection Agency in that showed no benefit from fluoridedw refused for political reasons to publish June 1985 about a World Health Orga- in New Zealand that the department Information that raises questions about nization study on fluorine and fluorides: refused him permission to publish it. fluoridation. A letter from Bernard P. "Information which could cast any doubt In 1980, Brian Dementi, then toxicol- TIfNt, editor of the New York State Den- on the advantage of fluoride supple- ogist at the Virginia Department of tal Journal, written in February 1984 to ments was left out by the Task Group. Health, wrote a comprehensive report Geoffrey E. Smith, a dental surgeon from Unless I had been present myself, I on "Fluoride and Drinking Water" that Melbourne, Australia, says: "Your pa- would have found it hard to believe." suggested possible health risks from per ... was read here with interest," In his 1973 Ph.D. thesis on the fluori- fluoridation. This 36-page study has been but it is not appropriate for publication dation controversy, Edward Groth III, a purged from the department's library at this time because "the opposition to Stanford biology graduate student at that even though it is the only one the de- Woridation has become virulent again." time, concluded that the vast majority partment has prepared on the subject. The paper poses the question: Are peo- of reviews of the literature were de- According to current employees, no copy pie ingesting increasing amounts of flu- signed to promote fluoridation, not to exists anywhere in the department. oxide and can they do so with impunity? examine evidence objectively. froth also Spokesmen say the report was thrown 1 aggravating conditions were present, such as diabetes population drinks 4 L or more of water per day. or impaired kidney function. Therefore, about 3% of the people who live in areas In setting the recommended maximum contaminant where the water contains the natural fluoride level of level for fluoride in drinking water in 1986, EPA 4 ppm allowed by EPA —such as certain communities considered only crippling skeletal fluorosis as a health in Texas or South Carolina --are ingesting at least 16 effect and established little or no margin of safety, mg of fluoride a day, not including the fluoride they even for this disease. (A margin of safety is a differ- derive from other sources, such as toothpaste, food, or ence between the maximum contaminant level and air. the level at which health effects first occur in the Also, because a more or less constant percent of most susceptible individuals.) According to a Depart- intake is accumulated in bone, persons who consume ment of Agriculture survey, about 3% of the U.S. g mg a day for 50 years accumulate about the same � t, 19f1t ChEN Carton., EPA document omitted 90% of mutagenicity studies away because it was old but also say the department will be preparing anoth- er report on the subject soon. An ADA white paper written in 1979 states: "Dentists' nonparticipation [in fluoridation promotion] is overt neglect of professional responsibility." An ADA spokesperson says this is still the asso- clation's official policy. In recent years, several dentists who have testified on the antifluoridation side have been reprimanded by their state dental officers. ADA and PHS also have actively dis- couraged research into the health risks of fluoridation by attacking the work or the character of the investigators. As Part of their political campaign, they have over the years collected informa- tion on perceived antifluoridation scien- Usts, leaders, and organizations. News- paper articles about them are stored in ills, as are letters about them from various proponents of fluoridation. Little or no effort has been made to verity the accuracy of this information. It is used not only in efforts to counteract argu- ments of the anti fluoridationists, but also to discredit the work and objectivity of U.S. scientists whose research suggests possible health risks from fluoridation. One example is the false information about the late George L. Waldbott, found- er and chief of allergy clinics in four Detroit hospitals, that ADA disseminat- ed widely to discredit the validity of his research. Rather than deal scientifically with his work, ADA mounted a cam- paign of criticism based largely on a letter from a West German health offi- cer, Heinrich Hornung. The letter made a number of untrue statements, Includ- ing an allegation that Waldbott obtained his Information on patients' reactions to fluoride solely from the use of question- naires. ADA published Hornung's letter In its journal in 1956 and distributed a news release based on the letter. ADA later published Waldbott's response to this letter. But the widely disseminated original news release was not altered or corrected, and continued to be pub- lished in many places. As late as 1985, it was still being quoted. Once political attacks effectively portrayed him as "antifluoridation," Waldbott's work was largely ignored by physicians and scientists. In November 1962 and 1965, ADA Included in its journal long directories of Information about antifluoridation scien- tists, organizations, leaders, and others known to be opposed to fluoridation. Listed in alphabetical order were repu- table scientists, convicted felons, food faddists, scientific organizations, and the Ku Klux Klan. Information was given about each, Including quotes from news- paper articles, some of which contained false data. The Information was pub- lished for use by proponents of fluorida- tion in local fluoridation referenda. amount of fluoride in their bones as those who con- sume 20 mg a day for 20 years. Therefore, for people who drink 2 L or more per day of water with 4 ppm fluoride throughout their lives, there appears to be no margin of safety even for crippling fluorosis. In its regulations for most other drinking water contami- nants, EPA has included safety factors of 10 to 100 and has calculated intakes in terms of a lifetime --that is, 70 years instead of 20. Joseph A. Cotruvo, director of the criteria and stan- dards division of EPA's Office of Drinking Water, says John S. Small, information specialist at the National Institute of Dental Re- search, is quite willing to talk about the files he keeps on antifluoridation orga- nizations and their leaders. "Of course, we gather Information," he says. "These people are running all over the country opposing fluoridation. We have to know what they are up to." Consumer advo- cate Ralph Nader has a different view of this activity. He calls it an "Institu- tionalized witch-hunt." It is easy to understand why research on risks of fluoridation has never been more vigorously pursued. Most of the Individuals and. agencies Involved have been promoting fluoridation publicly for nearly 40 years. Research that suggests possible harm threatens them with a loss of face. For example, PHS has historically been the principal source of funds for fluoride research: but ever since June 1950. PHS has been official- ly committed to and responsible for pro- moting fluoridation. Thus, the agency has a fundamental conflict of interest. Colquhoun, now teaching the history of education at the University of Auck- land, offers another explanation for what appears to be the suppression of re- search. He notes that the editorial poli- cy of scientific journals has "genetally been to not publish material which ovortly opposes the fluoridation paradigm." Sci- entific journals employ a referee sys- tem of peer review. But when the over- whelming majority of experts in an Area from which the referees are selected are committed to the shared paradigm of fluoridation, Colquhoun notes, the sys- tem lends itself to preservation and Con- tinuation of the traditional belief that fluoridation is safe and effective. this results in "single-minded promotion, but poor -quality research, and an appadent Inability to flexibly reassess in the pdes- ence of unexpected new data," he says. the fact that so few people in the U.S. have actually developed crippling skeletal fluorosis indicates that fluoride levels found in U.S. water are safe and that there is therefore an observed margin of safety. But critics of EPA's standard speculate that there probably have been many more cases of fluorosis—evert crip- pling fluorosis—than the few reported in the litera- ture because most doctors in the U.S. have not studied the disease and do not know how to diagnose it. Those who ingest much less than 20 mg of fluoride per day may still be at risk of developing less severe August 1, 1988CAEN 37 1 1 1 Sttsl Report Most of the largest U.S. cities have fkioridated drinking water Population fluoridation Date City (thousands) status Instituted New York City 7263 Artificial 1965 Los Angeles 3259 None Chicago 3010 Artificial 1956 Mauston 1729 Natural/artificial 1982 PhBadelphla 1643 Artificial 1954 Detroit 1086 Artificial 1967 San Diego 1015 Discontinued 1954 1952 pia. 1004 Artificial 1966 San Antonio 914 None Plimmix 894 None Baltimore 753 Artificial 1952 San Francisco 749 Artificial 1952 k"Honapolls 720 Artificial 1951 San Jose 712 None Memphis 653 Artificial 1970 Washington, D.C. 626 Artificial 1952 Jacksonville 610 Natural MNwaukee 605 Artificial 1953 Beaten 574 Artificial 1978 Columbus 566 Artificial 1973 New Orleans 554 Artificial 1974 Cleveland 536 Artificial 1956 Denver 505 Artificial 1954 El Paso 492 Natural 81111411111111111 486 Artificial 1969 Nashville -Davidson 474 Artificial 1953 Oklahoma City 443 Artificial 1954 Kansas City (MO.) 441 Artificial 1981 Fort Worth 430 Artificial 1965 SL Louis 426 Artificial 1955 senees: Bureau of the Census. National institute of Dental Research stages of skeletal fluorosis, such as preclinical forms or the subcrippling clinical stages. In its final report, the Surgeon General's panel said that radiologic changes have been found in bone when fluoride ex- posure has been about 5 mg per day. Nearly all of those drinking water containing 4 ppm of fluoride and about 3% of the more than 124 million people whose water contains only I ppm would have intakes as high as this. It is not known, however, what frac- tion of those with low-level radiologic changes would suffer joint pains or other clinically obvious adverse health effects. In his landmark study of skeletal fluo- rosis in cryolite workers in the 1930s, the Danish scientist Kai Roholm found that some of those with stage I of clinical skeletal fluorosis suffered joint pains and stiffness. Although skeletal fluorosis has been studied in- tensely in other countries for more than 40 years, virtually no research has been done in the U.S. to determine how many people are afflicted witk- the H AVAt 1, 1111161111 C&EN earlier stages of the disease, particularly the preclini- cal stages. Because sonic of the clinical symptoms mimic arthritis, the first two clinical phases of skeletal fluorosis could be easily misdiagnosed. Skeletal fluo- rosis is not even discussed in most medical texts un- der the effects of fluoride; indeed, a number of texts say the condition is almost nonexistent in the U.S. Even if a doctor is aware of the disease, the early stages are difficult to diagnose. The possibility that fluoride might cause skeletal abnormalities in children's bones is of particular con- cern. In its April 1983 draft report, the Surgeon Gen- eral's committee wrote that moderate and severe den- tal fluorosis in children may be acconipanied by skel- etal changes. Although this statement was omitted from the final report in September 1983, the commit- tee did urge more research into the skeletal effects of fluoride, particularly in children. It wrote: "The ef- fects of various levels of fluoride intake on rapidly developing bone in young children are not well un- derstood. Also, the modifying effects of total intake, length of exposure, other nutritional factors, and de- bilitating illness are not well understood." Since the committee's report was written, PHS and EPA have undertaken no research in this area. PHS has conducted several studies that it claims show that fluoride levels found in U.S water supplies have had no clearly adverse effects on bones. But the majority of these studies either included a study pop- ulation too small to detect rare effects or excluded people who would be most likely to suffer from skele- tal fluorosis, such as those with kidney disease. EPA's approach to subtle, preclinical effects of fluo- ride on the skeleton differs from its usual approach to other environmental agents. For instance, when EPA assessed the health hazards of lead, it made an ex- traordinary effort to connect the observable effects of low-level exposure (inhibition of certain blood en- zymes) with the known adverse effects of slightly higher exposure (decreased synthesis of hemoglobin, anemia, and possible neurotoxic effects). When it set its standard for lead in air, EPA argued that to prevent more serious effects, it needed to limit the more sub- tle biochemical changes that lead was provoking in millions of children. By contrast, EPA's assessment of fluoride in water took an almost opposite tack. By defining the most severe known hazard, crippling skeletal fluorosis, as the only effect it was concerned with preventing, EPA dismissed all degrees of fluoride -induced changes in bones less drastic than crippling fluorosis as not being health concerns. Because fluoride causes denser bones (osteosclero- sis), a number of researchers have compared fluoridat- ed and nonfluoridated areas to see if the incidence and severity of osteoporosis is lower in fluoridated areas. A small number of studies in the past 25 years have reported a lower incidence of hip fractures in areas with fluoridated water, compared with nearby areas with low -fluoride water. For example, a recent report, comparing two towns in Finland, prompted widespread media stories. that fluoridation is benefi- cial to the bones of the elderly, as well as to teeth. But a larger number of well -designed studies have found no evidence of a beneficial effect on osteoporosis. However, some of the profluoridation literature states as a fact that fluoridation will help prevent osteoporosis. Kidney disease Two areas are of concern in regard to fluoride and kidneys. First, a fairly substantial body of research indicates that people with kidney dysfunction are at increased risk of developing some degree of skeletal fluorosis. Second, a small and inconclusive amount of research suggests that fluoride may actually cause or aggravate kidney disease. D. Raja Reddy of the Gandhi Medical College in India claims, for example, that "patients suffering from chronic kidney diseases and those with trans- planted kidneys do excrete fluoride, though in small quantities, but they are more vulnerable to osteo- fluorosis and even neurological complications than others." In its final report, the Surgeon General's 1983 committee notes, "As renal function declines, due either to diseases or with aging, plasma and bone fluoride content both increase." The National Kidney Foundation in its "Position Paper on Fluoridation-1980" also expresses concern about fluoride retention in kidney patients. It cau- tions doctors "to monitor the fluoride intake of pa- tients with chronic renal impairment," but stops short of recommending the use of fluoride -free drinking water for all patients with kidney disease. It does recommend, however, that dialysis patients use fluoride -free water for their treatments. Studies show that children with moderately impaired renal function (su-ch as those who have diabetes insipidus), are at some risk of skeletal changes from consumption of fluoridated water, even if the fluoride level is no higher than 1 ppm. A number of research- ers have found high concentrations of fluoride in the bones of patients who suffer from kidney disease and have found symptoms of skeletal fluorosis in some of these patients. However, there has been no systematic survey of people with impaired kidney function to determine how many actually suffer a degree of skele- tal fluorosis that is clearly detrimental to their health. Several animal studies suggest that fluoride may have direct adverse effects on the kidneys. For in- stance, cytological and enzyme changes have been found in the kidneys of squirrel monkeys drinking water with 5 ppm fluoride. It is not known how the changes affect kidney function in monkeys, nor is it known whether humans would suffer similar changes from relatively low levels of fluoride in drinking water. Impaired renal function, however, has been reported to be more common in areas of endemic skeletal fluorosis. Hypersensitivity Just as a few people react idiosyncratically to almost anything, some people may have adverse reactions to fluoride whether contained in pills or water. Some individuals seem to be hypersensitive to fluoride pills Chemicals used to fluoridate water are by-products of fertilizer production Consumption Size of for fluoridation, community Ions per yew served Now made Nydrofluosilicic 80,000 All sizes By-product of phosotaft acid fertilizer manufacture Sodium 60,000 Medium Neutralizing hydrafluorMlcic ellicofiuoride and large acid with sodium ca-hr, W Sodium fluoride 3,000 Small Neutralizing hydraW slNdc acid with sodium tw*oxkb or drops containing I mg or less as well as to fluoride toothpaste. The 1983 edition of the "Physicians Desk Reference" states: "In hypersensitive individuals, flu- orides occasionally cause skin eruptions, such as atopic dermatitis, eczema, or urticaria. Gastric distress, head- ache, and weakness have also been reported. These hypersensitivity reactions usually disappear promptly after discontinuation of the fluoride." (This informa- tion was omitted from later editions of the reference.) Many of those who agree that some people are hypersensitive to fluoride pills, drops, or mouth rinses deny that anyone could be hypersensitive to fluori- dated water, even though just as much or more fluo- ride is contained in an average person's daily intake of such water (the average water intake of 1 to 2 L has 1 to 2 mg of fluoride) as is contained in the standard pills (0.5 to 1 mg). Some doctors call such hypersensitive reactions al- lergies. The American Academy of Allergy, however, defines allergies very narrowly —"quantitatively ab- normal responses mediated by specific immunologic mechanisms, and therefore by specific antibodies or by certain sensitized cells (lymphocytes)." According to this definition, the academy says, allergies to fluo- rides do not exist. Hans Moolenburgh, a Dutch physician who has studied hypersensitive reactions to fluoride, believes the reactions can be explained as effects of a toxic agent rather than as allergies. In large doses, everyone reacts to fluoride. A small fraction of the population, he says, reacts to much lower levels of fluoride. The late George L. Waldbott, founder and chief of allergy clinics in four Detroit hospitals and noted antifluoridation activist and author, reported treating at least 500 patients who he concluded reacted nega- tively to fluoridated water. The symptoms included muscular weakness, chronic fatigue, excessive thirst, headaches, skin rashes, joint pains, digestive upsets, tingling in the extremities, and loss of mental acuity. Waldbott used double-blind tests to determine wheth- er fluoride was the cause of symptoms in many of his cases. In each of these patients, the symptoms disap- peared when the fluoride was taken away without the patient's knowledge and reappeared when it was giv- en again, but not with the administration of other .possible agents. Augwt 1, 1988 Cr IIN 39 r 1 1 0 Special Report Other investigators have reported similar cases. Reuben Feltman and George Kosel, then researchers at Passaic General Hospital in New Jersey, found that 1% of their subjects, who were children and pregnant women, reacted adversely to daily pills containing 1.0 to 1.2 mg of fluoride. The reactions, which affected the skin and gastrointestinal and nervous systems, disappeared when the fluoride was discontinued with- out the patients' knowledge. Moolenburgh, G. W. Grimbergen, and a number of other Dutch doctors performed double-blind experi- ments on patients who became ill after fluoridation began in the Netherlands. By using coded bottles of drinking water, some fluoridated and some not, the physicians showed that the symptoms were caused by fluoride, rather than some other factor. Moreover, a report by the British Royal College of Physicians states that some patients receiving 9 mg of fluoride per day for osteoporosis suffered adverse side effects. This is about the same intake some would have in areas where the water fluoride level is 2 ppm. Because the number of studies has been small, it is not known with certainty what fraction of the popula- tion may be hypersensitive to fluoride. Since all of the reported symptoms can be caused by other factors, reactions to fluoride could go undiagnosed unless a phy- sician was looking specifically for fluoride sensitivity. Enzyme and mutagenic effects Sodium fluoride is used in many in -vitro studies to block the action of enzymes, in part because it can interfere with so many different enzymes. One way the fluoride ion serves as an enzyme inhibitor in the lab is by acting on the GTP-binding proteins (or G-proteins). Fluoride ion also may disrupt enzymes by forming strong hydrogen bonds with amides. Fluoride switches off an enzyme by attacking its weakest links —the delicately balanced network of hydrogen bonds surrounding the active site. In some enzymes, the fluoride ion attaches itself to the atom at the heart of the enzymes d then disrupts the active 40 August 1, 1988 C&EN site by attracting groups that can form strong hydro- gen bonds to itself. Eventually, this inactivates the. enzyme by changing its molecular conformation. Because enzymes mediate most of the biochemical processes essential to life, any environmental agent that can affect a wide range of enzymes could, at least in theory, have a wide variety of effects on an organ- ism's health. For that reason alone, potential effects of fluoride on enzymes are of great interest. In addition, as has been discussed earlier, effects on enzymes are often the first detectable biological changes produced in an organism exposed to a toxic agent, just as en- zyme changes in the heme biosynthetic pathway pre- cede the onset of lead -induced anemia. Detailed knowl- edge of fluoride's effects on a number of human en- zymes could lead to an array of sensitive tests for the earliest signs of possible harm from excessive intake of this element and more precise identification of individuals who are at risk. Studies on enzyme preparations in test tubes, how- ever, don't necessarily predict what will happen in living humans. In at least 11 in -vivo animal studies, fluoride has been shown to influence enzyme activi- ty. In some tests, enzyme activity was depressed; in others, it was stimulated. In addition, one study indi- cates a transient decrease in human serum enzyme activity associated with the advent of water fluorida- tion. But there have been few other studies to mea- sure the effects of typical levels of fluoride intake on enzyme activity in people. Some scientists believe that interference with en- zyme activity is the major mechanism by which fluo- ride exerts physiological effects. Certain changes in enzyme activity can be minor, easily repaired by the body. But ,others could be the first signs of more serious alterations that would take place with contin- ued exposure to fluoride. Just as the fluoride ion may disrupt enzymes with its ability to form strong hydrogen bonds, it may also disrupt DNA by interfering with its hydrogen bond- ing. The evidence for this mechanism consists of the- oretical calculations, however, and some scientists, such as George R. Martin, chief of the laboratory of developmental biology and anomalies at NIDR, do not find it at all convincing. A great many lab tests have been performed to measure the possible mutagenicity of the fluoride ion. The results are contradictory and often very confus- ing. Some of the positive mutagenicity tests involve very high concentrations of fluoride ion, so high that they would not be found anywhere in the human body. Others involve levels comparable to those in drinking water. However, the important consideration is not fluoride levels found in drinking water, but levels found in the human body. Geoffrey E. Smith, dental surgeon from Melbourne, Austcalia, says that when bones lose fluoride, localized high concentra- tions may result. For example, in 1982, Aly H. Mohamed and Mary E. Chandler of the University of Missouri in Kansas City reported that 1 to 200 ppm fluoride in drinking water _ induced changes in a dose -dependent manner in bone marrow cell chromosomes and spermatocytes of living mice. In 1978, Danuta Jachimczak of the Pomeranian Medical Academy in Szezecin, Poland, showed that flu- oride levels as low as 1 ppm caused changes in the chromosomes of human leucocytes in vitro. Even if all the mutagenicity tests were positive, this would not prove fluoride is a mutagen in humans. But scientists consider a chemical a more likely mutagen if several types of lab tests are positive. John R. Bucher of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says that tests in his lab show sodium fluoride mutagenic for cultured lymphoma cells de- rived from mice. He notes that a number of similar studies have been published by other investigators. Because most carcinogens are also mutagens, evidence of mutagenicity also bears on the issue of fluoride's potential for carcinogenicity. Bucher's results do not prove sodium fluoride is a carcinogen, but do ."point out the need to test the chemical in the two-year rodent bioassay, which we are doing," he explains, Because he believes that epidemiological studies show that fluoride has no effect on birth defects and cancer, Martin says he is not concerned about the positive mutagenicity studies. John S. Small, informa- tion specialist at NIDR who has a similar view of the epidemiology studies, calls the mutagenicity question a "used -up issue," Very little work has been done on fluoride's poten- tial mutagenicity in humans. In one study involving only six patients receiving fluoride treatment for os- teoporosis, inhibition of DNA repair was observed in one ,patient. But no firm conclusions can be drawn from such limited research, and more intensive re- search simply has not been pursued. Birth defects If the fluoride ion is a mutagen, it may be capable of causing birth defects in humans. Few studies have been done in this area. During the 1950s, lonel Rapaport, a researcher at the Psychiatric Institute of the University of Wisconsin who specialized in the epidemiology of mental disorders, found that babies born in areas of North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, and Wisconsin with natural fluoride in drinking water had twice the incidence of Down's syndrome as those born in fluoride -free areas. However, a few more recent surveys have shown a smaller or no relation between water fluoridation and Down's syndrome. In 1976, J. David Erickson, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control, looked at the rates of overall birth defects in the fluoridated and unfluori- dated counties around Atlanta and also at national birth defect data supplied by the National Cleft Lip & Palate Intelligence Service (NCLPIS). Like Rapaport, he recorded a higher rate of Down's syndrome births —v/u - acurr, wno carer necame head oI NIUR, examines child during early years of fluoridation in Grand Rapids, Mich. among younger mothers in the fluoridated areas around Atlanta, but he found no substantial overall differ- ences in the birth defect rates that form a consistent pattern for the metropolitan Atlanta and the NCLPIS data. However, many of the mothers in the Atlanta area counties had been exposed to fluoridation for only a few years and the NCLPIS data indicated sub- stantial underreporting of birth defects. Clearly, there is need for more work in this area. Cancer Two types of research have been done to deterriiine if fluoride causes cancer —lab studies of animals �nd human epidemiology studies. Neither kind of research has shown clearly that fluoride is a carcinogen] in animals or humans. But the studies have not b en extensive enough to show that it clearly is not a carcinogen. A few animal bioassays on fluoride in the 1050s produced contradictory and inconclusive evidence) on the ion's potential to cause or accelerate cancer., In 1977, Congress requested that the National Institutes of Health conduct large-scale animal tests of fluoride for carcinogenicity. In the first chronic test, cert�in rats in both the control and dosed groups becannO ill and died at an early age, probably because their feted, highly purified to remove fluoride, was deficient in certain essential trace elements. The study on )60 mice and rats was done over again with a differ nt feed. Results are scheduled to be available in I= Because of its well -established effects on many On- zymes in vitro, Groth suggests that fluoride also should probably be tested for cocarcinogenicity (ability to Oct as a promoter of cancer) in animals. But no such research is now under way. Reprints of this C&EN special report will be available in black and white at $5.00 per copy. For 10 or more copies, $3.00 per copy. Send requests to: Distribution, Room 210, American Chemical Society, 1 155--16th St , N W., Washington, D.C. 20036, On orders of $20 or less, please send check or money order with request. Aourra 1, 141101 CAI N 41 1 Sp�clal Report Croth: science cannot say how much uncertainty we should tolerate Cancer epidemiology studies are probably the most controversial issue in the fluoride debate. In the 1950s, PHS did some general mortality studies of crude overall death rates from all causes. It found no excess mortali- ty from cancer or other causes in naturally fluoridated areas, compared with areas without fluoride in water. In 1977, biochemist John Yiamouyiannis, president of the Safe Water Foundation (a citizens group opposed to fluoridation), and Dean Burk, retired after working for 35 years as a biochemist at the National Cancer Institute, published a study comparing cancer mortality rates from the 10 largest U.S. cities with fluoridated water with mortality rates from 10 of the largest cities with nonfluoridated water. Before 1952, when fluoridation had not yet begun in most of these cities, the cancer death rates rose together. After 1952, the death rates for people over 45 in the cities with nonfluoridated water were 4 to 5% lower than those for the cities with fluoridated water. In England, Sir Richard Doll and Leo Kinlen of Oxford University and Peter D. Oldham and D. John Newell of the Royal Statistical Society at about the same time completed studies that show no excess of cancer mortality in those same cities in the U.S. with fluoridated water. The National Research Council (NRC) reviewed this discrepancy in 1977 and concluded that the conflicting results could be explained in large part by the differ- ent data sets and different analytical approaches used by the investigators. According to the NRC analvsis, the margin of possible error in the most sensitive cancer study is about three cancer deaths per 100,000 people or 4000 possible excess or fewer cancer deaths per year among the 130 million individuals drinking fluoridated water in the U.S. A June article in the Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science by attorney John R. Graham, Burk, and Pierre J. Morin, former scientific adviser for the minister of environment in Quebec, also reviews this controversy. It concludes that, compared with the unfluoridated cities, there is an excess of 20 to 30 cancer deaths per 100,000 people who live in the major fluoridated cities of the U.S. for at least 15_ to 20 years. Several investigators have looked for a more specif- ic relationship between stomach cancer and fluorida- tion. The hypothesis is that fluoride would be more likely to cause stomach cancer than any other type because fluoride in the stomach forms hydrofluoric acid, a powerful irritant that is mutagenic in several in -vitro lab tests. In 1978, CDC's. Erickson, after correcting for age, race, and sex, found the death rate from cancer of the digestive system was 9% higher in cities with fluoridated water. However, when he subtracted all subjects with Asian and Hispanic sur- names and corrected for education and population density, the excess disappeared. The Knox report, a comprehensive review of most fluoride cancer studies that was completed in 1985 by the Royal College of Physicians in England, concludes that there is no convincing evidence that cancer death rates are higher in areas with fluoridated water. Thus, as with most environmental agents that have been studied for their effects on cancer, the results for fluoride are still inconclusive. Values influence the choice Even if all evidence from fluoride research indicat- ed that the risks are slight, not everyone would agree that it is proper to fluoridate water supplies. Obvious- ly, there is never enough time or money to investigate all the scientific questions, and some research results will always be equivocal. And, at least in environ- mental health, it is, of course, impossible for science to establish anything with absolute certainty. The decision to fluoridate a community's water or not boils down to a matter of values. Scientific evi- dence can make the choice more clearcut, more ratio- nal, but the choice can't be made purely on the basis of scientific evidence. So long as there is uncertainty about risk from fluoridation, some people will not want to accept that risk. And others who favor fluori dation will demand proof of harm beyond a reason- able doubt before they reject it. According to Grath, "A scientific assessment cannot say what degree of adverse effects is acceptable in return for the expected benefits.... It cannot say how much uncertainty we should tolerate in estimates of hazards when more than 100 million people are exposed to lifelong inges- tion of fluoridated water. Those decisions are value judgments, and scientists' values are no better than everyone else's." If the risks could be shown to be minuscule beyond a reasonable doubt, it still might make no sense to fluoridate water supplies if the benefits are also small. Perhaps the best approach is, as Grath suggests, not to make the issue whether to fluoridate public water supplies or not. Such an approach allows for no com- promise: A water supply is either fluoridated or it is not. Perhaps a better question for policy makers, sci- entists, and citizens to address is: "What is the best way to promote dental health?" he says. Fluoridation might well be part of the answer, Grath suggests, but communities should simultaneously examine the pros and cons of a variety of other approaches, too. That way, the characteristic all -or -nothing, fight -to -the -finish political battle over fluoridation might some day truly become a historical curiosity. o 42 August 1, IM CALM _ FLUORIDATION Look Ma, No Cavities! David O. Woodbury, author of twenty- two boos on science for the layman, graduated from M.I.T. as an electrical engineer, but as spen Tt is life writ- ing, lecturing, teach- ing, and interpret- ing the amazing technology of mod- ern times. He has appeared in the Reader's Dieest steadily for the past twenty-five years, and in many other national magazines. ■ FLUORINE, Peck's Bad Boy of the chemical underworld, made the atomic bomb possible. The only successful way to free the tiny quantities of fissionable Uranium-235, buried in the inert mass of its parent, U-238, was to force ura- nium hexafluoride gas through many acres of porous barriers, gradually con- centrating the precious element. In three Years of continuous battle, enough U- 235 was finally collected to put an end to the Second World War. "Hex," they called the vicious stuff, and "Hex" took its toll, rotting out barriers, eating piping and pumps, creating a worse hazard than radiation. Today, without a thought, 70 million Americans swallow a daily dose of so- dium fluoride with their drinking wa- ter. Linked to sodium, fluorine is not as violent as "Hex," but violent enough in n high concentrations to e t e stan dard rat and roach killer and a first-rate tici e. Yet t isfluorile,73erte tua y by government edict into drink- ing water, in the proportion of 1.2 parts per million (ppm), is declared by the U.S. Public Health Service to be "utter- ly safe." Every chemist knows that such utter safety is at best illusory. Nowhere is fluorine safe; nowhere is it required by nature in living things . . , though plants, animals, and people collect it willy-nilly, risking a bout with the dis- ease called "fluorosis." Science has long been wary of fluorine; its salts are poisons (try and buy one at a drug- store). Until 1940 the Public Health Service warned against water contami- nated with the stuff. The Food and Drug Administration still rules all fluo- rine drugs prescription items, though it long ago lost its jurisdiction over treated drinking water. f In 1957, T. R. Camp, Chairman of e American Sanitary Engineering In- tersociety Board, Published a table of eleven poisons and theirto & rso safe-) . t in human consurn tion. uon was the only one wit a safer actor o zeroLmeaning that it_ is d_ angerous even in minute amounts. Nevertheless, luo- ride is running through the water mains of thousands of American communities today. How could such a fearful mis- take have been made? f I BACK IN 1939, G. J. Cox, a biochemist at the Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh, accepted a commission from the Alu- minum Company America to in a �uced by aluminum pot lines. So use for the sodium fluoride wastes ro` Some fifty other industries had fluoride dis- posal problems, too; many were be- LJ I- I �J deviled by damage suits arising from the noxious effects of the po-son on crops and livestock. Steel, br-ck, fer- tilizer, tile, and ceramics plants, oil re- fineries, metal smelters, and many in- stallations of the Atomic Energy Com- mission were involved. The cast of elimination of the chemical was pro- hibitive. Couldn't this by-product be E15,to rofitable use instead? Uox found that it could, and very ply. Why not dissolve the stuff in drinking ht water. Fluoride mi be specifically required for healthy teeth, ,k►e thought. Cox was without med-cal ackground and had made no clinical researches on its behavior in the body. El'u-t his idea rang the bell. A rash of company largess to eager scientists soon brought good news. The discovery would be a perfect shortcut to glowing, everlasting teeth for all. And absolutely safe! It would be, the promoters ef- fused, "the greatest health measure of modern times." Alcoa began advertising fluorides for water treatment. Public Health officials jumped on the bandwagon in a hurry. In 1945, the city of Newburgh, New York, was "in- vited" to try out mass fluoridation, using untouched Kingston, nearby, as its "control" for comparison. The test would last ten years. But, even half -way through, the experts couldn't wait to announce a sweeping success. New - burgh's younger children, erupting per- manent teeth under fluoridation, were free of cavities —a score of 100 percent. Soon after, cavities began to show up; but the score, compared to Kingston's, was still sixty-five percent better. The news spread far and wide. This mar- velous result for the price of one candy bar per year! Similar miracles were re- ported from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Brantford, Ontario, which had joked the fluoride -for -health parade. QMeanwhile Oscar Ewing, an Alcoa arneyt, resigned to become head boy for the United States Public Health Ser- f vice (U.S.P.H.S�and started fluorida- :ing in earnest. Surgeon Gencral Lec n- ird Scheele joined the shouting, hail- ing this happy scheme as "a mass ap- plication method for controlling non- infectious diseases ... far more serious diseases than dental decay." The prin- ciple of mass medication had been dis- covered. , AfiFie end of the ten-year stretch no complete figures had yet been published. But there were still level heads in the Department of Health at Passaic, New Jersey. There Dr. James G. Kerwin asked the Bureau of Health Service at the University of the State of New York for final Newburgh -Kingston results. The Bureau Chief answered with un- expected frankness: Almost fifty per- cent more "dental defects" in New- burgh than in Kingston. Passaic de- cided against fluoridation. Teaming up with the American Dental Association, U.S.P.H.S. jumped into the breach, spreading contempt upon all unbe- lievers. Cries of "Crackpots, malcon- tents, people with something else to sell," rang through the land. The fact that Newburgh's molars were begin- ning to go, was not mentioned. But the Passaic thing made the Congressional Record. In 1952, the Delaney Subcommittee of the House of Representatives looked into fluoridation, decided solidly against it when they heard independent scien- tists express shocked disapproval at the slipshod character of the experiments so far. Here and there, too, a few dentists and doctors stood up and objected. A trickle of independent fluoride research began in laboratories. It was reported that Newburgh's adult health was poor- er than Kingston's. Nor were dentists leaving the fluoridated towns in droves. K. K. Paluev, an alert General Elec- tric engineer, studied the Newburgh figures and showed that fluoride only postponed tooth decay for a couple of years. The zealots had made a statistical AMERICAN OPINION blunder by comparing children of t same age in the two towns. Natural this had made fluoridated teeth ' loo better at first. By the third year, Kin ston was rapidly catching up. At t ten-year mark, Paluev proved, Ne burgh's enforced medication was d stroying the kids' teeth wholesale "This," Paluev observed, "is the greate con game of all time!" The American Dental Associatio (A'D.A), against fluoridation in 1 was now bei I. wn i.n by the PubTi H_ealt tF_ServIce. with 'tie IacteA s`-___ em saries regularly sitting in on dents meetings, subtly running the show The dentists were starting a clamor fo universal fluoridation. The Harvard and University of Rochester dental schools quickly jumped into the van- guard. American Medical Association bigwies joined the combine, refusing to publish technical articles by fluorida- tion opponents. `'Grant _mone ured m tom an coffers u n scientists �"}�2-Say' the lt� was carefully d9misd thos—who didn't. Scientists never before refused publication for genuine research had suddenly become segregated.��A.D-A.'s Ethics Commi tee"now issued countrywide orders t member dentists to express no deroga- tory opinions to an one. When Detroit was subverted to medicated water_n 1965, every member_ of the District Den- tal Society was assessed_tw_enty _dollars toward support of the campaign, on pain of expulsion. This was a bit too much. The touch, being in violation of federal laws forbidding tax-free organ- izations to enter politics, stirred much resentment. This case also made the Congressional Record. Although the American Medical As- sociation's technical committees were warning against mass fluoridation as late as 1957, the Association's House of Delegates hastened to pass a loosely worded resolution accepting fluorida- tion "in principle." The bureaucrats in MARCH, 1969 he the U.S. Public Health Service grabbed 1k this as a full green light from the most powerful medical ,group in the world. $- Ask any ordinary citizen today why he he is for fluoridation and he'll tell you the w- organized doctors and dentists say it's e okav and that's enough for him. Truth . is, the A.M.A. has never been certain enough of it to make an unequivocal en- dorsement. n At any rate, from Newburgh's modest start in 1945, over one-third of all men, C. women. and children in the U.S.A. have the fluoride habit today, and a 1 great many of them don't even know they've ,got it. The lure of a fancied r panacea is irresistible. Virtually every big city is in the fold and smaller com- munities join up every day. A handful have tried the medication and backed out, only to be harassed until they re- turn to "common sense." The bureau- crats of the U.S.P.H.S. and the belliger- ent A.D.A. are gaining all the time. So are the makers of fluoridation equip- ment and the suppliers of the once -em- barrassing salts. The "fluoride boon," it I s ed. But the muted mutter of dissent has 'not stilled. Former Sur eon General Luther TertY_has sti ened�,�a�gainst it; here and [Mere courageous doctors suc as the well-known Detroit allergist, G. L. Waldbott, fight on, Jacking r�ic"E bats and invective. So does Dr. F. B. Exner, Seattle radiol' t, who' has jest brought_ suit against what Waldbott calls "The Titans," for libeling him in • . ` A.M.A.'s popularized publication, To- day's Health. And behind such crusad- ers come the expanding ranks of pro- fessionals such as the American -Asso- ciation of Ph sicians and Sur eons, and brilliant young Dr. Albert Bur stahler, of the De artmeni oTC�iemistr , nt_ verssity of Kansas. T ese people are rap- idly gettintired of the monstrous conspiracy which seeks to strangle them and their protests. They are amazed and appalled., J-1 1 P� �J u 1 II DISPARAGEMENT of anybody on the Opposition side is the standard weapon when flying wedges of troops invade a town chosen as the next victim. Months beforethe fanned deadline for flue- ridation, local doctors and dentists are ap�roache_ an to � [liar luoridation is "no longer debatable in- the_ scientific. community." Most practitioners sur- render, usually won over by the flood of propaganda, and the fear of being discredited in the community. The tac- tics are identical with many other gov- ernment pressure routines. Derision, downgrading, and insult are never lack- ing. The newspapers are quickly taken into the invaders' confidence, fed lush stories of the Valhalla fluoridation will create. Mainly they go along, flailing men like Waldbott who stand up to be counted. Such men are "misinformed." At the same time, strenuous effort is made to avoid a popular vote. A few states require it; U.S.P.H.S. boasts that only five percent of the people in the others get the chance. The song goes on and on. "You don't mind your water being chlorinated. Fluoridation is the same idea." "Fluo- rine is a mineral nutrient, essential to the human body. We are merely ad- justing it to the optimum value. "These people [the antisl are scientific primitives; uninformed, stupid, dis- honest." The above from none other than Dr. F. J. Stare, a Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. And this from Dr. C. H. Patton, President of the American Dental Association: "Absolutely safe ... not debatable." One of the generals in this assault upon scientific sanity was Dr. Frank Bull, former Dental Director of the State of Wisconsin. He's dead now, though his word still prevails. Back in 1951, at the Fourth Annual Conference Of State Dental Directors, the U.S.P.H.S., and the Children's Bureau of the Department of Hcalth,-Educa- tion and Welfare, Dr. Bull read the riot act, as follows : What are we waiting for? Why don't we go ahead and fluoridate water sup plies? ... We dare not let these people [the Opposition] write a whole new standard for us when rue write our dental program.... We tell them this, that one part per mil- lion dental fluorosis brings about the most beautiful teeth anyone ever had. This toxicity question is a difficult one. I can't give you the answer on it. ... Lay off it altogether, rust pass it over. ... "We know there is abso- lutely no effect other than reducing decay," you say and go on.... Invite your aldermen and mayor. Have your water man there . . . don't fail to push community responsibility. . . . Your local dental society, the PTA, any of them —this is their BABY. They have got to get an ordinance passed. Let me tell you the PTA is a honey when it comes to fluorida- tion.... Give them all you've got. ... And keep fluoridation from go- ing to a referendum! Well, that was the blueprint. Dr. Bull was pushed, worried. If the Opposition had clobbered fluorides then, mass med- ication would have been done for. But nobody seemed to care. Meanwhile, the fluoridation crowd took Dr. Bull's ad- vice to heart, and hired the well-known opinion maker, Edward L. Bernays, to "engineer public consent." And en- gineer it he did, according to his own well -tested philosophy: The conscious and intelligent ma- rtipudation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses must be done by experts . . . the invisible rulers who control the destinies of millions. . . . A united leadership must eliminate lags by the engineer- ing of content. You must gain their AMERICAN OPINION consent to your health programs through many types of persuasion. Public health officers cannot afford the professional modesty professed by physicians.... A redefinition of ethics is necessary. The subject mat- ter of the propaganda need not neces- sarily be true. And there you have the modus oper- andi of all bureaucracy. In the twenty- four years since Newburgh took the Plunge, fluoridation has been accepted as a medical necessity by most people. Few fear it because fluorine, working craftily, has not yet shown its full hand. Millions believe it is utterly harmless; millions more concede that a slight mot- tling of the teeth is the inoffensive price to pay. The Promoters are ierene; their arrogance, their continuous in- sistence that the practice is safe and that it does help and beautify the teeth, their highhanded treatment of all dis- senters —all indicate the deliberate Big Lie. Well, we shall soon know, as fluo- rine takes over. For neither public health officials nor dentists can change the path of a single fluorine ion once it enters the human body. Only nature can do that. Dr. Robert Kehoe, outstanding scien- tist and head of the famous Kettering Laboratory, jointly owned by Ethyl Gas, Frigidaire, and DuPont, says: "The question of the public safety of fluoridation is nonexistent from the viewpoint of medical science." Trouble is, Kehoe is not a medical doctor, and he does owe allegiance to interested parties. Today, all over the world, many doctors of medicine strongly disagree with him. Their first National Svmpo- sium, including many concerned lay- men, was held in Washington in Feb- rugry_of 1966,, providing a public forum for physicians, dentists, and scientists of the highest reputation. Categorically, they disagreed with Kehoe, indicating that more and more inforrned specialists are coming to believe that the Promot- ers of fluoridation are wrong. Dead rog. wn_.� ._ III THE DAY of "kept" science, so far as fluoride is concerned, is ending, and the research on it is passing into the hands of men who have no allegiance except to Truth. Several of these workers are winners of the Nobel Prize; all are moving ahead quietly, publishing free- ly in foreign countries. Their findings have long since passed the point of doubt. The insidious toxic condition of "fluorosis" is no myth. Statistically, 700,000_ppople are believed to be suf- (ering_ early effects of fluoride poisog', ink in America alone. The panorama of) bodily damage falls into the following pattern: The first si n ofgeneralstemicpai- soni�1 ovine is usuall��though not always) a\`m Y gentleottli_g" of the teeth, which go gray and develop brown or black spots. British researchers report that a very high percentage of their nation has these so-called "Texas teeth," so named because many in that state have mottling from the high content of natural fluorides in the water. In ard- ficially medicated areas so far, about twentv percent of the youngsters have the affliction; so many, at least, that health authorities have moved to propa- gandize mottling as "desirable." The blemish is permanent, and grows worse as exposure continues. After a time the molars begin to decay, then gums and mouth environment are affected. Often the Promoters insist on fluoridating a town that already has natural fluorida- tion; the result is that fluorosis comes sooner. After mottling, or sometimes coinci- dent with it, comes a bewildering vari- ety of bodily aberrations, seldom diag- nosed correctly, even today, because few physicians have yet had experience with fluorosis. The symptoms are easily mis- /V 1 0 A 1 1 read. By this time the free fluoride ion has been loose in the whole body, find- ing "things to do." As one of the most active elements in nature, it has the capacity to break its way into almost any molecule, either getting a free ride and changing the host's chemistry by overstuffing it, or by ejecting some other atom of the original chemical compound and upsetting nature's delicate chemical balance. One of the most vulnerable targets for this depredation is calcium, a prime essential to metabolism. Strong-arming its way into the critically balanced cal- cium -phosphorus levels in the blood, for instance, fluorine soon begins to cause havoc in the bone structure by in- terfering with the enzyme phosphatase. Damage to the enzyme system, the es- sential army oT thebody's catalytic agents, is a companion misfortune' to mottling. There are hundreds of en- zymes, each one essential to some phase of the life process. Some enzymes seem to be immune from fluorine poisoning; many are not. Beer barons and bakers cannot use fluoridated water because it kills the enzymes that make beer fer- ment and bread rise. The human body is in a similar case. Using radioactive tracer techniques researchers have followed the many routes chosen by the fluoride ion and watched it with Geiger counters as it tears normal molecules apart and forms unacceptable new compound f am in- debted to Dr. Waldbott for t1k best in- sight into this grim battle yet pub- lished." After fifteen years of strugggle with the fluoride Promoters, Dr. Wald- bott has firmly established imp as one of t e woe s ea 1n¢ aut oritles on the ci sont_ng.._ne has treated nunareas of vic- tims and has saved many by prompt removal of all fluoride exposure. His A Struggle With Titans, G. L. Waldbott, Carl- ton Press, New York. 1965. $4.75. 6 book also gives a vivid insight t;n)6 the i political chicanery that is practiced in utter cynicism by organized medicine and dentistry and by the bureaucrats of the U.S. Public Health Service and hundreds of local public health officials and politicians. Even cursory reading in the field will establish that they have all been out to "get" Waldbott; but they haven't got him yet.:. Another important authority, men- tioned earlier, is Dr. Exner who, with Waldbott, wrote The American Fluo- ridation Experiment some years ago. They are perhaps the Spearhead of the Opponents, just now beginning to get organized. Both can tell you from per- sonal experience how fluorine seeps into the kidneys, heart, lun s, bones, atom- _. .__. fi es brain, us np a catalogue of ills mpos- si-91e to predict because no two people respond alike to the depredation. Some escape scot free; others, allergic to verZr tiny doses of fluoride, can ue in serious trouble on first contact with it. About the only concession made by the Food and Drug Administration to antis today is that it rules out the pre- scription of fluorine -containing drugs for pregnant women. For everybody else the Promoters make the sky the limit, although clinical experience is that . _suffering from diabetes.__ ,_ki.. - dney+„ trouble, ulcers. of the stomach —in fact anx-_serious pathological condition—arek generally made worse by ingesting fluorides.. Probably very few pregnant women living in fluoride areas avoid drinking the water. They should; Waldbott describes how statistical stud- ies in the midwest have shown that the incidence of mongoloid births is higher 4n fluoridated areas. A British doctor teeth of mon¢o, tween fluorine and such mental retarda- tion._ These matters are serious. AMERICAN OPINION V/ lv THE CHEMISTRY of fluorine is thor- oughly well known, except as it per- tains to the human body. Of the five so-called "halogen" dements, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine and astatine, fluorine is the only one that accumu- lates indiscriminately in any part of the body from any source made available. For instance, don't think that drinking fluoridated water is the only route to fluorosis. Many foods contain the ele- ment. Six cups of tea daily will give you the same dose of fluoride as four glasses of New York City water. If the tea is made with New York water you can get a double shot of fluoride. A good meal of fish or sea food packs the same punch. The inhabitants of Newfound- latt�ommitted�to Ta diet of fish and tea Are_heavily overburdened with El ,u_ o- ri_des. Yet the Promoters descended upon them, too, demanding that they fluoridate their water supply to save their children's teeth! Not only tea and fish but coffee, some wines and liquors, and plain gelatin are rich in fluorine. If you live in a fluori- dated town everything you cook in fau- cet water loads up with the "medica- tion," too. Boiling fluoridated water concentrates it (while evaporating chlorine). Nor are the well -advertised faucet filters reliable as eliminators of fluoride. Waldbott speaks of two pa- tients, whom he had taken off fluori- dated water, who bought filters (con- tinuing to drink the "filtered" water) and promptly suffered relapses into se- rious symptoms of poisoning. The sec- ond died. Gardens watered with fluoridated water produce fluorine -bearing vege- tables. Soft drinks made with it bring it to you, too. By the time you carry out what the U.S.P.H.S. calls ingesting the "utterly safe" dose, you are likely to have taken aboard as much as five times their recommended 1.2 ppm strength. MARCH, 1968 Ar 1 Then there's the air, in i ny arm baded with fluorides spewed out by industry. Populations living around fluoride -producing plants usually carry quite a charge of the chemical. The tragedies of the Meuse Valley in 1930 and at Donora, Pennsylvania, in 1948, were cases of mass fluoride poisoning, caused by stagnant air and predisposi- tion to illness from chronic exposure. At Donora, six thousand people were hit; twenty died. Less than a year after Do- nora had made world headlines, New - burgh's health specialists declared the ext)eriment a smashing suc5ess and.fluo- ridation "absolutely safe!" Today there are many" instances of factories contaminating whole areas, many of them also fluoridated by Pub- lic Health edict in idiotic redundance. Waldbott tells of visiting Sherbrook, Ontario, surrounded by fluorine pro- ducin¢ industry. He found many peo- ple affected two dying of fiuorosis._TITSt lately the town of Dunnville, Ontario, has been making Canadian news, with many farmers mined because crops and cattle are dying, human victims in court and health officials stoutly protesting the view that fluorides cannot possibly hurt humans. Garrison, Montana, is C�in g.through the same struggle. he canard of fluorine as a "nutrient" used, among other persuasions, to swing San Francisco into the medicated water column, beginning 'in 1952. Re- cently, Dr. Ellis Sox, City Health Com- missioner, said that San Francisco has the highest death rate in the United States, averaging 13.3 per thousand. Non -fluoridated Bay cities have ust about half t ai.-The Gooden City nee s fluoridation? Another tafiard is that fluoridated toothpaste is safer than drinking fluo- rides. You can control the dose with pastes, impossible with faucet water, but you can't control where the dose winds up inside you, either way. If you brush your teeth with souped -up paste 1 1 n 1 1 1 in a fluoridated area, the two exposures will add up to a definite overdose. Still another canard says that fluoridation is the only way to dental health. Many dentists F2int out that you could in- stea37Tml with the cause, which is too much su ar and too little attention to bras in . or those who think they must�nk medicated water, magnesia and calcium glyco-phosphate have been suggested. Both are non-poisonous. The public seldom hears of it, but fluorides damage PIPCS as well as peo- 1P e. _Riverhea , Long Island, gave up and reinstated fluoridation three times before abandoning it for good. They couldn't keep the pipes intact. Concord, New Hampshire, had the same experi- ence, but gave up for good the first time, footing a bill of $200,000 for a new water system. Fluoridated New York City has constant trouble with its mains, water there occasionally being "reduced to a trickle" in some places. A similar difficulty plagues the fluori- dated cities of San Francisco and Sche- nectady, New York, and is kept under wraps in many other places. Fluorides and metals simply do not coexist. V An objective mind could ask why people willingly flirt with suicide by lethal chemicals, or why medical au- thority, public and private, dares use coercion to egg them on. Too many know to their sorrow that mistakes in public health practices have for years brought tragedy. The history of med- ical ignorance of the deadliness of X- rays is notorious. Today's TV watchers run definite risk of radiation damage by crowding too close to their sets. Modern foods are loaded with chemical additives, unhealthy or worse. And there are hundreds more examples in drugs and pesticides, and the pollution of air and water. Nevertheless, millions of Americans plunge blindly into a new experiment: an "absolutely safe" short cut to dental health via the fluoride route, without competent evaluation of the risks in- volved. Other nations are less trusting. Den- mark, France and Italy outlaw fluorida- tion. But Connecticut, Kentucky and Illinois make it mandatory. America leads the way to new disaster. Encouragingly, the scientific com- munity is aroused. In September of 1967, the International Society for Re- search on Nutrition and Vital Sub- stances met in Luxembourg and made public its now -famous "Resolution 39." This said that "all governments, state parliaments and city councils concerned with the problem of fluoridation .. . should refrain from fluoridating drink- ing water, which measure is actually a medication, as long as the scientific as- pects of the problem are not satisfac- torily clarified." The Public Health fraternity, of course, ignored it. They still call fluori- dation "one of the Four Horsemen of Health" -- an Apocalyptic reference which seems to escape them. `I realize that the credibility gap in this whole story yawns like the Grand Canyon. Yet the authority behind the Opposition is of the best — far better than for the sordid machinations of the Promoters. How could responsible ex. perts have done such slipshod work? How could deliberate suppression of bona fide research have been counten- anced by supposedly reputable profes- sionals? I am afraid that the answer to both is_maney an power. Power over millions who are willing to be babied and taken care of. And the fear by some scientists of losing status. And, as sadly, the downright permissiveness of most doctors and dentists and of the public generally. In sum, the decay of moral integrity. We see it on every front today; fluoridation is only an aggravated case Of a universal failing. • 0 j �? • {9 't �•i17W ! 'iiA �� AF(M fl �v'1T'.. ;.'1^f zror�ttT yrr' Alf .:+P1 ,�.�Vt P �"7 14 I Al o1k • Div ®,�f : A t a1 Y A ip uu� °. y ygn�'W�d�'' .1,4 �,�5,1 ( (i � t f e NB -, 4$ y f � k� � •7 MsY Y Y N�+� dJ P%Y if. �pyy� t 1� k f 'M '�Vd 'ro� y, � 3 '•' � } Y{ �s � ,Ya ' 4 4 h w VOL. 5, No. 1 & 2 LOS ANGELES/CALIFORNIA Special Triple Issue $3.00 These curves are not significantly altered when standardized for age•over-65 and ran I white -non white] trends 1950.1970, according t� data taken from the U.S. Census "County and City Data Books, " Er 220 CANCER DEATH RATE 200 * �A 180 A Nonfluorldated (Before December 1%9) Fluoridated 1952-6 (and theradter) Arrows indicate the Years of fluoridation initiation in the upper groups 1950 1960 1970 Comparison of the 10 largest American cities fluoridated since 1952-1956; Chicago (1956), Philadelphia (1954), Baltimore (1952), Cleveland (1956), Washington (1952), St, Louis (1955), San Francisco (1952), Milwaukee (1953), Pittst-mrgh (1952), and Buffalo (1955) ... with 10largest American cities with comparable cancer death rates during the prefluoridation time period, 1944-1950, but not fluori- dated as of 1969: Los Angeles, Boston, New Orleans, Seattle, Cinncinnati, Atlanta, Kansas City (Mo.), Columbus, Newark (N.J.), and Portland (Ore,), "total respective popu- lations of the two groups: 11,500,000 & 7,000,000 persons. Death rates are per 100,000 per year (no death rates available for 1951.1952), taken from "Vital Statistics of The United States" published annually by the National Center for Health Statistics & U.S. Census. Suggested lines drawn through the data points by Dr. W. Edwards Deming, consultant in statistical surveys. All cities are "central Cities". "The National Cancer Institute can no longer assure the American people that fluoridation does not cause cancer". "A minimum of 10,000 excess cancer deaths per year in the United States can now, be at- tributed to fluoridation of drinking wiper". Dean Burk; Ph.D Jahn Yiamouyiannis, Ph.D 1 1 C n 1 r R s y r �_ .. p O 7 O p O L 4+ tj p Qu v "Cl � �i 'a O C � � c � � '� r w u C .: v W �• v r � O r. � ' � aUi ° 0 c • �, 'D U GJL 'C 1 'J f a' w r3 a? a r es v'O :o-Z.CLJ�� < r. �. W Gli� L :3 :+'^ ^O O •CS O O U Fr,• V .v. U ' - � � T 1J :J y •� 6� r"' � f � �-, jV U � Q. An v • � � c � 'c ,� •- J � � C �. 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W n !-OE o Eau „w (J�, E �bq}._ Z pF»� ' W �03u `.Y+qo L "C) a�l•� o �� Z� © Q5 U r:4a `rzT U�t4`v � F-- 0 c re:' � � I • ro Q w Q) U O m b N •r-I O 1J .,I 'H O 44 4J 'ri )..I -P +J _H +J U w -W r0 p w ro 44 W -P 44 rO 44 p m r.. wroQ)roC•r4 a4-) •r•I a 'p H E O 0 N 0 X r>' .fro." rA UI a 4w 5, ro ro ro r_4 -J O ro v N m b M'rq 1-4 �l 4J M O Q) p •-I rp H w p f A m 4J > }W N P C rI ro C Al Q) N a .a ra ro o o a 4-) -4 Q) 1J N W ,C OEroroa+1 44 U) ro H O 0 44 Q) .� � O H O M U O r4 44 4J C N -H 4J 44 ro 4J Q) O W 4J C r-I O U) • 4 4J Ul M r4 4 F�: �4 m rn •r•I o A+ •r4 a+ 3 IW .O Q4 NOTICE TO: CALIFORNIA WATER COMPANIES WHICH ADD FLUORIDE 000 BULLETIN TO DRINKING WATER ON THE BASIS OF EVIDENCE DOCUMENTED IN THE ENCLOSURES, WHICH THE NEWS MEDIA REFUSED TO PUBLISH, WE SUGGEST THAT FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION YOU WILL WANT TO INSERT THE FOLLOWING NOTICE IN YOUR WATER BILLS: ON ORDERS FROM THE CALIFORNIA DIRECTOR OF HEALTH SERVICS WE HAVE BEEN' ADDING FLUORIDE TO YOUR DRINKING WATER. BECAUSE OF NEW ALARMING EVIDENCE, WE ARE ASKING THEM TO RESCIND THIS ORDER. IN LENGTHY COURT HEARINGS IN ILLINOIS AND PENNSYLVANIA JUDGES RULED FLUORIDATION IS AN UNREASONABLE EXERCISE OF POLICE POWER . . . UNCONSTITUTIONAL . . . POSES A SERIOUS RISK TO HEALTH INCLUDING AN INCREASE IN CANCER MORTALITY. . . GOVERNMENT HEALTH EXPERTS WERE UNABLE TO DOCUMENT IT PROVIDES LESS TOOTH DECAY. IN NEW RESEARCH, SCIENTISTS IN CANADA, BRITAIN, AND AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY JOINTLY ANNOUNCED FLUORIDE INTERFERES WITH ENZYME AND DNA SYSTEMS AND MAY BE THE CAUSE OF CANCER, BIRTH DEFECTS, GENETIC DAMAGE AND ALLERGY. THE FLUORIDE WE USE BEARS A SKULL AND CROSSBONE POISON LABEL, MARKED FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY (NOT TO BE USED AS A DRUG). * * * It * * * k * * As watchdogs of the fluoridation establishment, our National Health Action Committee is digging deep into our pockets to hire competent lawyers with cases on the docket in Oakland, Houston, and other cities. Have you been warned that over 17 accidental fluoride overdoses in cities and schools caused mass poisonings, and the first thing the Health authorities did was to blame the water operator? The California Penal Code #347 provides: ". . . EVERY PERSON WHO WILLFULLY POISONS ANY SPRING WELL, OR RESERVOIR IS PUNISHABLE BY IMPRISONMENT IN THE STATE PRISON FOR A TEftM OF NOT LESS THAN ONE YEAR NOR MORE THAN TEN YEARS." As you can see by the labels on bags or drums of sodium fluoride or sodium silicofluoride. they are plainly labeled with skull and crossbones - "POISON." If you are buying the cheaper, waste hydrofluosilicic acid from this phosphate fertilizer companies, you know the tank trucks are labeled DANGER CORROSIVE ACID, and unless you add costly sodium hydroxide or lime to reduce acidity, the fluoride acid will corrode plumbing. All three are classified by the California Pharmacy Law as POISONOUS - HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES FOR INDUSTRIAL USE. The Federal FDA has not approved them for drug use, and has classified fluoride NOT GENERALLY RECOGNIZED AS SAFE - NOT A NUTRIENT. SUBMITTED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BY AL,0� au"bc GLADYS CALDWELL Author, Columnist, Investigative Reporter, Consumer Advocate, National Health Action Committee ,&dy& C&14ve11 )25 Nlphri4g& AVG. 4, Crescent&, CA 91214 1 L] New )kxk State Coalition Opposed to Flu xidation,lne P.O. Box 263, Old Bethpage, New York 118N (516) IV 9-3474 ADDITIONS TO PROFESSIONAL AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES tONORARYCO-CHAIRMEN PROFESSIONAL COMMITTEE HON. OWEN H. JOHNSON, N,Y.S. Senator W. Babylon, N.Y. ANTHONY F . ACCETTA, D.D.S. HON.EUGENELEVY,N.Y.S.Assemblyman West Hempstead, N.Y. SpringValley. N.Y. EMILIA ARIOLA, M.D. President a General Counsel Brooklyn, N.Y. PAUL tiTEPHEN SEEBER, J.D. PlaitRview, N.Y, RAYMOND M . ARIOLA, D.D.S. Vice•PreeidaRte Staten Island, N.Y. SEYMOUR J. FIEBACH. Corrosion Enghtaer, Spring Valley, N.Y. DONALD R. BARBER, D.D.S. HON. JOHN A. MURPHY. Rockland Williamsville, N.Y. Legislator, Pearl River, N.Y. Secretary DENNIS We BRESSACK, D.D.S. MARINO BEVILACOUA Astorle,N.Y. Middletown, N.Y. Legislative Coordinator R. GEOFFREY BRODERICK, D.V.M. NATHAN BERGERSEST New York, N.Y. Huntington, N.Y. LYNNE M . BRODY , M.D. PROFESSIONAL COMMITTEE DIRAUO CAMMELL. D.O. Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. Lynbrook. N.Y. DEORGE P. CONGRAM, M.D. PAUL A. BUCK, Ph.D. Do'NiIIF. M.Y. NoRMAN M. DEMBY. D.D.S. Ithaca N.Y. arena, N.Y. EDWARD J. DDItAN, D.P.B. suNd., N. Y. IRWIN BURNSTEIN, D.D.S. CARLYON FREDERICKS, Ph-D. Nave York. N.Y. Huntington Station, N.Y. GUSTAVE G. GORDON, M.D. Now N.Y. RoeERT A. A. D. GREaonr. D.c, LAMES CAPPUCCINO, Ph.D. STEVEN GROSSMAN. D.D.S. West Nyack, N.Y. South Oeene Park. N Y. STEPHEN D INGERMAN. D.D.S. RICHARD CARLTON , M . D. Pomona. N Y. ERNEST F. LANOI 0C New York N.Y. n sonvane. N Y. ALIE R�W LAUBENGAYER. Ph.D. Professor Em.rrfus of Ch.matrr. r ROBERT CARSON , M.D. WARREN EVIN'M.0. NY White Plains, N.Y. arooalrn, N.Y. VINCENT E MARONEY, M.D. Brooklyn, N.Y. F. H ,+LARK t M.D. CARL MESTMAN. D.O.S, Newbufah. N. Y. Jamestown, N.Y. HENRY O'NEILL, D.D.S. 3e00r41. N Y ALLAN COTT , M.D. V L PELLICANO. M.D. Niagara 118102, N.Y, New York N.Y. GLORIA PLOSS, R.N, For.af Milq, N Y. KARL ROBINSON, M.D. , WAYNE M . DECKER, M.D. NyaLA. N Y HAROLD ERG. 0.0, New York, N.Y. York my. Now °rk. N r. HARRY S . M p, FRANK P . DiBLAS I D.D.S. At Y Nock. N Oraal Nock. MICHAEL B. SCHACHTER. M.D. Nyack. NY , Massapequa, N.Y. CLAIRE SCHAPERR.N. Temk,na cow. N.Y. HAROLD GILDSTON , Ph.D. DAVID SHEINMIN.M D, NY.ck, N Y BRUCE M ""MAN. 0 D.S. Great Neck, N.Y. IN wVofk iNv�l Doe1larrr PHYLLIS GILDSTON, Ph.D. EMANUEL VISCUSI, M.O. DI.N'lls.NY Great Neck, N.Y. JUAN WIL SON. M.O. LewfY SARNET WI WINTT ER. D.0 S. ROBERT M . GILLER M.D. Bea`°"' N Y New York, N.Y. SPECIAL ADVISORS DAN HAMNER, M.D. ELmNE ARNSTEIN N'ch—ll.. N.Y, REV LioN DICKINSON Nyack, N.Y. oss'noIRENE Pn DICKINSON. Co-ordinator T$EODORE H . KASTENBAUM, D.D.S. Ctwens Co.u.tfrlee for Protection °f Enrrro.w.al. a9afn;ng.N.r. HON THEODCME R DUSANENKO Brooklyn N.Y. Rocred County Leg;al.r°' New CirY. N r Nave ABRAHAM KROLL , D.D.S. MARVIN GOROOE. Attorney Valley Stream. N Y HON PHILIP S HEALEY Eastchester, N.Y. N Y S Assemblymen. MassooeeW, N.Y. ELISE JERARo PhD, Ch; .an. C"nrens Riohts Co—Iraw. New Yolk. N.Y. NON. JOHN J MOORE N Y S Senator Aaron.. N Y EARL R NISSEN Ed 0. Pearl Rival, N,Y ALFRED J SKIDMORE, Ally, IenNpwn NY JOHN TRASK Supennlendent Plunvlew Witer 01stricl Pliinwew. NY -41ON CASAA TRUNZO LENNART KROOK, D.V.M. Cornell. University, Ithaca, N.Y. MITCHELL KURK, M.D. Lawrence, N.Y. SEYMOUR LEVINE, D.D.S. Valley Stream, N.Y. RALPH MARGULIES, D.D.S. Great Neck, N.X. L. H. MacDANIELS, Ph.D. Ithaca, N.Y. H. L. NEWBOLD, M.D. New York, N.Y. MARIO NIGRA, D.D.S. Jackson Heights, N.Y. MORTON C. ROCKWITT, D.D.S. Brooklyn, N.Y. HAROLD H. SAXTON, M.D. Mayville, N.Y. WALTER SHERRY, D.D.S. Middle Island, N.Y. ROBERT A. SILVER, D.D.S. Middle Island, N.Y. ANNETTE SMITH, R.N. Valley Stream, N.Y. J. EDWARD SMITH, O.D. N. Syracuse, N.Y. IRWIN SPERBER, Ph.D. SUNY, New Paltz, N.Y. WARREN STEINBERG, M.D. New York, N.Y. HERMAN STETTNER, D.D.S. Bayside, N.Y. H. BRUNER SUTTON, M.D. Ithaca, N.Y. ANDREW J. TATOM, D.O. Dix Hills, N.Y. TED WARREN, D.D.S. Centereach, N.Y. HAROLD WEISS, M.D. Brooklyn, N.Y. ANN ZALITE, D.D.S. Dobbs -Ferry, N.X. VICTOR ZEINES, D.D.S. New York, N.Y. SPECIAL ADVISORS KARL BERNHARD, Vice -Chairman Levittown Health Council DEBBY BOOTS, Chairman Citizens for Sate Water Baldwinsville, N.X. wL im jWp 111�1 SANDY GREEN, Co -Founder Citizens for Health Freedom Pomona, N.X. THOMAS LAKE, Commissioner of Environmental Control LAC Groyel N.Y. t O X •O v1 7 L O 0 a�C W ca d r 0 O 0 Z v, � � +a Q Q 7 ro A .0 c e >- O M �c � u •t O L. W w 4- a 4- w O O L d.p N .Zr v � m r� c d � L c C U v o_ L cc 3 4- v O c t0 d� Lp U N WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO INFLICT, SUCH UGLY PERMANENT TEETH ON OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN? "Mottled enamel is a waterborne disease associated with the ingestion of toxic amounts of fluoride present in the water used for drinking and cooking ,during the period of calcification" (H. Trendley Dean, formerly Director, U.S. National Institute of Dental Research) MOTTLED TEETH* Pictures froW ournal of Amer.Dental A sn Vol. 30, 127ti- 3 - Dean and Arnold, 1943 *The illustrations are reproductions of official United States Public Health Service photographs. Fig. 5 — Mild dental fluorosis. Fig. 6 — Moderate dental fluorosis. Teeth like these, and worse, have been found by the U.S. Public Health Service where there is less than 1 part per mil- lion of fluoride in the water. Proof, from their own records: NATURAL FLUORIDES: Kewanee, Illinois — 0.9 ppm of fluoride: Of 123 children examined: 43 had questionable mottling 13 had very mild mottling 2 had mild mottling (see Fig. 5) Tucson, Arizona — 0.7 ppm of fluoride: Of 316 children examined: 143 had questionable mottling 38 had very mild mottling 10 had mild mottling (see Fig. 5) 5 had moderate mottling (see Fig. 6) Marion, Ohio — 0.4 ppm of fluoride: Of 263 children examined: 96 had questionable mottling 13 had very mild mottling 2 had mild mottling —From Public Health Reports (official journal of the U. S. Public Health Service) Vol, 57, Page 1765 (Aug. 7, 1942). Chandler, Arizona --- 0.8 ppm of fluoride: Of 95 children examined: 37 had questionable mottling 9 had very mild mottling 6 had mild mottling 2 had moderate mottling 1 had severe mottling —From Public Health Reports, Vol. 68, p, 503, May, 1953 After 10 years of artificial fluoridation experimentation at Newburgh, New York: 438 children were examined. Findings were: Questionable mottling in 46, very mild in 26, mild in 6. —Statistics from Journal of the American Dental Association, March, 1956. "The A.M.A. (American Medical Association) report odmits that mottled teeth are 'the most delicate criterion of harm' from fluoride and acknowledges that this will inevitably result from water containing 1 part per million fluoride." —Medical-Dental ad hoc �ommittee on Evaluation of Fluorido• lion, December 5, 1957. "Teeth affected with mottled enamel ... erupt showing a dull, chalky white appearance which in many instances later take on a characteristic brown stain, the frequency of the stain increasing with age." —H. Trendley Dean, so-called "father of fluoridation," Journal of the American Medical Association, October, 1936. >E "The criterion that we have been using is that if there is some 10 to 20 per cent fluorosis (mottled enamel caused by artificial fluoridation) in the community, that would not be objectionable." * more recent studies Shwa —F. J. Maier, Sr. Sanitary Engineer for the U. S. Public Health 0 5ervice, at top secret Fourth Annual Dental Directors higher o o mottled teeth, Conference, Washinglon, D. C., June,1951, Do we have the right to vote this upon 10 to 20 per cent of our children??? . , , OVER, . . :_r cr -n v T- c mom•. -- a 0 m 0 X 7r m Irt� tL01 _qq � —iMto v- u, m a 0-1 rt�[ m rr n m-<mm o v jv nJ -1 C m m 1-r cr 7 rF m tL m �. n• • u] a. d rt � 0 0 rt d M CU —0 -< p n tl C co n m to v vt (A rt- m O m rt rn S r C N m & 0 rt — m rt t10! m Z_ m to rt tll m :r et a v n m N v 0 �m v f tv rt ut o •_cr •�C rt A mrtZ)oo on }• rt X- QJ rt 4A Cu n©rra rt !D IUD L11 J 1 DUMMIES FROr1 NATURAL FLUORIDE LEVELS AS LOW AS 3.T PF" M LANcET, ocToBER 20, 1973 This study was supported by a grant from the Wellcome TOOL We thank the other members of the Uganda Buruli Gaup for their help and encouragement, and also Dr P. N. Williams, Dr Y. Y. Lee, Dr H. Coleridge, and Mr F. Onono; Or P. D. Fowler of Geigy (U.K.) who supplied drugs and ombo; and the Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health, Vgsada, for permission to publish. M. C. P. was on second - peat from the U.K. Medical Research Council's Statistical hwarch Unit, London. Requests for reprints should be addressed to W. D. L. R., Leicester City Health Department, Midland House, 52-54 Owles Street, Leicester LEI 1FN. REFERENCES 1. Revill, W. D. L., Morrow, R. H., Parson, aV., Kiryebwire, J. VV. M. in Medicine in a Tropical Environment (edited by A. G. Shaper, J, W. Kibukamusoke, and M. S. R. Hutt); p. 19. London, 1972. L Uganda Buruli Group. Trani, R. Soc. crop, Mtd. Hys. 1971. a8, 763. 1. Marker, D. J. P. ibid. 1972, 67, 43. 4. Revi11, W. D, L, Unpublished. S. Revill, W. D. L. in Health and Disease in Africa (edited by G. C. Gould); p. 299. Nairobi, 1971. L Lunn, H. F., Rees, R. J. W. Lane#;, 1964.1. 247. 1. blaeCallum, P., Tolhurst, J. C., Buckle, G., Sisson, H. A. Y. Path. Bact. 1948, 60, 93. a Umands Buruli Group. Br. need. Y. 1970, ii, 390. 9, Revill, W. D. L. Unpublished. M Stanford, J. L., Phillips, I.J. fined. Microbial. 1972,5.39. GENU VALGUM AND OSTEOPOROSIS IN AN AREA OF ENDEMIC FLUOROSIS K, A. V. R. KRISHNAMACHARI KAMALA KRISHNASWAMY Netimal Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad S00007, India Summary Twenty-four male patients with genu- valgum deformity drawn from an area of endemic fluorosis in Andhra Pradesh, India, were investigated clinically, radiologically, and biochemi- cally. All had evidence of spinal ostcosclerosis along with extensive osteoporotic changes in the bones of the extremities. Levels of serum calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline-phosphatase activity were normal. It is concluded that deficiency of several nutrients may modify and aggravate the toxic effects of chronic fluoride intoxication. Hormones may play, a part in the causation of the syndrome. Introduction I w wic fluorosis is a well-defined clinical entity chracterised by dental and skeletal changes. Endemic fluorosis due to the presence of high concentrations of fluoride in drinking -water has been reported from several parts of India'-' Bone changes characterised by osteosclerosis, ligarnental calcification, and calcification of membranes and tendinous insertions had been reported among adults'' and children a living in areas - of endemic fluorosis. Crippling deformities of skeleton due to fluoride toxicity such as kyphosis, %tiffness of the spine. reduced mobility of b •• and bony exosloses have been reported from different parts of the world. We describe here a syndrome, of genu valgum and extensive osteoporotic changes of the 877 bones of the lower extremities associated with skeletal fluorosis. Patients and Methods The patients lived in an area of the State of Andhra Pradesh known to be endemic for fluorosis.$ Two hundred and twenty cases of the syndrome were observed in six villages situated miles apart. Twenty-four male patients aged between g and 40 years from three of the villages took part in detailed investigations. All of them were investigated clinically and radiologically. X-rays of the spine, knee -joints, and the left hand were taken along with an aluminium wedge as a st:• Aard, for the purpose of densitometric studies. X-rays of the skull, pelvis, fore- arm, upper arm, legs, and ribs were done in some patients. Serum calcium, inorganic -phosphorus, and alkaline- phosphatase activities were determined in eighteen patients. Serum -calcium was measured by Clark and Collip's modification' of the Kramer-Tisdall method.$ Alkaline phosphatase was measured by the method of Bodansky s as modified by Shinovara et a1.10 Fiske and Subbarow's method was used to estimate phosphorus." The fluoride content of drinking -water samples obtained from the villages was estimated by the method described by Wadhwani.lt Results Clinical Features The typical clinical features are shown in fig. 1. Most patients were between the ages of 10 and 30 years. All had dental changes. Genu valgum, which became prominent while walking, was a striking feature. There was internal rotation and adduction of the hip. As a result, the gait was slow, laborious, and awkward. In severe cases there was flexion deformity of the knees, Almost all the patients had enlarged femoral condyles. In some of them the patella was externally rotated. In less severe cases, the deformity was masked in the supine position with full extension of the knee -joints, but reappeared on standing or on walking, In severe cases, the deformity prevented the patients from assuming Fig. I --Four patients with severe menu vellum. R CALLING ALL FLORIDA RESIDE:dTS -- YOU HAVE BECOME THE TARGETS FOR FLUORIDATION ! F L 0 R I D A is being threatened with a big fluoridationPush! The hand- w.;writing is on the wall. The fluoridation promoters are forging ahead with the most intensive drive to achieve the goal of universal fluoridation by 1990. Leading this ominous drive is the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)(the same Agency that gave us the Swine Flu Vaccine, DES, and ThalidorrLide), and the American Dental Association (ADA) (that hired a Director of Fluoridation Activities and has utilized a professional advertising agency for nationwide promotion of fluoridation). HUZID11EX- O:' MILLIONS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS are being appropriated to foster and force fluoridation upon all of us. WHAT IS NEEDED IS ACTION, NOT APATHY, to protect your health, your health freedoms, your water supply, and your food and beverage chain, from fluoridation. We must stop the deliberate addition of fluoride -polluting chemicals into our water. Studies show that fluoride is toxic even at low levels, is cam Uative, and the immune system, making it harder to fight off chronic diseases. Hydrofluosilici acid (fluoride) is an industrial waste product (from phosphate fertilizer,etc.). should be removing it from our environment, not turning our bodies into toxic waste,dumps. Also, overfeeds and accidents have been occurring in fluoridated areas, due to machinery malfunction or human error, causing illness, hospitalization, and even fatality. Ironically, tooth decay is declining as much in NON -fluoridated areas, as well as in Western Europe which is less than 1% fluoridated. Many self-sacrificing individuals and courageous professionals over the years have worked ta-urd the day when it would become commonly recognized what a colossal medical/dental/environmental mistake fluoridation is. We are coming closer to that time: Chemical & En ineerin News (C&EN), following months of investigation, release their 17 page Special Report: FLUORIDATION OF WATER: QUESTIONS ABOUT HEALTH RISKS A BENEFITS RU4AIN .AFTER MORE THAN 40 YEARS". The highly respected C&EN is published'b American Chemical Societ , one of the largest associations of scientists in the worl This ;Report uncovered the suppression of evidence, and the pressures and harsh treat mentiof researchers who want to report adverse findings on fluoride. The Report cut studies on dental fluorosis (mottled teeth), skeletal fluorosi.s, kidney disease, hyp sensiItivity reactions, enzyme effects, genetic mutations, birth defects, and cancer. we ing EW YORK STATE GOVERNOR CUOMO DIRECTED THE HEALTH DEPARDOiT TO CONDUCT A !EE`iALUATION OF FLUORIDATION. N.Y.S. HEALTH COMMISSIONER AXELROD, IN A ETTER DATED OCTOBER 11, 1987, TO STATE SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON, STATED: matter that concerns me deeply. In consequence of my concern, the Dent urned its emphasis away from advocacy of public water fluoridation..." S OF OCTOBER 1, 1988, NEW YORK STATE STOPPED ALL PUBLIC MONEYS IN BLOCK PANTS FOR FLUORIDATION. e you, to urge your officials and legislators, to also stop all efforts and fund - promote and foster this dangerous fluoridation practice upon its Florida citizens. THIS MASSIVE EXPERIMENTATION PF40GRAM MUST CEASE! ACTION ° Write letters to the editor of newspapers; utilize Radio & TV hot lines and call -in shows, ° Inf=n your officials and legislators of the facts and express your views. An 4nlightened community and enlightened officials are the bestn22M to prevent,', avoid, and successfully avert fluoridation. JOIN WITH OTHERS IN YOUR EFFORTS. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: -PAT BRETT 946-2770 (305) 733- 121 Patri is Morrell, Boca Raton, Florida 33431 407-3 1-4278 Naticoal Fluoridation News, P.O.Box 1611, San Anselmo,California 94960 415-4 3-01158 Cente or Health Action, O.Box 80270,Forest Park Station,Springfield,Mass. 01138 to CHA, 0.00 fdr Chemical & Engineering News Special Report on Fluoridation) N.Y.S Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation,lnc., P.O.Box 263, Old Bethpage, N.Y. 11804- 263 Self- Ssed stomped envelope (25M oz.); or 450(2 oz.); 65� 0 oz.), etc.) APATHY AND SILENCE ALLOW FLUORIDATION TO TAKE HOLDI� ACTI N, VOICES and JOINING TOGETHER STOP AND DEFEAT FLUORIDATION. A C � NOW, 1 National - N.�WS FLUORIDATION July-0ctober,1981 Vol. X,XV1I Dyer Valve Failure in Jonesboro Maine Elementary School Hit Mass Fluoride Poisoning (The following account is based on local and syn mitted that the episode "will undoubtedly hurt the dicated press reports that appeared between October public relations with some people." He was also 7 and 19, 1981, in the Portland Press Herald, the quoted as remarking that "incidents like this happen Bangor Daily News, the (Portland) Evening Express, in the country several times a year. the Maine Sunday Telegram, and The Maine Paper.) Last spring, after being assured by health COMMENT authorities that "nothing could go wrong" and even if ironically, on October 5, just one day before it did, the fluoride "would be completely harmless," the outbreak of fluoride poisoning at the parents and school officials agreed to put a state- Jonesboro Elementary School, the Kennebec approved fluoride dispenser in the water system of Journal of the capital city of Augusta carried a their elementary school in Jonesboro, Maine, a 400 strongly worded editorial complaining that op member community located eight miles southwest of ponents of fluoridation are guilty of mounting the city of Machias in Washington County in the east- "scare campaigns" that "confuse people with central part of the state. ridiculous stories of medical hazards. During the summer the unit was duly installed by But if, as Bureau of Health Director D. Ner- technician Denny Phillips of the Maine Department of sesian says, "incidents like this happen in the Human Services (MDHS). But from the start the country several times a year," then one can dispenser failed to work properly. School superinten- only wonder whether health officials care more dent Ozios Bridghom reported that since the opening aboutnot hurting "public relations" than they do of classes in the fall, fluoride levels in the water about not endangering the health and safety of ranged from only 0.2 to 1.2 ppm instead of the target those they claim they ore striving so hard to figure of 5.4 ppm. serve. Obviously, any public health measure (In elementary school fluoridation programs, this with incidents of this nature occurring "several 5.4 ppm level is recommended on the grounds that times a year" can hardly be considered "com- children derive only about one -fifth of their weekly pletely safe and harmless.' water intake at school and therefore "need" a higher A further question is why the hospital concentration in their school drinking water than the analysis showed 230 ppm fluoride in the water 0.7 to 1.2 ppm used in municipal -domestic water at the time of the incident, whereas that by the fluoridation.) custodian at the school indicated only 10 ppm On Monday, October 5, Phillips responded to a call in view of the sudden nature of the illness, the to investigate and correct the feeder problem at the higher figure from the hospital laboratory is Jonesboro school, and he "decided to turn off the probably nearer the truth, but, if so, why was dispenser until the unit could be repaired in a couple he school determination value so low? of weeks." He also told school principal George Alley is it possible that the measurements at the and custodian Adian Smith "there would be no need to school earlier in the term were also low, and test the fluoride content Tuesday morning since he that the actual fluoride levels were significan- had turned the unit off." ly higher than reported? Con school custodians Off or not, the unit continued to malfunction, and its or school principals be expected to be qualified anti -siphon valve apparently allowed a sizable influx to know whether their fluoride determinations of concentrated fluoride feeder solution into the are accurate or not? water system. On the following morning (Tuesday, Finally, what actual proof was obtained to October 6) the result was quickly evident as pupils show that the ,poisoning effects were "only and Teachers who drank the water became stricken temporary," as claimed by Dr. Nersesian and with nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting, and the other health officials? Some of the acute diarrhea. Sixty of them were taken to the Downeast toxic effects of fluoride, especially on the heart Community Hospital in Machias, where fifteen and nervous system, can be delayed or persist children and three teachers were given regurgitant for hours, days, or even weeks after exposure. treatments and afterward milk to counteract the toxic Readers will be interested to know that at effects. Two of the children were considered ill least two other episodes of mass poisoning enough to require temporary hospitalization, from failures of equipment in U. S. school At the hospital, Dr. Toby Acheson s tests of the water fluoridation systems are on record. In water indicated that it contained 230 ppm fluoride— 1974 at a rural elementary school in Stonly over 40 times what it was supposed to contain. On the County, North Carolina, 201 children and 12 other hand, according to principal Alley and custodian adults became vomitous after drinking orange Smith at the school, the fluoride content at the time of juice reconstituted with overfluoridated school the incident, as measured by their equipment, was tap water (Morbid. Mortal. Weekly Rep., only 10 ppm- 23:199, 1974). The other incident occurred in Following the outbreak of illness, state health of- 1976 at a rural elementary school in Los Lunos, ficials hastened to the scene to investigate what had New Mexico, where 34 persons became ill from happened, and they promised to prepare a "detailed excessively high fluoride levels in the water —feport that would be available shortly, For the caused by failure of feeder relay switch present, the feeder unit remains shut off, and there (Pediatrics, 65:897, 190i); cf. NFN, July -Sept. are no immediate plans to reconnect it. 1980). Meanwhile Dr. William Nersesian, Director of the Bureau of Health of the MDHS, flatly stated that no permanent injury would result to anyone, but he ad- — — New lark State Coalition opposed to Woridation,lnc. (3/89) (616) IV 9-3474 P,O. Box 263. Old Bethpage, New York 11804.0269 BREAKTHROUGH! III♦ VLlu, NGNvl Y C0.0"M w w. e.rywa. M.Y. OWL EuoENE uw. N r srMr r.r.r. N r. ( M.r.s. w�M°{ar a wnnW COW" n► $TEPwN 6694 . +A. MNr►.MM. N.Y. Va•rraw{al. SEVMouR J. FIEMCN. Car..k° ammw, E°rim VMtw. N.Y. have been BREAKTHROUGH! qutdwm a°ut hum rw a ma bmfils mzwn °her na thorn 40 ye m of CO SPECIAL REPORT CITES STUDIES ON DENTAL FLUOROSIS (MOTTLED TEETH),SKELETAL FLUOROSIS, KIDNEY DISEASE, HYPERSENSITIVITY ocerTinNs.FN7VMF FFFECTS,GENETIC MUTATIONS,BIRTH DEFECTS,CANCER DEAR VALUED MEMBERS, WM. roMN A. MURrNr' ft9WW~ � SUPPORTERS AND FRIENDS mm.Y", ran �w.r. N.r. a"mw"uNoaEVILACau� Our efforts have continued non-stop throughout the year to curb fluoridate 'SWUL µr• tion that is jeopardizing the health of the people of this nation. The !!!E__ SeLM-1701 fluoridation promoters have unleashed the most relentless drive and are jjWy°CAY►.{LL.o.o. • incensed because we have slowed down their ominous goal of universal fluoridaw R�*'15Y8,*0A,A °..°..Y, Yd.rtion scheduled for 1990. Leading this tyrannical drive is the Centers or WNW.OADisease Control (CDC)(the same Agency that gave us the Swine Flu Vaccine, OAs. OJM- a11ip1°.,,0, . DES, and Thalidomide) , and the American Dental Association (ADA) (that hire e ar►io"Ilr011.noz. a Director of Fluoridation Activities and utilized a professional advertising ► {�.r:.r"°.".r w°o.r.°,e. agency for nationwide promotion of fluoridation MV." "r, �."°aw:".' v°' area ro riated by "° IN 00".°.°.a HUNDREDS UPON HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS PP P rAA",°.C. our misled Congress, directly and indirectly,overtly and covertly, blatantly �yr,,,,,.,eand subtly, to foster and force fluoridation upon all of us (see farm letters , �" awii. wv.-. CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS REPORT ON FLUORIDATION MAKING TREMENDOUS IMPAC v�{r' "r. are coming closer to the time when the colossal medical/dental/ ni °A,We "r.�c."o.Y.°. environmental/economical mistake of fluoridation will be commonly recognized. foft N.r.°,„.0;," R."W"N' The highly respected Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), following months oM investigation of both sides, uncovered studies and data which reveal that rrii�i.ou"°{... °.°. rrw.r.N."r fluoridation can cause serious ill effects, and that Western Europe has the same decline in tooth decay with virtually NO water fluoridation (about 1X). ,iu.a■.", ErAl C&EN is published by American Chemical Society, one of the largest asso- C.n ".►. ciations of scientists in the world. -- (For a copy of this objective an "k,,"a9*00O striking Report, send $3.50 to Center for Health Action (address reverse side). a" TOM. " r °ii"•eM.Nr�'MO. The C&EN Report has generated a lot of coverage throughout the country, N.AYY{°" M.°. with a series of articles in the Medical Tribune; Christian Science Monitor; �`ovvF yc..°.°.a. Chicago Sun -Times; Bangor Daily News_; Oakland Tribune; New York Observer; Mothering; and articles expected in Discover, Lon evit , Boardroom Reports, wrcYw�°wwa. omes &Gardens also had a section on fluoridd. and other publications. Better H0ow r.r{i{"CwW� LONG AWAITED N.Y.S. HEALTH DEPARTMENT REPORT ON FLUORIDATION COMPLETED .�K c.:M11,0M»11.°a The long awaited Evaluation Report, undertaken at the direction of 1, Governor Cuomo in 1984, was finally completed in Dec. 1988; its release is °�Rouuw5 ,,,,,,.,, not expected until March 1989. The Report, once received, will be reviewed t"r carefully by several of our highly qualified medical consultants. ip�..w"ur w r..M"gMNr"w°w We have reached a crucial stage, and it is imperative that the Governor hear from as many people as possible, as quickly as possible(see form Lett r ). N.Y.S. CONGRESS OF PARENTS & TEACHERS (PTA) FORMS STUDY COMMITTEE ON FLUORIDATION °»;°;;,"{.° ate.N, w.,, ". r 10„°„{.,,,,,,• purpose; To study the Issue of fluoridation of water supplies and decidell whether NXS PTA should pass a Resolution to urge the NATIONAL PTA to delete i�[s MM+ endorsement of fluoridation and take a position opposing it. Joy Grand (NassjEu SANTo1//&* "ram~ District PTA) and Carol Kopf are among the members of the Study Committee. "e�►°. �.�� Note: NYS PTA dropped their endorsement of fluoridation in 1976, and �.raYr. opposes school fluoride mouthrinse programs; Nassau District PTA opposes both( fluoridation and school fluoride mouthrinses; National PTA endorses fluoridatlion. ACTIVITIES, EVENTS, AND STRIDES MADE IN 1988, AND CONTINUING NYSCOFrs President, Paul Beeber, and other participants from CHA, FACT, etc., spoke at State hearings, civic associations, meetings, etc. Volunteers manned booths at conventi6ns; TV Debate on Best Talk in Town Channel 11, 12/5/88 (our side. Paul Beeber, Dr. Michael Schachter, & mother of children with fluoride toxicity (violent headaches; mottled teeth ; Radio, WMCA, 1 hr. on hazards of fluoridation, 1/22/89. Host: Dr. Ronald Hoffman; Speakejrs: Paul Beeber; Dentist David Kennedy who called dentists "victims"(they are denied the f4eks);. Symposium, Sat., 1/28/89, at Hunter College. NYC, Talk by Paul Beeber and Sandy Green. Sponsored by Foundation for Advancement in Innovative Medicine(FAIM), Amityville, L.I., N.Y. WNYC radio 1 hour debate is scheduled for sometime in March 1989. Distribution of literature to dentists, primarily excerpts from Chemical & En ineerin N ws Report on Fluoridation, at the New York Annual Dental Convention, outside the Jacob JaVits Center, Sunday, 1/27/88. Conspicuous by its absence inside the Center was not a word about the C&EN Report. Dental authorities have much to account for... d�f eftt. • (act Gone ea 4, • eve-4 Gilson, (olw•z - 1 -2- 11*17'k 0 1'NONE 0 SIXE 01'F:RSUNALLy VIs1T wun YOUR LEGISLATORS (3%89> ' LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS ED ERAL U.S. Representative Norman Lent has reintroduced H.J. Res. 139, which expresses objections to EPA's drastically raising the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of fluoride in drinking water to 4 ppm,(which is being mis-used by local communities to justify mandating fluoridation at 1 ppm.) This scientifically unsupportable increase is still adamantly opposed by EPA's own Union of scientists. Ask your U.S.Re . to s onsor H.J.Res.139. Congressman Lent also entered a statement into Congressional Record on our behalf (6/1/88). .S A -- State Senator Owen Johnson and Assemblyman Lewis Yevoli have again become prime sponsors of bills to curb fluoridation or bring partial fluoride safe- guards. (See farm letters to help seek more co-sponsors and support from other legislators). NEW YORK STATE HAPPENINGS TOWN OF G LENVILLE : Rescinded fluoridation mandate on 2/17/88, thanks to the efforts of Concerned Citizens for Pure Water. SCOTIA: The Mayor and Board members still intent on fluoridating, regardless of evidence. NORFOLK: Local officials have resisted the intense pressure by the dental society, and s� a� id a resounding NO to fluoridation. BALDWINSVILLE: The fluoridation saga in Baldwinsville should go down in the history oaks as one of the most blatant forms of coercion. This valiant group of Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, with the full support of their elected officials, all opposed to the fluoridation mandate, have now been faced with the most outrageous twisting of arms". Faced with a water shortage, the County Health Department has made the fluoridation mandate part of a "package deal" with the two water wells urgently needed by the Village. TAXATION WI1HQU1 REPRESENTATION IS ALIVE AND UNWELL IN WILLIAMSON NEW YORK g� opP the Town Board In 1982, the citizens overwhe)m�n sea �ii�or ation. Now in 1989, (with a dentist on the Board and a new Supervisor) mandated fluoridation without a hearing or citizen in ut. If it happened there, it could happen anywhere. (Send form letters) MORE ACCIDENTS IN FLUORIDATED CONMUNITIES DUE TO MACHINERY OR HUMAN ERROR SCHENECT ADY N.Y.-- Fluoride spill on 1/10/88 destroyed the entire fluoride facility. NEW YORK N.Y.-- On or about 8/11/88, a "nearly complete shutdown of the city 's public water fluoridation system"(there have been shutdowns for the last number of years as well)• TWO GREAT LOSSES IN 19$8: DR. DEAN BURK AND GLADYS CALDWELL DR. DEAN BURK--famous biochemist, co-author with Dr.Yiamouyiannis of the internationally known cancer fluoridation study that established an increase in the cancer death rate; GLADY S CALD WELL-- Co-author with Dr. Philip Zaafagna, of FLUORIDATION AND TRUTH DECAY. --The worked to the very last day of their lives to protect us from the fluoridation scourge -- SR. ITI7FN5 SHOULD NOT BE MISLED BY PUBLICITY ON NEW FLUORIDE THERAPY FOR OSTEOPOROSIS CAUL N: This high -dose, slow -released fluoride treatment for osteoporosis is meant for a ininall osteoporosis only and "might even worsen the kind of osteoporosis found in the the dense ah rd bones of the hip". This study has no control group and is not app FDA. It was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIDR is part of NIH), leading pro- moters of fluoridation. Other research shows that the new bone fluoride might generate is no normal bone. Fluoride, whether quickly or slow released,accumulates in the body at any level! TILL MORE ON FLUORIDE COVER-UPS, DISAPPEARANCES AND WITHHOLDING OF EVIDENCE (See our Annual Newsletters of 3/86 and 3/88) SILENT New York City Council Health Committee Evaluation Report on Fluoridation, TREATMENT! WHY the hearings n ct., ov.and Dec.1983, has never beenmade & Majoriblic. WHY NOT? Contact City Council Pres. Andrew Stein, ty Leader Peter Vallane, and Councilman Povman,whose Res.brought about hearings). DISAPPEARED! American Academy -of Pedodontics and National Institutes of Health reduced dosages to NO ZERO FLUORIDE FOR BABIES UNDER 6 MONTHS OF AGE. However, these cautions disappeared after opponents utilized this information. (U.S.Gov't. Printing Press, NIH, DHEW Pub.No.(HSA) 76-5612,1976, by S.J. Fomon, etc.) MIM'S THE N.Y.S. Health Aegart_ment replied to our 4 page Freedom of Information Reguest WORD! about the mottled teeth, labeled "Tetracycline stained", of St. Regis Indian Reservation children, located_near high fluoride emissions of aluminum plants: "NOT AVAILABLE" "DO NOT EXIST" "UNABLE TO LOCATE" Critical problems have befallen the people in that area, ruining their liveli- hoods, their cattle, and health.(Island of Woe,Macleans,11/3/80). UEs STION: WHY DOESN'T OUR N.Y.S. HEALTH DEPT. INVESTIGATE WHAT IS HAPPENING THERE? SPECIAL MESSAGES AND Haw You CAN H E L P ! Sincere thanks to everyone who joined or sent urgently needed donations, or who join now; .-. Volunteers needed: typing; photocopying; mailings;phoning;letters to papers; call -ins to shows; •-. Help be our Clipping Service --send us articles on fluoridation/fluoride (mark source/date); . Keep informed through the year:send stamped,self-addressed envelopes(25�-1oz;uyiannis($1..) Send to Center for Health Action(below) for 1988 LIFESAVERS GUIDE by Dr.Yiamauyiannis($1.D0); .-. Clip,Sign,6 Send Form Letters enclosed;better yet,make copies for others to also send; Please consider us, or the below worthwhile organizations, for donations and bequests/wills; N.Y.S.Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation,Ine.,P.O.BOX 263,01d Bethpage,N.Y.11804 516-378-7309 National Fluoridation News(NFNP.O.BoxBox 802701Forest Park1, San lmo, California Sta.,Springfield`,Mass.00138415-453-0158 413-782-21115 C,g�ter for Health Action(CHA), TO �� AN ENLIGHTENED 0"WITY AND ENLIGHTENED OFFICIALS ARE THE BEST *J" AVOID, AND SUCCESSFULLY AVERT FLUORIDATION. New )brk State Coalition opposed to 1=1Loridatiol' Inc. (516) IV 9•3474 P.O. Bost 253, Old OW"pe. Mm Y&* 111104 -OM (3/ 8 8 ) Fluoridation-- The Human Sacrifice NeMeaMW co-ONA MAIN " You could be one of the more than M0Nssom Kp1�" JO/"1r' a'"""' W. 100,000,0(H) Arltericaiis being poisoned NON. tn+oENeLm.t�rJr A4atsrhw.n or one of the esthuated :10,000 to 50,000 �,�,�a ;"'«ww�r'►�r who die from fluoride each year. ►AUL ITWMEK J.D. vNrrwd.nu"r' huorida 2beAgftActor (additionalnevidenceosinces rtpio,,4.apraiEv=T"yNY Dr. JohnYiamou s 1983 first edition) NON. JOHN A. AILWOW. awrMtw Health Action Press, 6439 Lp1t ew pow Pim N.Y. Taggart Road, Delaware, Ohio 43015 �Nr bear Valued Members and Friends: "=10 UV LA000A ANsrr.N.Y. This has been a year full of activity, progress, problems, and involve - FIN ments with helping areas threatened with fluoridation, both in our own State etaMtC CAYM944. 0.0. - and out of state, and in Canada. We face what at times seems herculean chal- ""0'°:'"eawMr,ro. lenses against this obsession to fluoridate all of us. We have tried our very R.W.11114081016ft best to answer every call for help, have a dialogue with key legislators, and rseek out as much current research as possible -- which continues to firmly t.1¢ �rue "r. document the health damaging effects of fluoridation. AVti a. OOtWOY, MA, r AA. 0. OatieWlr.OA. NEFARIOUS UNIVERSAL FLUORIDATION PLAN: MEANS METHODS AND MACHINATIONS �/{t1 " o"aisaYAY.a.ee --Vast sums 01 tax dollars are being appropriated, directly and indirectly. "oor°t"tAsarAN.aAA. "r Example: In Appropriations House Bill 11305$ for 19$$ Fiscal Year, in ad- o dition to block grants and other funding, $131,559,000 is budgeted for National Institute for Dental Research (NIDR) -- much of that goes to ew." aMr..�� N.Y. own" Llrt". r.o. N.Y. promote fluoridation and fluoride programs, including school mout r nses. writ"";"°wr.ra' --Over 40 USPHS, CDC, and other agencies and sub -agencies are involved with ■ir.", D.D.S. r°oii"► or have received instructions an how to institute, promote, and attain rn4. o.o.e. .. 4[teAiio.rA. fluoridation of the nation by 1990. Often the word "fluoridation" or e4�.ryOW.01.0. "fluoride" does not appear or is not conspicuous, so Congressmen may not know.. '�ror.ro. NATIONWIDE MANDATORY FLUORIDATION CAMOUFL ? ? —The American Dental Association ADA) is pressing Congress to set up a "Policy! sAerat".r.a. Department" for dental activities and funding, to, be administered by dentists "% `�C"1MCr1trR rA- '",,,,M in close liaison with organized dentistry (see Congressional Bud et Fiscal eM""Q .0mv.D. Year 1988, p.188-189). Safe Water Foundation of Texas calls this a a�L W[INa1M. Y• /Y"wreYA"ooa "federal fluoride empire ""on the backs of taxpayers" - and reminds us that a r Y icAArt N 0°wrtrr nw K;�icw,.r.o, it will make possible "more brown teeth for 'cosmetic' dentistry, more w{w{�.nw11�w""rYo, gingivitis, skeletal fluorosis, etc., more fluoride in food and drink chain. eM"ri wlMira, CZA, arrrA."r DENTAL COSTAi� ,�„�jSE DESPITE THE EXETERDE�� ,C�MS ,QE_FLUORI� TO REDUCE DENTAL DECAY; $32.8 BILLION PREDICTED FOR DENTAL CARE IN 19871 SPOICAµAD110"° (AD News, 4 6 87). For just the ten year..period of 1977�-1987, dental costs pMMAa"iYttN will total $225.1 BILLION! This rise is occurring while child population rMle"LAYOL M 211 " r I `o""" "r has declined, and with the nation saturated with so much fluoride in the as`�iioteAt"bll �bte" �'e. ONfood chain, that children are getting fluorosed teeth in non -fluoridated areas. eD",wo ,r.� PROGRESS EFFORTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 1987 A11. C,t ."r ,ter--NYSCOF, FACT, CHF, and other community groups have testified at hearings; Yra."�",i,;t"4 NA!" --Testimony was submitted against block grant or other funding for fluoridation: a�M":""' --Paul Beeber, NYSCOF's Pres.& Gen.Counsel, was'guest speaker on radio programs; K� �'� --N.Y.S. Health Dept. agrees there should be no "double -dosing" of children $1101,Jam j NOW being given fluoride mouthrinses in fluoridated areas; --More legislators join NYS bills to stop or curb fluoridation/fluoride programa a= KN.YDaE.Am, --More Congressmen join U.S. Rep. Lent's H.J.Res. 51, which criticizes EPA's ;� M� drastic raising of fluoride's maximum contaminant level (MCL) in drinking a146 iata�o water. (EPA's action brought bitter dissent by EPA's Union of scientists!) VICTORY IN JOHNSTOWN. NEW YORK: WATER BOARD RESCINDS MANDATE (2424 87 w '•""�.;"' Diane Boerner, remarkable leader of Concerned Citizens for Pure Water, told •a.,,,,,,,,,, She continued. "The people want the Board: •4M you an tie wllW to accept to know which one of the credit rot any W16 poEi&L. iW gentlemen i•W+ter belongs to everybody. U's beastlt et adding a toxic chemical p was to have hie name made act yours to alter with a preEetlp- tic as a person to Esnd medical tisa ," Yes. lioeflter toad the � our water. then you must else � �, repairs bIW to and the bills bear!. " Woride bal W In a den• aaauate (be rsspons"t" for say for iastalllag and purchasing distill• W office. We are not opposed to negative eonMuences incurred by iog equipment! Which one of you anyone usias fluoride, but it should th4 rut of the population," ehe said. wants to be held libel for any per - be by choice." manent irreversible damage ... OVERWHELMING OPPOSITION TO FLUORIDATION MANDATE IN BALDWINSVILLE N.Y. The entire Boar of —Trustees and the Mayor have joined the Baldwinsville Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, in its opposition to the fluoridation mandate by County Health Commis- •ioner. RESOLUTIONS OPPOSING FLUORIDATION ADOPTED BY WOMEN'S GROUPS ..LonpL_Island Federation of Women s_C u s,Inc., -mbrs.,62 Clubs, 4 Counties.) ..New York State DAR (Daughters of American Revolution), Resolution adopted 9/24/87. 0 V E R NEW BOOK: FLUORIDE, FREEDOM FIGHT, by Dr. Hans Moolenburgh(avai•lable from NFN-address ovet), massomm�.____— ---- ----ate S;REME COMT JUSTICE FLAHERTY (�B/BS) RE -AFFIRMS, BASED ON LENGTHY COURT TRIAL AND kmsT 3, PAGES OF TESTIMNY,_THAT FWORIDATION-IS EXTREMELY -DELETERIOUS TO HEALTH 0 1 _ 2 _ (3/d8 On the passe a me ca y e ensi a an ctatot a evolution, rea ng its endorsement of fluoridation and urging that states "require"(MANDATE!) STATEWIDE FLUORIDATION. Having just honored the 200th Year of our Constitution, makes this Resolution even more appalling. -----Correspondence from the AMA from 1965 to 1987, concedes they have done no research on fluoride!-- FLUORIDE CANCER ANIMAL STUDY 1LY NAZIONAL IN§TITUTES OF H LTH STILL UNRESOLVED Results of the tests, expected in early 19 8, may not be available for 2-3 bears. Fluoride testing for carcinogenic potential was the outcome of Congressional hearings in 1977. MORE ON FLUORIDE COVER-UPS, AND DISAPPEARANCE OF VITAL DATA ON ADVERSE EFFECTS (e.g.Dr. ran can s first-hand now edge of World Health Organization's omission of ill effects) ..DISCONTINUED/ American Medical Associa io (AMA) Page 10 of now extinct brochure, "Efficacy DISAPPEARED: and Safety of Fluoridation' lists 3.4-5.0 mg.daily fluoride intake. (Note; Total _ f.intake such major concern,that special workshop held(ADA News,6/15/87)(Yet endorse!) ..DISCONTINUED American Lung Assoc o - New pamphlet on AIR POLLUTION includes ALL other pollutants previously listed as MAJOR POLLUTANT, excel for fluoride! W H Y 71 Virginia State Dept.of.Healt_h no longer makes available the 45 page objective ••DI5CARDED 'Fluoride in Drinking Water" Report, by Dr. Brian Dementi Ph.D., biochemist. -�-EPA11 EPA'scientifically Unsupportable Raising of Fluoride's Permissible Le COVER-UP RIVALS in rin ing Water. Dr. Bob Carton, Past President of EPA s Union of scientists COVER-UPS OF (Local 2050, representing 1200 EPA professionals) considers this a major cover- WATERGATE, up; he said there is a double standard -- one standard for other pollutants, NASA CHALLENGER and a different, biased standard for fluoride; erroneous claims of safety by EPA 6 IRON -CONTRA: officials based on distortions, calling it "the worst abuse I have ever seen." ~-CASE IN POINT WHERE OPFICIAL§ FEEL NO BLIGATION OR CO UNC ION 10 ANSWER LUESTIONS OF CONCERNED CITIZENS FOR PURE WATER -- SCOTIA NEW YORK The Mayor and local Officials who mandated fluoridation, not only refuse to rescind the mandate, but refuse to answer important questions being asked of them. The Mayor also stated publicly that he didn't have time to read the literature. Questions covered: ..What is the total daily fluoride intake of Scotia -Glenville residents?..Synergistic effects?.. ..Environmental Impact? - On Groundwater? - On people?. -What "market basket" studies have been conducted in our area as to amounts of fluoride in meat, produce,fish,beverages;dental products.. ..What dental surveys have been done in our area to warrant the need for this..? ..What studies the Board members actual! and ersonall reviewed before voting to mandate. ..Other questions covered costs; precise, monitored dosages; liability; accidents, etc. AND FLUORIDATION'S DEFENDERS STILL CLAIM FLUORIDE IS SAFE SAFE SAFE Pediatrics, July 9 Journal of American Academ of Pediatrics now recommends an even lower "small amount of fluoride containing toothpaste" for youngsters ("about half the size of a pea") ... They also caution about total fluoride intake when prescribing fluoride, and state: "Those requirements should be adjusted downward for the significantly underweight child." (1) MORE EVIDENCE FLUORIDE IS NOT THE ANSWER TO OSTEOPOROSIS AND CAUSES PROBLEMS " ..the regimen may accelerate the loss of bone mass in the hips and long bones... The new bone it generates may be more brittle than normal, the treatment causes gastrointestinal bleeding and other side effects in some patients...".(Chico o Trib.11/9/86)(Also Boston Globe,11/5/86) MORE EVIDENCE OF FLUORIDE'S DANGERS homy Cells". Mutation Research,187,p.165-1 0,1 , i utagenic Activity of Fluorides cMouse Lamp The Ecologist,16:6,1986(By Drs.Diesendorf;Sutton;Colquhoun(retired princpal dental officer). ORE EVIDENCE.-EVIDENCE.-THA FLUORIDE IS NOT FF CTIV World Health Or anization s worldwide compilation on tooth decay, completed May 1987. Dr. A.S. Gray, Director of Canada's Division of Dental Health Services, objective study, luoridation, Time for a New Base Line?" (Journal of Canadian Dental Association, No. 10, 1987). JAMAICA WATER SUPPLY BACKS DOWN ON PROMISE TO STOP PLuuxlue+aivi.... ••�o�••- - - Jamaica Water Supply has reneged on its commitment to discontinue fluoridating the Nassau residents they serve, made in writing, by telephone, and at public meetings. Everyone living in the fluoridated areas of: Bellerose, Elmont, Floral Park, Stewart Manor, parts_of New H de Park, Valley Stream_, Franklin Square, and Garden Cif, should PROTEST AT ONCE, THAT FLUORIDATION IS JEOPARDIZING THEIR HEALTH AND INSIST I BE DISCONTINUED IM ssl,INTYLY1100NTACTe1. (516) 488-4600 Jamaica Water 5u 1 Ca., (Thomas O'Brien, Chairman of Board; Russell Kopke, President; David Ross, Consumer Relations) ___ .... i-wrro rr.ttnRMATION N.Y.S. HEALTH DEPT. Exrxmapaaa Liu— - - - Dr. David Axelrod, NYS Health Commissioner, has written to NY5 Senator Owen Johnson: "...(the Department's water fluoridation policies) is a matter which concerns me deeply. In consequence of my concern, the Department has turned its emphasis away from advocacy ." (in favor of other individualized dental modalities). of public water fluoridation.. We hope Dr. Axelrod's expression of shift in position is followed ollowedTOy act Pon, and by others. REaINDERS REMEMBRANCE e hotoco /mailings/phone,ete. ,.HEARTFELT THANKS to all those who have joined or sent much needed donations during the year; ..NOTIFY LT H you are moving, to update our records, .VOLUNTEER:typ /P PYrk ..EYES 6 EARS are needed to sLettersatoicles Edltornoflnewspapersprcalliin.topradio ma shows, etc. ..SPREAD OUR MESSAGE - write .•PLEASE CONSIDER US. OR THE FOLLOWING DEDICATED ORGANIZATIONS, FO ge,NAYI11804ONS R BEQUESTS:516-378-7309 N.Y.S.Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation.Inc.,P•O.Box 263,OlCali£Bethpornia 94960 415-453-0158 National Fluoridation News, P.O. Box 1611, esn Anselma, P.O.Box 802TO,Forest Park Sta.,Sprinafield,Mass. 00138 413-782-2115 - Center for Health Action, -- _ __"_-_-_.._-------ONE PERSON MAKES A DIFFERENCE------- --- CAm ON -- ��TS_ __ RSHIP I�NATION T Y� SO WE �ER TO =� MBER TO lit! ET WITH LEGISLATORS, VOICE YOUR 1 ki�15, SEEK �FE[R HELP it is Ala •�If 'P a-, M n .11. o eac Lig.Ahouse Point S YS7,,no' to fluoride (empW *Kh voters won't be able to decide ,xAni, vadds. ip the city's drinking term . uaa a ,� City'Commissioners decided against pgg tq ;gnestloa on a 'ballot after hearing a � bw re;*nta who said fluoride was a A threat. (icbard "Amss, dental executive director of the Huard County Public Health Unit, pointed out sss beou 16 years aim the city approved an inswe calling for no fluoridation of city water it approved by the voters in an election. arnp 26 cities in Broward County are enjoying uidated water; Ames told commissioners, with y Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach and Cooper y the only cities not using it. Both Cooper City I Deerfield Beach have agreed to place it on November' ballot so Pompano Beach is the r holdout, he added. tut UOtbouse Point resident Naomi Flack, � wen " involved in defeating fluoridation in i<land County, N.Y. in the mid4970s, told imissioners that fluoride is a harmful drug. Vou are being asked to add' 'a prescriptive g, fluoride, to the drinking water of every it, woman and child of this city," she said. e Food and Drug Administration regulates all ride for internal consumption as a drug. This ,ecause fluoride -U"one of0the most,44a AWL—, aces known to man.", luoride, she continued, is 15 times more toxic a cyanide and prior to 1950 "it's main claim to _ e was that it was a super duper rat and roach *any of you take multivitamin pills," she said. I would never want to see vitamins put in drinking water and forced on whole popula- because some expert decide it's for their good. The function of a public water supply is provide pure, safe water for all people, not to rve as vehicle for compulsory, mass medics- [y concern is our drinking water," said Patri- Brett, a Pompano Beach resident who pre - sly lived in a fluoridated area and suffered k rheumatoid arthritis. "If there's a concern, it shouldn't go any further with trying to doctor it (water) up with more drugs. Fluoride is accumulative in our system." Another Pompano Beach resident Barbara Ul- rich called fluoridating the water system "immor•- al" and a lack of freedom of choice. Former City Commissioner Emma Lou Olson said she's convinced that fluoride is a "toxic poison.' ' "Let those who want it pay for (fluoride) tab. Iota but don't make me pay for water L can't Z;i " However, Tom Mueller, director of envir- onmental engineering for Broward County Public Health Unit, later told reporters that there is no evidence to support the peoples' charges, "The date, information we have had has not demonstrated these kinds of claims people are saying." There are 26 water plants in Broward County currently fluoridated and they haven't had any problems, Mueller said. Commenting on the commission's decision not to place the question on the ballot, Ames said, "All we're asking for is to let people make a de- cision. We're not trying to decide for the people of Pompano Beach and neither do I think other people should do that." "It doesn' accumulate, only up to the level of what the body needs." ' M= NftWSW BeMI *, &UK*, JWW 12, lass $ Pompano: No vote on fluoridation By BOB LaMMWLA aw M" Ll Wo W P g virile[ 8 ' g ro� K .p w �p .S� ff M � ,�� a pt Ll 1 1 7_� ..... ... _ National FLUORIDATION NEWS Vol, XXV, No. 8 Auguist-October 1979 Lawsuit in New York City A lawsuit was started June 15,1979 to stop fluoridation in New York City. The injunction was filed by Arthur C. Ford, former New York City water commissioner, Queens County Assemblyman John Flack, Dominick Paduano and other New York City residents. Attorneys of the group are Paul Stephen Beeber, Presi- dent and General Counsel of the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation and John Remington Graham, who successfully represented the citizens in the Pittsburgh area, at which time judge )ohn P, Flaherty ruled that he was "compellingly convinced" that fluoridation is linked with increased cancer deaths. Defendants are the City of New York, Mayor Edward Koch, the Board of Health, and other City agencies. Why lawsuit is needed The New York State Coalition Opposed to fluoridation, Inc. feels the lawsuit is needed. A recent National Conference of leaders opposed to fluoridation concluded that only in open court, under oath and cross-examination, will the truth about fluoridation be revealed. New York City is the key place to follow upon this ruling. A victory here would be noted and publicized throughout the world and could well be the turning point in the fluoridation battle. Evidence of damage There is now so much evidence that fluoridation is harmful that most medically advanced countries reject fluoridation (for example, less than 2%of Western Europe is now fluoridated). The lawsuit will reveal fluoridation to be one of the most dangerous forms of pollution masquerading as a public health measure. Evidence will prove the link between fluoridation and cancer, genetic abnormalities, allergies, mottled teeth, kidney disorders and numerous other toxic and cumulative effects. The widespread damage inflicted by fluoridation on countless millions of people must be stopped. A special fund to finance this suit has been started. Checks should be made payable to Safe Water Foundation - Legal Fund, (a special tax-deductible fund for this lawsuit), and sent to N.Y.S. Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, P.O. Box 263, Old Bethpage, N.Y. 11804, Tooth Size Decreased Among the many debated side effects of fluoridation is whether it Influences the size of teeth. Some studies indicate that fluoridated water may increase tooth size slightly, whereas others suggest that it makes teeth smaller. Seeking to resolve this question, two British dental ro sarchers, Drs. D. H. Goose and E. E. Roberts of the University of Liverpool, recently measured the size of the tssth of children and their parents living on the Island of Anglesey in Northwest Wales, where the drinking water has been artificially fluoridated at 1 ppm since 1956. The children were born and grew up with fluoridation but not the parents. Reporting their findings in the June 1979 issue of the Journal of Dental Research (Vol. SS. pp. 1562-1563), these authors found that the average dimensions of the respective teeth of the sons are smaller than those of the fethen and those of the daughters are smaller than those of the mothers in 19 out of 28 categories (ail the permanent teeth except the third molars). This trend is exactly opposite that currently observed in the United Kingdom. Moreover, the teeth of the Anglesey children are also smaller than those of children born and raised in the nearby non - fluoridated mainland city of Liverpool. Although the mechanism by which fluoride might alter tooth size is not yet known (see WHO Monograph No. 59, Fluorides and Human Health,1970, pp. 211-212), these new Findings clearly confirm that fluoridated water affects more Own just the enamel and hardness of teeth. `Dental Decay Runnin Will' and sweet tooth gets Lame "Dental decay is running wild in the American population;" said Ira L. Shannon, director of the Oral Disease Research Laboratory of the Houston Veterans Administration Hospital, according to a story In The Detroit Free Press written by Judith Serrin, science writer. "The estimates are that there are more than one billion unfilled cavities at this time. if you're an average American, You have four or five unfilled cavities in your mouth," Dr. Shannon said, speaking in a session on diet and diseases at the Annual Convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Shw non also said: "Most of the cavities are the result of sugar you've been eating between meals. The sugar comas not only in snacks like candy, but also disguised in things such as breath mints and vitamin tablets." A generation ago, three -fourths of the sugar people ate was table sugar. Today, three -fourths of the sugar comes in txmfectionaries, such as soda and candy. Most risky of these, Shannon said, are sticky foods like caramels. Shannon said that on the average each person eats about 2% pounds of sugar a week, Based an 1,600 biochemical analyses of food samples, Sharman has found that some candies are 90 percent sugar, some breath mints are 9S percent sugar and even children's vasmtimrton be more than Sopercam sugar, Canal, he said, averages 25 percent sugar. He described tooth deny as one of the health defects to show up most quickly from an improper diet. The Handwriting on the Wall / ►1crot ca,,,Vot1tA fir' Y " WHAT.rwF KAyt Nw ° da6,200,000, lr OR THEIR MONEV /] / 7 MAKE THEM tF" DRINK IT!" win W WE AS b The Pressure is On The plan for spending $6,200,000 on fluoridating 435 towns and 1000 schools is under way. Some towns in various states have already accepted this plan, For example, an October 16 news release from the Arkansas Department of Health in Little Rock reports: "The State Department of Health has been awarded a fluoridation project grant of S154,012 by the Department of Health Education and Welfare. "England, Fayetteville and Nashville will be the first cities in Arkansas to receive water fluoridation equipment. The three cities were selected by HEW because they had satisfied all the requirements for the program and had been specifically mentioned in the original grant application by the Health Department. "First priority for eligibility under the program guidelines I, for all rural schools without a fluoridated water source and for non -fluoridated communities of over 1,000 population. 138 non -fluoridated communities In Arkansas have populations of over 1,0W and 69 rural schools are using a drinking water system that is not fluoridated. These communities and schools are immediately eligible for consideration of fluoridation grant funds. "Through the massive financial support to be offered, the federal government is encouraging fluoridation of public water supplies as a prime preventive dental health measure.' The report states that presently there are 571 community water systems in Arkansas. Of these 121 are fluoridated and supply 800,000 persons. The remaining population with community water systems not fluoridated is approximately 700,000. These are served by 450 systems of which only 138 have a population of over 1,000. The specific objectives of the program are: 1 To implement fluoridation in approximately 8,670 Dutch Study with Matched Groups Fluoride Dental B Today fluoride tablets and fluoridated toothpastes, along with fluoride mouthrinses, are still being vigorously promoted as effective agents for the prevention of tooth decay. Yet widely differing results have been reported for the actual amount of caries reduction from the use of these products. For the most pan, im gant concurrent influences, e.g., dietary habits, candyo consumption, toothbrushing frequency, and socioeconomic status, have been neglected. But when such factors are taken into account, as in a recent study in Holland, virtually no difference in the amount of tooth decay is found in carefully matched groups of fluoride users and non -users. Published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (1978, Vol. 6, pp. 227-230) under the title Effect of socioeconomic factors on the observed caries reduction after fluoride tablet and fluoride toothpaste Consumption," this Investigation by Drs. T. Tijmstra, M. Brinkman -Engels, and A. Groeneveld of Groningen and Utrecht "was carried out in 1976 on 583 randomly selected school children in Leeuwarden, a non -fluoridated town in the north of the Netherlands. All children were born in 1%1" and were therefore 14-15 years old at the time of the study. In addition to mirror -and -probe clinical examinations of Pits, fissures, and smooth surfaces by three dentists, with cross-checks of every tenth child, bite -wing X-rays were used to evaluate approximal surfaces. The DFS score (number of decayed and filled permanent tooth surfaces) was calculated for each child. Adjustments were made both for extracted teeth which were considered to be equal to two caries units and for orthodontic extractions." Fluoride users were considered to be "only those children who had used fluoride for at least two years and were still using it." in the overall comparison, before the children were matched for dietary, socioeconomic, and dental hygiene Practices. the average caries experience (DFS score) of the 123 fluoride users was 16.2, while that of the 226 non -users was 19.0. compared to 18.5 for all 583 children. The DFS score of the fluoride users was 15% lower than that of the non -users. When, however, the children -were divided Maamsasched pares according to the variables: "ocesrparion of the f adw, sweet camsumpNan, and toothbrwhirrg habits," the average DFS scores of the non -users closely approached those of the fluoride users. The results of these community water systems which serve approxi- mately 67.3 million persons residing in about S,860 communities; 2 To continue fluoridation in the more than 6AM communities whose water systems have already been fluoridated; 3 To implement fluoridation in about 4,000 rural schools without fluoridated water sources which are not served by fluoridated community water systems; 4 To monitor the fluoride concentration at optimum level in all fluoridated water systems; 5 To promote fluoridation at national, regional and state levels; 6 To carry on national informational and education activities through mass media and other outlets; and 7 To encourage the states to establish fluoridation programs through project grants to state and local health agencies and encourage state capacity building of fluoridated water systems. The fluoridation project grant guidelines indicate that funds may include costs for personnel, purchase and installation of equipment, testing equipment, all fluoride chemicals for a two-year period, training of water operators, community and school organization and education expenses to assist in a fluoridation awareness program, and construction expenses to house equipment and/or store chemicals at school fluoridation sites. The report also mentions that the Division of Dental Health will contact eligible communities and schools in order to assist them in community education activities. This program needs careful watching in all states. Many towns have rejected fluoridation by a vote of the people. In our democracy a controversial subject, such as fluoridation should always be presented to the people in open debate. enefits Negligible comparisons, In three categories, are seen in the following table: Caries Experience of Matched Groups of Fluoride Users and Non -Users No. of Mean DFS Category children score F-Tablet users (for-8 yrs.) 49 16.6 Matched non -users 49 16.7 F-Toothpaste users (for-3 yrs.) 40 17.5 Matched non -users 40 15.7 F-Tablets + F-toothpaste users 34 14.2 Matched non -users 34 16.9 All F-users 123 16.2 All matched non -users 123 1C7 As the authors point out, "the 49 children using fluoride tablets had a slightly lower caries experience than the [average of the 226] non -users. But it appears that the 49 matched [Italics in original] non -user also had a lower caries experience than the (average of the 2261 non -users. This result is also seen in the fluoride toothpaste groupp. Only in the group of 34 users of both F-tablets and F-tooth- paste was there a difference between users and matched non -users, although the effect of the matching procedure ion the DFS scores] can also be observed here." In discussing the implications of their work, the authors point out that their results "clearly show that a simple comparison between caries experience of F-users and non- users cannot be used to provide conclusive evidence of caries reduction" by fluoride. "Socioeconomically the F- users belong to a relatively highly selected group." Thisfact, therefore, rather than the use of fluoride, appears to account for most of their decay reduction. When users and non -users are in the same socioeconomic level and have the same dietary and oral hygiene habits, their caries experience Is practically identical. Since dental benefits attributed to fluoride have been repeatedly questioned over the years, it seems amazing that an investigation such as this to determine the elf_.of obviously important concurrent variables has apparently not been undertaken aarRer, Why has dare been so much rsluttance by duNal rsaavehars so learn the real truth about fluoride? (For a similar account of this research, see Science News, Sept. 1, 1979, p. 152.) top 2 Atisiian�i FfuoiYRaosEE [rears - +*w`p^"••"c• ••••P - Nstios el FLUORIDATION NEWS ROUTE 1, GRAVETTE, ARKANSAS 72736 Telephone:501 787-6648 �1'rfffcsrtion. eneral and scientific information medium about iluort- Ion, nattanat and international. Published in the interest allorganizations drinkingnwaterr frees of chemicaluals s needed d for Published Quarterly U.5, subscription rate: $2.00 one year; $3.50 two years. Canada (U.S. Funds) $2.00 one year; $3.50 two years. Foreign (U.S. Funds) $2.50 one year; $4.50 two years. Quantity rates: 10 copies $1.50; 5o copies $6.00; 100 copies $10.00; 300 copies $27,00; 500 copies $45.00. �1quontity orders add 50 cents for postage and handling.) thel H. Fabian ................... Editor and Publisher Medical Advisory Boland 1p'rrrCent E. Maloney, M.D., Brooklyn, N.V.; Philip E. Zanfagna, M.D., Lawrence, Mass.; Harvey T. Petroborg. M.D., Altism, Minn. Dental Advisory Board ME. Waxer. D.D.S., Hemet, Calif.: Barnet Winner, D.D.S., bn, N,V,; Leslie A. Russell, D.M.D., Newtonville, Mast.; Casimir R. Shelf, D.D.S., Passaic, N.1. to{eI Advisory Board John R. Auchier, Springfield, Mast.; G. S. Williams, Farmingdale, TM, John Remington Graham, St. Paul, Minn. Carmponding Edhon Dr. Earl G. Hallonquist, New Westminster, British Columbia. industrial Research Scientist; Prof. lames B. Patrick, Chairman, Dept. of Chemistry, Mary Baldwin College, Staunton. Va,; W. T. Sthrenk, Ph.D., Rolla, Mo., Chemist; A. W- Laubengayy0 Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Cornell University , IrZ.%' h'' Len 6reenall, surrey, B.C., Canada; Albert Schatz, Ph.D., delphis, Pa, South African Symposium by Dr. H. C. Moolenburgh Dr. H. C. Moolenburgh was born June 28,1925 in Haarlem, Holland. His medical studies started in 1943. He finished his studies at Leyden University in 1952, and after spending over a year in military service, he served as a family physician in Hwrlem. i Dr, Moolenburgh first became interested in fluoridation in 1%8 when the proponents wanted to fluoridate Haarlem. He was chairman of a group of biologists and physicians who looked into the side effects of fluoridation. The battle for Holland was won in 1976. He gives credit to the T. V, program of Dean Burk about two weeks before the House of Commons voted on the question. He is the author of a book about fluoridation and chairman of a number of Foundations and Committees, c,Letter� to toe 6 itar Endorsement New York Style Letter From South Africa To National Fluoridation News: A major cause of the fluoridation problem is manifested i n Rockland County via an ad to the Residents of Rockland recently placed in the journal -News by the Pediatricians of Rockland County, headed by Dr. M. Kuhr, director of Pediatrics of Good Samaritan Hospital. In this ad, Dr. Kuhr based their endorsement of fluoridation on "well - documented studies." I called Dr. Kuhr that same day and questioned him about these studies, only to find that he knew absolutely nothing about them, not even the names or states. He finally admitted, after feigning knowledge about them, that he was simply endorsing fluoridation because the American Academy of Pediatrics Is endorsing ir. This is the very some thing that happened thirty years ago and has been going on since. People and agencies endorsing each other instead of scientific studies. I proceeded to call my pediatrician, only to find that he knew nothing about the ad, nor dfd he give permission for his name lobe used. Five other people called their pediatricians, and found the same to be true. Now that the truth is out, will there be a cover-up by the remaining doctors, as has been done in the past? Or will truth prevail? Doctors no longer have to spend hour upon hour researching fluoridation in the library ... it's been done for them. They need only spend a little time reading. To advocate the use of a poison, a drug to mass medicate people, based on ignorance, fully knowing that there has been controversy for thirty years, is no longer excusable. To arrogantly wave one's hand, as if by magic all the studies will disappear ... to refuse to open one's mind in concern for one's patients ... to refuse to acknowledge that most of the scientific world is against fluoridation based on health hazards.. -is this ignorance? Or is it criminal negligence? Doctors are responsible to their patients, not to their society. It Is time they read literature other than what Is printed in their pro -fluoridation journals. Failure to do 5o is no longer acceptable by most well-informed people, who have become awareonly through necessity because of their physicians' lack of willingness to do the same. It's time people took responsibility for their own health, since obviously, we Cannot always depend upon those whose "expertise" demands it. A good doctor, who is confident In his knowledge and himself, Is open to suggestions by an intelligent lay public who can certainly make decisions based on intensive research of scientific studies. Joyce Kane, President Citizens for Health Freedom West Nyack, Rockland County, NY On October 3rd, 1979, an important event took place In Pretoria. The South African Department of Health organized a symposium on water fluoridation, prompted, no doubt, by the dental lobby who had launched an all-out attack on the South African water supplies. The Convention took place in a beautiful building and lasted a whole day. The objectivity of the Department of Health during the entire proceedings was above any suspicion. Here was a health department that for once was not manipulating proceedings toward a foregone conclusion. Here were people who really wanted to know. Four people representing the fluoridation lobby were matched against four people representing the anti - fluoridation front. Each speaker was given 20 minutes, and 20 minutes were allotted after each session for questions from the public. When the proceedings were well under way they began to look and sound more and more like a mental boxing metch with right books, punches, uppercuts and knock outs. The many dental students who had been brought in by the dental lobby wormed up more and more when they realized that their position was in jeopardy through a really scientific anti -fluoridation front. They cheered and applauded their champions. The firer speaker was Dr. P. E. Cieaton-tones, a professor of experimental ede ntoktgy who apparently felt the urge to widen his experiments in ouch a wary that the whole South African population became subject to them. He did quite well unto in one of his lest semerrers he said that all those people who talked about side effects of fluoridation were quacks. As the next speaker, I was announced by the chairman as it medical doctor, having studied at the old University of Leyden. I moved right in with an uppercut, saying that I regretted to correct the chairman, but that, notwithstanding my 27 years of medical practice, I had just heard from my learned opponent that I was a quack, and that perhaps it would be quite interesting for s8 theft South African students to hear a real quack from FsOgand ssppeecking. I then described all these side affects of Huoridation that my research group of medical doctors and biologists had seen in fluoridated Amsterdam --theft side effects which just had been denied by the proponents. My main thesis was that the term "side effects" was of"". The host of untoward physical effects due to the poison fluoride were the main effects, and any possible benefit to teeth was a side effect. Where Professor Cleaton-lone had stressed the "right of children not to be deprived of fluoridation," I ended my paper with a reminder that every citizen has a right not to be poisoned. The public had hardly recovered from this bloody encounter when in moved Mr. L. M. Lousy, an attorney (anti -fluoridation) and after him Dr. D. 8, T, Hackland (proponent). Their discussion was about the ethical side of fluoridation. Mr. Louw put our case very well, but he also brought in the harmful effects of fluoridation. Dr. Hackland was a clever debater. Take his remark: "We in our hospital also see the host of complaints Doctor Moolenburgh described, but as our water supplies are not fluoridated we could not withdraw water from these patients and prove that fluoride was the culprit." Fluoridation Democratic?? To National Fluoridation News: I note in a number of places that you refer to "elections" and 51 % of the voters forcing 100%of the people to consume fluorides. Perhaps you do not know that fluoridation has been removed from the realm of democracy in some locations. A year or two ago the state of Ohio decreed that Cincinnati must have fluoride in its water supply in spite of the fact that the citizens of that cityhave voted overwhelmingly against it on four occasions, the most recent of which was just prior to the state edict. Perhaps some funds should be spent to take the Cincinnati issue to the supreme court so that we may determine whether totalitarian politics are indeed legal in our so-called "democracy". Lee Benham Gulph Mills, PA To National Fluoridation News: In South Africa, the long-awaited National5ymposlu on Water Fluoridation took place on October 3, 1979, at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIFe) n- ference Centre in Pretoria. From all accounts the mg was a resounding success, attracting around 300 'Its from all walks of life, the majority being connected wit the dental and medical professions. To bring into the local arena the experience of overseas countries where fluoridation has been tried out, the panel of speakers included Dr. Hans Moolenburgh from Hollantall, Dr. Dean Burk from the United States, and Professor Disvid Newell from the United Kingdom. Representing South Africa was the dean of the Sirouip of scientists opposed to fluoridation, Professor Douro IGe n, a world authority on the toxic effects of fluoride soh her occuring naturally or applied artificially. Professor Steyn protested the forced fluoridation of water supplies, saying it is both undemocratic and strafe n- able to add a dangerous poison such as fluoride strafe cater supplies and to force people to drink it against their'wI . He said fluoride is known to cause chromosome dampg and mutations to plants and animal cells. It passes the plat IT barrier into the foetus, where it accumulates--hdnc the well-founded possibility of it causing anatomicalan� mal abnormalities. Professor Steyn also pointed out that the margin of fety between harmlessandharmful concentntionsoffltaor in drinkingwaterlsverynarrow becauseofthegreary rs ions in the quantities of water drunk daily by differentind�i soh. "I fail to see how it ispossibleforanyone with atrueise se of concern for human health to propagate or sis the artificial fluoridation of drinking water supplies as aine sof combating Tooth decay. No one who has had pe not experience c f the ravages wrought on human arrr a imal health by minimal amounts of fluoride in their dri king water could possibly accept thistremendous respoeKl Iffy," Dr.HansMoolenburgh,atallgreyinggeneralpratti oner from Haarlem with a warm human touch, radiatedni riry and conviction as he quietly related case hiftpi or patients from his own practice and that of his calve ves, illustrating human suffering caused by artificial flullri anon of water supplies in Amsterdam and other cities inHof nd.it was this carefully tabulated record of painful aharg -like reactions to fluoridation suffered by many p le, supported by Dr. Dean Burk's proof of harm cau by fluoridation in USA, which led the Dutch Goverli nt to bring all fluoridation in Holland to an end in 1976. Answering Dean Burk's presentation that flaori Li causes increased cancer deaths, Professor David the University of Newcastle -on -Tyne, UK, emphaolz that various authorities have asserted that fluoridation o�ellonf ater supplies does not increase the risk of death from cancer and there is therefore no substance to contrary debris "It is difficult to believe that these authorities have entereq into a conspiracy of mass murder," he said. At the end of the symposium lay members of the who had been chosen by Dr. 1. de Seer, Secretaryfbr Irkh, Save their opinions on the subject discussed. one expressed himself or herself in favouroffluorld.t ors, inly because of the disagreement amongst experts aril au" no proponent of the measure was prepared to guar. ere its absolute safety. (One delegate referred to dental ice as a non -fatal disease, which Is a good point to rerr d The symposium was very valuable, and we arevety ateful to have been abletogettogetherand airourviews.Ilfl i naybe allowed to pass an opinion I would say that the ten at and medical councils have had a very greatsetback intheir tilorts to have fluoridation passed. Mrs. Sophia ila��rbbeel1ls Republic of SotrthlAfrka This, of course, was a brilliant move, quite apart from the fact that I and my group have proven our point with double blind tests. Such a quick countermove by Doctor Hackland makes people forget the real proof that has been given and gets applauded. During the discussion the anti -fluoridation attorney moved in with some very good sparring. Mr. Louw more than held his own against his medical opponent. The third match was called "practical application, implications and feasibility of fluoridation-" Dr. D. J, Huyser, quite a pleasant chap, was matched against one of the most renowned opponents against fluoridation in the world, 82-year-old Professor Douw G. Steyn, who wonder- ed why the dental lobby had chosen one of the most toxic substances in the world to add to the water supplies. One of the most amiable men I ever met, Professor Steyn is very bright and extremely knowledgeable. But all these matches were just kindergarten compared to the treat the public received after an excellent lunch. In moved heavy -weight Dr, Dean Burk, winner of many battles, hero of the American scene presenting Yientouylannis' and his, by now famous, graph showing a 18% higher cancer death rate in major fluoridated U.S. cities, No stood in front of a partly hostile public, a first rate sclevioab en example of unbending integrity, and also a wise said modest "young" man. After Dr. Burk in walked "heavy -weight" Professor David 1. Newell, and in a flash everything changed. Until that moment the whole symposium had been conducted in a fairly friendly atmos0here. Even the clash between Cleaton- Jones and me did nor lack in playfulness. But now, suddenly, it was war, The veil was drawn back and the fluoridation battle reared its ugly face in all its dirtiness and shabbiness. Newell begen to kick below the belt. A very angry psychologist from the public did not hesitate to call his paper downright cherader "NotiimtioirL What Newell's paper boiled down to was this: When one adjusted Burk's findings for race, sex, and age, nothing Is left of his higher cancer death rase in the fluorldaredehles. Apparently the professor had forgotten that when he was undeF th an cross examined before judge John P. Flaherty, th cou made mincemeat of his theories. He later told the piliblic t a nearly tearful voice how scandalously the Amedcan cou had behaved toward him. Professor Newell did not deny Burk' an Yiomouyiannis' findings. He denied Burk's intekp atio of these findings, and he broadly hinted that a thf d-cis scientist like Burk could not be expected to inter t h own data, but that one needed a first-class brain (en lucki that brain was there in Professor Newell's head) tlo c me L with the right conclusions. In fad Professor Newell left us with two option 1. The 10%extra cancer death rate in the fluori/at CIO could be explained away by differences in age, rate mild and elderly people, males and blacks having cane than younger, people, females and white ones. 2. The extra cancer death rate was due to fluoridation the water supplies. The clapping dental students apparently chore the fit solution. But let me ask you, reader, what you ch ? Such was the suggestive power of Professor 1 th directly after his paper, some people in the evd h that he had destroyed Dean Burk s evidence. cou not see through Professor Newell's gimmick. Happily, Mr. Louw restored some common fe In tl meeting. "Let us remember carefully;' he Sato I effa, "that these things were proved before Jude label during the Allegheny Court Trial. It Is no proof again Burk's findings that an appeal against Flaherty9 r in$ h been granted, but not granted because there was flaw the scientific evidence. It was granted baca se tl fluoridation lobby found some technical legally r hsit loophole," and thus stopped their defeat from ant rout. With extreme anxiousness, both sides then ahv�ted t verdict, this being given by five very level head representatives of the several population groups. (continued on page 4) I I 1 1 National Fluoridation News - August -October 1979 PIWg The Kingston Whig -Standard Tells It Like It Is Canadian Newspaper Chooses Not To Ignore Fluoride Pollution The Whig -Standard of Kingston, Ontario, Canada's oldest daily newspaper, has not hesitated to tell of the fluoride pollution problem involving the City of Cornwall, the Cornwall and St. Regis Islands and the Mohawk Indians living qn the Indian reserve along the St. Lawrence River. The Whig-Standarddid not bury the in-depth stories on the inside but featured them, written by staff reporters Sylvia Wright, Penny Stuart, Karl Polzer, Bill Hutchinson, 5helagh Stanley and Ann Lukits, on the front page. Geoffrey E. Radcliffe of the Kingston Pure Water Committee has sent to N.F.N, tear sheets of The Whig - Standard's investigations. (June 12, 1979) "Fluoride Pollution Killing Cornwall Cattle: Human Health In Danger, Pathologist Styr "Fluoride pollution from the Reynolds Metals Company near Massena, New York, Is killing cows on Cornwall Inland in the St. Lawrence River. "Dr. Lennart Krook, a U.S. pathologist who has just completed a two-year study of the pollution, told The Whig -Standard that cattle on the island are suffering from 'severe, chronic fluoride poisoning.' "'The cows can't even drink water and they have great difficulty chewing hay; Krook said. 'Therefore, they starve. Their life expectancy is not more than five years. There is no ascope.' The life expectancy of cows is normally at least 10 years. "Cornwall Island is part of the St. Regis Indian Reserve. tt's located in Canadian waters, less than one mile downwind from the aluminum plant and too miles east of Kingston. "Krook documented the decline of farming on the rewrve since the Reynolds plant began operations in 1959, and he attributed the decline to the tons of fluoride dlscharged into the atmosphere from the plant every week. "When the plant opened, farmers on the reserve kept 364 cattle in 29 barns. In the fall of 1977, there were 177 cattle in nine barns, Krook is a professor of pathology at New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. This is a pretty sad story,' Krook told The Whig - Standard. 'There's obviously no way the human population can escape all that pollution either.' " (June 13, 1979) "Ottawa Warned of Health Risks Medical report on Cornwall Island: 'Cut the food& pollution right now' "Two U.S. doctors told the Canadian government last year that 'large numbers' of people on Cornwall Island are endangered by fluoride pollution. "The Whig -Standard has learned that Dr. Bertram Carnow, and Dr. Shirley Conibear—both environmental authorities from Chicago —warned in a report that: o'Thwe is, unquestionably, high exposure (on the island) to fluorides.' t7'Thk exposure has affected all the life forms on the island, Mcluding plants, insects and cattle.' o'There are large numbers of people at high risk.' "Ina study conducted more than a year ago, Carnow and Conibear found evidence that the people of Cornwall Island suffer from a higher -than -normal incidence of diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid deficiencies and anemia. Children hyperactive "They found that children appear abnormally Irritable, hyperactive and subject to chronic pain and fatigue. And they warned that island residents are threatened by a long Ilia of chronic diseases for which cure is difficult If not impossible. "Dr. Kenneth Maguire is an Irish dentist who works at the St. Regis Mohawk dental clinic. He says he is worried by the evidence of fluoride damage that he has seen in the teeth of Wand children, aged 9 to 11. Some of Maguire's young patients have brown mottled teeth, 'The fluoride Is in their vajetablas; he said. 'It's in their water.' Chief Angus Bonaparte, Jr., chief of the band council, says that young children are losing their teeth. more and more people are suffering from arthritis. Residents fear their chances of cancer. 'How would you like to live under something like that?' he asked. "The Indians say that the bees have disappeared from Cornwall Island." (June 74, 7979) "Crumble on Cornwall laland: 'What The Hell is Thbr "Calling the St. Lawrence River near Cornwall Island 'an open sewer for industrial waste; Health and Welfare Minister David Crombie ordered a full briefing within 24 hours from his staff Tuesday night onthefluoridepoisoning of the Island and its 1,300 Mohawk inhabitants. "'What the hell is this?' Canada's new minister of health demanded of an aide.'What do you mean they are living on an open sewer for industrial waste? I want all the Information this department has on this situation and I want it within 24 hours.' "An aide said that Crombie was'very concerned with the whole Mate of Indian health' but that he is already feeling the frustrations of his job. 'He seems to be responsible for the results of things he doesn't have any control over — July housing, environmental problems, a score of things; he said. Two other stories and a 3-column photo of a 6-year-old with mottled teeth also appeared on the front page. The second story was headlined: "We knew of threat to health for five b�afirs but didn't act. Official admits Ottawa failed to study eikcts of air, water pollution." The third story told of the cattle and children of Cornwall Island. "Same of the adult rattle are only four feet high. Sister Kateri, principal of the school, knows why we have come. She obligingly herds some children into the playground where they smile for the photographer. Patricia Buckshot, 9, one of the children being tested for fluoride damage, says,'I brush them (her teeth) and I cant seem to get them as white as I want them to be.' They are varigated in color. Stacy Thompson, also 9, has brown spots on her bottom front teeth. Fred Thompson, 9, is being tested for goiter. Sister Kateri describes him as 'hyperactive yet son of sluggish.' '1 think of the effects it's going to have in the future if this continues; she said." The editorial paise carried a halt page editorial and a cartoon showing a bureaucrat in Ottawa looking out of his office window through the wrong end of a telescope and saying "Hello, Cornwall? Looks all right from here." Excerpts from the Editorial: "Pollution b an abomination we seed not tolerate any longer. "The cruel news that fluoride pollution from a New York state metals company is poisoning animals and people on Cornwall island raises again the dilemma of how to balance economic and environmental interests. "It is the same dilemma faced in Dryden, Ont.,where the Reed Paper Company steadfastly refuses to clean up its filthy act —and the Ontario Government steadfastly refuses to force the company to do so. "It is the same dilemma facing vast areas of this and other continents whose lakes are being killed by acid rain from coalfired industry. it is one of the great dilemmas of our time, and it is time we faced it. "Already when we catch a fish we're scared to eat it, in case it's poisoned. What's the next stage? The ocean, incomprehensibly Immense as it is, is becoming defiled. Soon we will have to stop eating fish altogether. And then? Meat, fruit, vegetables, grain... Where will it endt" (June 75, 1979) "Cornwall pollution double legal limit &month test of zity's fluoride levels "The air over the city of Cornwall contained twice the amount of fluoride set by Ontario law during the most recent six-month testing period. Ontario Liberal Leader, Stuart Smith, told The Whig -Standard that between Oct. 16, 1978 and April 14,1979 monthly fluoride emissions averaged 80 micrograms per 100 square centimeters, while the provincial standard is 42 micrograms of fluoride per too square centimeters over 30 days." A second story read: "Crombie's welcome—alonel" "David Crombie, Minister of Health and Welfare, is welcome here —but he can leave his senior bureaucrats in Ottawa. Lawrence Francis, external chief of the band council for the Indians on the Cornwall Island section of the St. Regis Reserve, sent a telex to Crombie yesterday inviting him to visit the Island and discuss fluoride emission from the Reynolds Metal Co. and the effects on animal and plant life. 'I also asked please not to bring senior bureaucrats, who In the past have stonewalled the whole affair,' Francis said." The front page of the second section contained an article by Henry Lickers, a Mohawk Indian biologist living on Cornwall Island, entitled: "A proud people rally to restore the foundation of their society." Excerpts from Mr. Lickers' article: ?he Canadian government has been reluctant to fund an epidemiological study to clarify the problems of fluoride and the other contaminants and has prolonged the negotiations with the St. Regis Band. So, while the government argues with the Band over psuedo-legal problems, Reynolds Metals happily continues to pollute the reserve with tons of fluoride. The people continue to suffer at the hands of industry. As the research continues, it has become increasingly apparent that fluoride is destroying our people." The story was illustrated with photographs of the mottled teeth of a small Indian child and three year old cows. The Whig -Standard's editorial page had this to say of the Cornwall Island pollution: "Ottawa bureaucrats and the Mohawk Band Council can't seem to reach accord on testing procedures. Each side blames the other for the endless delays in getting some son of study done on the fluoride pollution and on mercury pollution in the St. Lawrence River. The very fan that the Mohawks have commissioned three independent studies leads us to conclude that the faceless bureaucrats in Ottawa have been remiss in their duties. " Health and Welfare Minister David Crombie, calling the reserve river area 'an open sewer for Industrial waste; has ordered a full briefing. This Is encouraging. We urge the Conservative government to exercise the leadership that their predecessors clearly lacked and tackle this problem head-on. " (June 16, 1979) "Indians won't aeeept'payofr for pollution Plant pays fluoride damages any M U.S. farmers Elght years ago, Reynolds Metals Co. agreed 'on the courthouse steps' to pay compensation to at least 17 American farmers for fluoride -induced damage to their A reader from the mid -American industrial area writes: Despite the Increasing fluoride pollution in the North American continent promoters still insist that fluoridation is "safe and beneficial," and that opponents are "misinformed and misguided." If any poll taker ever asks for my opinion 1 will gladly say that fluoridation is a harmful, ridiculous and foolish waste of taxpayers' money. crops and fluoride -Induced injury to their cattle. The company has been paying ever since —but only to white, American farmers, not to Canadian Indian farmers on Cornwall Island. "A Reynolds spokesman, contacted yesterday at the company's head office In Virginia, confirmed that some American farmers receive compensation, but Canadiansdo not. 'For three years now the St. Regis Band Council has denied us admittance in the reservation to Investigate the charges and repeatedly refused to meet with company officials to discuss the situation; the spokesman said. "The reason, apparently is simple. The Indians demand clean air --not compensation for toxic air. The Indians say that, for them, the long-term health of their community is a more pressing issue than short-term money. And they say they will not sell off their convictions for financial compensation." (June 20, 7979) "ion of fluoride hits river daily one aluminum firm exceeding Suoridrw— dumping inuba "Two aluminum companies that operate smelrers in New York State are dumping approximately one ton of fluoride waste into the St. Lawrence River every day. "And The Whig -Standard has learned that one of the companies violates New York State regulations limiting its dumping into the International waterway. (June 21, 1979) 'Federal researchers: Fhsoride levels high enough to 0 "Two authorities on environmental fluoride —both with careers at the National Research Council --say the federal government will not act on fluoride pollution until con- fronted by 'a Three Mile Island.' "Dr. Dyson Rose, now retired, and researcher John Marier told The Whig -Standard that the government is prevented from taking action because of a strong pro- fluorlde bias in the department of health and welfare. "They say that bias may leave people with irreversible, crippling diseases and the government with 'a garage full of bodies.' "Rose and Marier are co-authors of the National Research Council's most recent study of environmental fluoride. The report, published last year, called for urrnt top -priority research into the human health hazer of fluoride pollution. "The Whig -Standard interviewed the two men together. Rose and Marier said that environmental fluoride causes bone disease, kidney diseases, diabetes -related dkeases and nutrition -related diseases. "They said that industry is using more and more fluoride —'There's a lot of it going around' —and they said that the fluoride in food, in water and In the air Is reaching critical levels." (July S, 1979) "Fluaridr'h lande in the backyards of Davis, Crombiie Brampton and Rosedale test sit" show Onta ks standards breached by %000% "Airborne fluoride pollution near industries in 12 Ontario cities exceeds the levels recorded on fluoride -troubled Cornwall island, The Whig -Standard has learned. "In air analysis tests conducted near fluoride-pollutln� industries In 40 Ontario centres last summer, the provincia ministry of the environment documented: o At one Toronto plant, fluoride levels more than 58 times higher than the government's air -quality objective allows. o At one Brampton plant, fluoride levels 2S times higher than the government's objective allows. oAt plants In t8 cities, fluoride levels higher than the government's objective allows, with levels In 16 of those cities at least twice as high as the objective." Front page, second section: ABnm Ace : Mystery ailments in'lhe dean coamby air' The Meffab are moving out of their new home In tine new subdivision next to the old brick company "Frances Moffat looked forward to breathing 'clean country air' when she moved to a new condominium development on the outskirts of Brampton last year. "But in the 12 months since the move from downtown Toronto, the three Moffat children have constantly been sick —it's been 'one thing after another' according to their mother —and the family has decided to leave." puly 6, 7979) "Ministry negligent for not telling people of high fluoride hovels. "The Ontario ministry of the environment has been 'grossly negligent' In not telling the people of Ontario about the high levels of fluoride it documented last summer near industries in 18 cities, liberal Leader Stuart Smith said esterday. 'It is an utterly arrogant, secretive ministry that an In fact be monitoring data of Immense importance to publics"y and yet not bother to inform the public about the reauks,' he said In an interview with The Whig -Standard." (July 7, 7979) "'Give people the choice of dseap, p pure c hbotf �+waW A Canadian scleMM says the to know of drinking, eating and brestMng ArnFdas "One of Canada's most eminent scientists says that governments responsible for fluoridation of drinking wa1M must act to protect the health of people most endarynt.d by it. "Dr. Patrick McTaggan-Cowan told The Whig -Standard that fluoridated drinking water threatens human health because 'some members of the public can't take k.' "McTaggart-Cowan said that municipalities with fluoridated water should make pure, bottled watts available to their citizens. 'And it should be available at a reasonable cost; he said." 4 National FlwrWoUsiw Newer - Asajlraast-October 1979 Soum African Spage m"ium (continued from The first one was a middle-aged, comfortable -looking Islaysian lady. She said that when she heard one side of the gument she thought: "Of course, fluoridation is the right dng to do." And then, when she heard the other side of M argument she thought: "Fluoridation? Not on your el" Thus she had been turning somersaults during the We day. And her conclusion was that rather than roridate the water supplies, one could better do more search and give a lot of good food education. An Indian gentleman was quite opposed to fluoridation. I antler if he knew the work of that great Indian scientist, Wessor Jolly from the Punjab, one of the foremost foride experts in the world. Unhappily the representative from the black population ddenly could not come, The three white representatives d not want to fluoridate. Chairman Johan de Beer, Secretary for Health and one of e highest officials in the South African Health Department ly and concisely summed up the proceedings, and it was isr from his talk that the Government would take the Won of the five representatives extremely seriously. le• it was heard that the dental lobby was in despair. kttorney Louw spoke a wise word: "it appears that sfessor Newell after all was our best friend." %nd that was true. In him the public was suddenly afronted with what fluoridation really was about: One of r dirtiest games of the 20th century. Children's Teeth Mottled "One in three show symptoms. Fluoride Poison Hits Melb K " were the headlines on the October 27, 1979 front of Truth, a Melbourne, Australia, weekly newspaper. newstory, written by Phil Ackman, related the e rience of two dentists, Dr. Ken Johnson of Victoria and Geoffrey Smith of Queensland, with mottling of Idren's teeth caused by fluoride. Johnson, whose office is close by the Parliament se in Melbourne, said 39 percent of the children to he had prescribed fluoride tablets had developed ling of the teeth. No mottling was found on the teeth of junior patients who did not participate in the program. 114 Johnson said that several parents had expressed dismay at Ir children's appearance and wished that the children his I never been given fluoride tablets. Smith reported that 32 children attending the Pr Pserpine Primary School, north of Brisbane, had do oped fluorosis including Lawson Camm, 7, grandson of the Queensland Police Minister. Proserpine's water ly is artificially fluoridated. Dr. Smith sent the details of examination and conclusions to the Queensland health rities. Within a few days he received a telephone call h the State Director of Dental Health, G. McKelvie, who Dr. Smith that fluoridation was government policy and Dr. Smith to resign from the staff of the Proserpine ital. Dr. Smith sent his resignation to the hospital and it w accepted. Australian Dental Association strongly supports f idation and, like all fluoridation promoters the world attacks the credibility of anyone speaking against Idation. Dr. Cavan Oakley, the Association's National FA vide Committee chairman said Dr. Johnson's study co Id be criticized because his sample (the number of ch Oren Involved in the Investigation) was too small. He Dr. Johnson was not a recognized researcher and that 's just a dentist, nothing else. He's not Involved in the arch aspect of dentistry." Or. Oakley also said he be ved Dr. Johnson had "misdiagnosed the mottling." . Ackman also interviewed Dr. Philip Sutton, a doctor of ntistry and former senior lecturer at the Melbourne al School who said, "Fluoride mottling had been de ned as the first visible sign of chronic fluoride ning. When It produces this effect on the teeth It's d ing the cells forming the teeth." Sutton said the findings of Dr. Smith and Dr. Johnson "not out of step" with what experts were now r ting throughout the world. He said dentists wledged the possibility of fluoride mottling, but arg that " usually was too inconspicuous to see. A ding to the veteran dentist, fluoride mottling is very ser s because whether you see it or not it still means at a degree of fluoride poisoning. rove, Oklahoma, Says No lier this year, Grove, Oklahoma, a small community on Gr Lake near Tulsa, was the scene of an intense but u essful drive for fluoridation. On April 17 the Grove d of Trustees recommended that the Municipal es Authority consider fluoridating the town water s y_ r a poorly attended public briefing at which the State tment of Health urged the measure, a hearing was ors ed at which both sides would be represented. This g was held on June 12 and was much better attended by Interested and responsive group of city officials and eople. orients, led by local dentists Dana Oaks and Leonard and physician Dennis Deakins, were evidently c !,,Off balance by the very capable and telling lion mounted by Grove chiropractor C. E. Connor his special guest, Prof. H. Lewis McKinney of the Un rsity of Kansas. The proponents, basing their case y on organizational endorsements, denigration of o nents, and unsupported claims of >afety and iveness, seemed completely unable to answer or r the carefully documented and ably presented ce against fluoridation offered by Dr. Connor and McKinney. a result of the debate, the town council was no longer in mood to consider fluoridation. On Junel9theGrove of Trustees voted unanimously to table any further on the subject "unkss presented with a petition by the e." Brainerd Bows to Bureaucrats When some future historian writes an account of the Decline of Democracy and the Rise of Bureaucracy in the West the historian would do well to include a chapter on the city of Brainerd's battle with the fluoridating bureaucrats. The Minnesota city of 11,600 first defeated an attempt to fluoridate their water supply in 1962 by a vote of $e46, No; to 1,427, yes. In 1967 the fluoridation lobby Persuaded the state legislature to pass a mandatory law ordering all communities to add the controversial chemical to their water supplies by 1970. Long-time readers of N.F.N. will recall the attempts by the Minnesota State Health Department to force the Brainerd citizens to drink medicated water for a non -contagious disease through court orders and decrees by various state officials. The Brainerd Mayor, Council and citizens resisted all efforts. Fluoride dispensing equipment was installed In April 1972 but never put in operation. According to Elmer Lalli, Superintendent of Brainerd's Water and Light Depart- ment, the equipment is now obsolete. A referendum was held on July 3, 1974 resulting in a 9 to 1 rejection by the voters. Crisis followed crisis. (See N.F.N. October. December 1977) The most recent one In Brainerd's twelve-year fight came when the Minnesota Commissioner of Health, Dr, George Petterson, sought a contempt action against the City Coun- cil to force the city to fluoridate its water supply. Commissioner Petterson also sought to have contempt of court rulings against Mayor C. Elmer Anderson, a former Governor of Minnesota, the Brainerd Water Department Board and Elmer Lalli, Superintendent of the Water and Light Department, Judge Schulte Held a Hearing October 12 Ramsey County District Court Judge Harold W. Schultz was appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court to preside over the case. Judge Schultz came to Brainerd and held a hearing on October 12, 1979. The Brainerd Daily Dispatch of October 16 gave this report of a council meeting held on October 15 in which the council discussed the October 12 hearing and the judge's behavior: "The council took the opportunity to let off some steam regarding the hearing and the recommendation of Judge Harold Schultz that the council reconsider before noon Friday its stand opposing fluoridation, "If the council does not reconsider its decision, five aldermen —Mildred Michaelis, Mary Koep, Don O'Brien, James Wallin and Jim Brown —could possibly face fines of $250 per day or Imprisonment. "At last night's meeting Mrs. Koep said judge Schultz came in the hearing with his mind made up. She was also critical of the Judge's demeanor during arguments presented by attorney John R. Graham. Graham represented the five council members who voted on July 2 to table a motion to fluoridate the city', water supply, "Mrs. Koep claimed that judge Schultz was attentive during the arguments of Assistant Attorney General Richard Wexler, Carl Erickson (who represented a Brainerd group called the Committee for Responsible Government) and City Attorney D. A. Larson, But the judge 'openly grimaced' and shuffled his feet during Graham's presenta- tion, she said. ' 'If that's a hearing, then It's a travesty of justice In this country; Mrs. Koep said. "She added that the Ramsey County District Court judge treated Mayor C. Elmer Anderson, a former governor, Iike an 'errant schoolboy.' She described the judge's criticism of Mayor Anderson's leadership in the fluoride case as'shabby treatment.' Alderman Don O'Brien and Jim Brown agreed with Koep that the judge came to town with his mind made up In the matter.'He was very definite in what hewanted to say; O'Brien said." CouncB hill"Ong Thursday, Ocsols" 1a The Thursday meeting of the City Council was covered by Patrick Marx, staff writer of the Minneapolis Tribune. Excerpts from his front page story: "Five Brainerd City Council members chose to risk hefty fines and possible imprisonment Thursday by refusing to go along with a judge's order to fluoridate city water, "As of noon Friday the five will be in contempt of court and each could be imprisoned and fined $250 for each day they refused to comply with Ramsey County District judge Harold Schultz's order to fluoridate. "'Noon is the deadline and if they do not meet the dead- The city council We, five members of the Brainerd City Council, have been engaged in a long battle to prevent fluoridation of the Brainerd Municipal Water Supply in accordance with the wishes of the Brainerd electorate. We are confident in the belief that the fines assessed against us are totally unauthorized by statute, and we acknowledge that we are the victims of raw power. The ethical, political and legal responsibilities for this situation now rest squarely on the state of Minnesota —the Legislative, judicial and Executive Branches. The members of this council and future members of the Brainerd City Council are in noway liable for any injuries or damages, which may ensue to anyone In the process of fluoridation of our water Frowns in Wood River, Neb. The sparkling smiles on the pro -fluoride posters turned to frowns after the June 26,1979 defeat of fluoridation, 2D1.147 This was Wood River's second fluoride election. The town voted for it In May 1978. Marie Simonsen, M.D., reported, "The folks knew very W& about this poisonous chemical which was to be put into the drinking stipples. One of the line they will be in contempt of court; said Schultz in a telk- phone Interview from St. Paul last night. "The judge said he will meet with a lawyer for the Mtn - sots Department of Health today to decide the exact 1- ties he will impose. He said he will issue his order "'They're free for the weekend, but they are in contem and 1 will impose sanctions against them,' said Schuh. "The fines were requested by the state health depart*@*, which has been waging a 10-year court battle api t Brainerd for its anti -fluoridation stand. "During last night's special council meeting, the five sat d they would not abandon their cause. "However, at least three men on the council sald lttfhhr��y might be prepared to stop the fight, depending on Whit penalties Schultz imposes. *1 have a resolution in my isusdY but f want to know what he will do first; said Courtil r Donald O'Brien. They're going to make us fluoridate the water, pert but I'm not going to give up this 12-year fight without battle. If it's a $250 fine we'll stand firm, but if it's $25 0 dai or prison we're ready.' Councilors James Wallin and I Brown expressed similar positions. "During the meeting the three and their two f counterparts, Council President Mildred Michaelis a Mary Koep, said their positions for now remabte unchanged. "The council chamber was filled to standing room only 4:50 P.m. when Koep walked In with a flourish. "Many of those attending, like Ben Schulte, and I Johnson, wore navy blue T-shirts bearing the 'I" Brainerd's defiance: 'In Brainerd We Drink Only The Neu' "The audience cheered when Michaelis and others msdO their brief statements. "Michaelis turned to members of the audience to their opinions, and one after another filed to the front, pvje their names and expressed their gratitude and support df the defiant council members. "'Freedom of choice; 'local option; 'government jMe Terence' and'tyranny and dictatorship' echoed through thit chambers. "Michaelis called on the Rev. Harry Larkin, a Roma Catholic priest, to step to the front. He wore one of navy-blue T-shirts. Rev. Larkin, who is retired, walked tdt front and spoke as if he were at the pulpit. 'We mast oar the cavity -conscious crew in St. Paul ... and warn the t the American Dental Association; he said, haltin`` smiling and lifting his voice again,'We must warn that Ina cloth not live by his teeth alone; he concluded to t gleeful roar of the audience and smiles of the counci rs." At the same meeting Les Sellnow, editor of the hai Dispatch reported that Mrs. Michaelis received a uandin ovation from the packed council chambers when sh finished her statement by declaring, "The peopso Brainerd do not feel they are in a violation of a law. They challenging a bad law." Heavy Fines Levied on s Aldermen On Tuesday, October 23, Judge Harold W. Schultz individual fines totaling $750 per alderman for Oct. 1 , and 22. ($250 per day) for contempt of court. He stmd the five had "knowingly, wilfully, and Intentionally to comply with the state's fluoridation law." The aldermen who were found guilty were Mary Koep, MI Michaelis, Don O'Brien, lames Wallin and James grow . Their last opportunity to avoid paying these fines was to comply with the law by noon Thursday. The judge ordered the five to appear in Ramsey Cohn District Court at noon Wednesday to Inform the court wh actions have been taken toward compliance. Accordlr% Judge Schultz's order, failure by the council membtla t comply with the order to fluoridate would conntk separate contempt of court and If the five council failed to comply with this order each one w required to pay S250 each day. The possibility of rrjor severe penalties against the council members was kept /W! by Judge Schultz including Imprisonment. The five hold -out members of the City Council flrlrB gave In to Judge Schultz's contempt order at their Octgye 24th meeting but not without a show of defiance. The vote to add fluoride to the city's water supply containqd provision that each Brainerd resident would receive on gallon a day of unfluoridated water on demand. Mn Michaelis said that she was disappointed In the outcom¢ the Icing struggle. "We gave In, but we're not giving tip, she said. fluoride motion supply. NOW, THEREFORE IT IS HEREBY MOVED AND SECONDED by Wallin and O'Brien that the Brainerd Water and Light Board be authorized to expend necessary funds to Implement the fluoridation of our water supply, provided that on the day that fluoridation begins in Brainerd that the Water and Light Board shall distribute, without cost, one gallon of unfluoridated water to each person jiving in each household within the corporate limits of the City of Brainerd, in a sanitary container, on demand and authorizing necessary funds for 1979. We do not waive our right to appeal and authorize Attorney Graham to investigate all possibilities of an appeal and keep the Council advised as to progress of appeal, without cost to the City of Brainerd. school teachers had said that it was'safe and beneficlal' fanaR children." The petition calling for the new election was filed in of this year. Utilities director Wayne Wood said, "Disco. fluoridation will be no problem at all. We Just slwd machine off and disconnect it." Both proponents and oPponersb scam eager to forw" she Issue, which catrnd comrovnsy in the town since Februsry. r 1 1 1 F_ C National w 1_T 0. FLUORIDATION -NEWS Vol. XMM, No. E Aprp-June,1981 Hot Air Ballooning — Fluoridation Style •t THOSF FELLOWS Dowr USE PROPANE GAS TO KEEP THEIR HOT AIR BALLOON AFLOAT. THEY RELY ON , PRO -FLUORIDE RHETORIC/I {OC1•i"J✓:v:•::•l:'!H lYy:•:•jiti•:ti•:•:ti;•::i r.::'i.: r: ri:::::::,�:ti::$}}:i:•isDiu,:::ti::Yy7:;i;Y,:Y•:y;Y,%4%'•:1!X1'!}:::::::{}}!'{:v:ti ::•}i:{;:i. L'}:{!:{;i::$:}:ti}:::"1,�;{{:ti F [LaboratoryAdmnlBtadks New Low -Fluoride Diet Increases Lifepm in Mice One of the most vexing questions In fluoride research Is whether fluoride is essential as a trace element in any amount in mammalian metabolism, LMto bromin"ut in contrast to chlorine and iodine —fluorine has no known specific metabolic requirement. The case for classifying it as "essential" rests primarily on highly disputed claims for Its anti- corles effect in the presence of modern tooth-docay- cousing diets. Although various laboratory investigations have been conducted with "low -fluoride" diets (for discussion and references, see Chapter 6 of Fluoridation: The Great Dilemma by O. L. Woldbott, A, W. Bur stahler, and H. L. McKinney, Coronado Press, 1978 ,The occurrence of fluorine in nature is so widesprea that it has been very difficult to prepare a truly low -fluoride diet for animal studies that Is also nutritionally adequate in every respect. In work designed to cope with this problem, S. A. Kholowan, J. C. Elliott, and R. W. Fearnhead of the Department of Dental Anatomy of The London Hospital Medical College have been able to prepare what appears to be a nutritionally superior low fluor- ide slot for rats and mice based on the use of green alp (Chlorella pyronoidoso) and ordinary yeast (Sac- eharomyces cerevislae). Details of their work wore t Wished fast yyear in the British Journal of Nutrition d. ��, 1980, pp. 371-380) under the title: reparation of an experimental low -fluoride diet from singio-cell organisms for rots and mice." To minimise the fluoride content of the diet, the algae were grown In a culture medium prepared from distilled water and analytical grade mineral salts. The spenI culture was then recovered and replenished wink minerals and sucrose added for the production of yeast. Afterward, the single -cell organisms were separated by centrifugation, and the dried cells were combined with sucrose, maize oil, cellulose, and a mineral mixture to produce diet pellets (called .IN I") for rats and mice, Atnlysis of the pellets showed a fluoride content of 10111" ug/ky dry weight (0.1.0.3 ppm). Chlorycel was rowdily accepted as food by rats and mice. Two generations of rats and four generations of mice were successfully bred and maintained exclusively on It. Bonier Results In 1.4WTerm Stsilles In short-term metabolic Studies, body -weight gain, behavior, and ?onwrol appearance of mice and rats fod an Chlorycewere similor to those of their respec- tive controls fed on standard commercial laboratory chew containing 5 to 20 ppm fluoride. in life -time studies with mice, however, the controls continued to kwoose in weight after five months and even became above, whereas the experimental animals maintained an Chlorycol "showed little tendency towards further b+croase in body -weight after a steady adult weight was reached." Moreover, the general appearance of the control mice "usually declined after about one year of age end none survived beyond the age of 15 months." On the other hand, the breeding stock of experimental aike from the first three generations raised ex- clWively on Chlorycel "showed no obvious signs of ebssity Of ill- ry, end none el those eKperknontel mice died during the experiment. Five of them were at least two years old when they were killed." By pretreating the mineral salts used in the diet with hydroxyapatite (a strong fluoride -removing agent), the authors were able to reduce the fluoride content of Chlorycel still further to co. A5.60 pg/kg dry weight (0.0A5.0.060 ppm). Although this modified Chlorycol was not tested in animals, the authors can- clude their upon with the comment: 'This very low - fluoride diet ought to make passible a thorough in- vestigation of the vexed question of whether fluorine Is an essential trace element," Comment: It is interesting that, after all these years of being told by proponents of water fluoridation that fluorine is definitely "an essential nutrient," we learn from these obviously capable and responsible dental researchers that the matter is actually for from set- tled I New YorkVWoRe Court Can John R. Lee, M.D. Submits Affidavit Dr. John R. Loa graduated "cum laud@" from Harvard In 1951 majoring In moth and pre -mod. He received his M.D. degree In 1955 from the University of Minnesota Mod. Ieol School. Dr. Lee practiced In Farl- boult, Minnesota, before go- Ing Into the U.S. Navy and Marines as a Medical Officer. F1 He retired from the Reserves as Lt. Commander, Mod- IcalCorps., U.S.N. Since 1959 he has practiced In Mill Volley, California and Is active in Professional organizations including the AMA, CMA, Morin Medical Society and the Amer- ican Academy of Family Practice. The following affidavit was prepared for the Village o► SufFarn, Now York, of The request o/ the Village Attorney Terry Rlco /or their case "Villa a of 5uf►ern v. Rockland County Beard o/ Nealt�."The village won o stay. See story bottom of page 3. State of California County of Morin John R. Low, M.D., being duly sworn, deposes and says: In 1972, 1 was asked by the Morin Medical Society to chair a committee of physicians to investigate, study, and report to the medical society on the question of fluoridation, Since that time 1 have continued an ac- tive interest in evaluating the pros and cons of fluoridation and have performed research on the In- take of food -borne fluoride and on fluoride toxicity as it affects the health of my patients. Some of this research is published',' and some In the process of balesg submitted far publication.'.' I hove testified on my fluoride findings before legislative hearings, court trials, city council meetings, water district boards, bio-chemistry classes at U.C. Berkeley under Prof. Neilands, and at meetings of both medical and dental societies,. Having studied the fluorkietion problem! (Confirmed on page /) No lmpmesgeot In Hale Dealety With F7aorMedea Finnish Study Shows Highest Fluoride Accumulation In Severe Osteoporosis Despite claims by many proponents that fluoridotion of drinking water helps to prevent osteopporosis (bone mineral loss), especially in the olderly, at least two large-scale in by supporting scientists have toiled to disclose any such benefit. ''' Now, in o study from Finland, similar negative results have been reported.' Authored by researchers E. M. Alhava and co- workers at the University of Kuopio, Finland, this in- vestigation compared the fluoride content, cam- pression strength, and mineral density of iliac crest bone samples derived from autopsies of 92 men and 66 women who died between 1973 and 1975 and who lived either in Kuopio (fluoridated at 1 ppm since 1759) or In the surrounding low -fluoride rural area (0.02- 0.32 ppm fluoride; average below 0.1 ppm). Fifty. three of the cases, 25 men and 28 women, had resided in Kuopio since the beginning of fluoridation (14.18 years). The comparison nonfluoridoted rural group consisted of 67 men and 36 women. In the bone samples from fluoridated Kuopio, fluoride levels were considerably higher than in these from the surrounding low -fluoride area, regardless of whether death occurred from sudden causes or debilitating diseases. Moreover, the bone fh1erlde content of the Kuopio residents "increased significant. ly with age, while considerably less change was found In samples from outside Kuopio. The highest fluoride content in bone ash was observed in women [from Kuoplo) with severe osteoporosis." Although a slightly higher compression strength was measured in the cancellous (interior) portion of the iliac crest samples from women in Kuopio. "no statistically significant differences in bone strength were found in men" between the fluoridated and non - fluoridated subjects. Furthermore, "there were no statistically significant differences in bone mineral density, as measured by gamma ray attenuation, between samples from the fluoridated and non - fluoridated areas." In the discussion of their results, the authors six. pressed obvious concern about the excessively high fluoride levels found in some of the samples from e women of Kuopio: "Despite having consumed drinking water Iluoridat(ed) for less than 20 years, some female cases in Kuoplo had quite a high content of fluoride in bone (up to 4000 ppm In cancellous bone ash). It is possible that after a lifetime of fluoridation some women in Kuopio may experience adverse effects from fluoride accumulation." The authors then went on to point out that some researchers feel that "levels above 2000 ppm of fluoride In fat -free dry cortical bone should be con- sidered toxic." Others are of the opinion that "a sub. ject can be considered to have flue rosis when the can- centrotion of fluoride in bone ash exceeds 3000 ppm." s.I. hl. o III— pMMlengsa OwMry in Tea. N.Y Taws. n�en. X.enn rwxn, e.�ere.eae, nN. A.. end SdndT.n.nn. I. FMwnbtN wets, en.Mtel fmrcrvn aM awn6ny. NlMt{w tXe1M rp.rn. M�KUK, Ins. 'AlMve. E. M., aMMww. X.. Ila„y,ln, r., .d K.H. Tage: iM lH.n M s.w,we M., Flu.rldlrlln pre IM FWw Cwtwn. 51rwrM and Mi—I D—lyW Mr.w 1ln. ArtapMppe.dlrvlrvMinl.Xl. sI 1a�w, Iwo. of Intrrred Spect = Shows nieruptive Hydrogen Bonding The powerful hydrogen bonding capability of fluoride ion has long been known, but Its potential for Interfering with the vitally important hydrogen bonds between biomolecules has only recently begun to receive attention, (For a summary of a recent scion - title publication, see NFN, Jan. -March 1981.) In a new report' from the University of York, England, chemists James H. Clark and Joseph Sher- wood Taylor describe infrared sppectral studies of "s novel 1:1 complex" formed between po/asskrnt fluoride (KF) and uracil, a key nitrogenous tolopsw ant of ribonucleic ocid (RNA). They find that the complex precipitates as "a white crystalline solid from an BOX dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) or NN-dimethylfor- mamide-20% HTO solution of equimolor concentra- tions of KF and uracil." According to their report, the Infrared spectrum of the solid complex displays "marked differences from that of pure uracil." The normal nitrogen -hydrogen (N•H) stretching band at 3050 cm—' in uracil "is shifted and split... into three pseudo -maxima at co.29S0, ca. 2600, and ca. 1930 cm— , suggesting a strong, asymmetrical NH... F` H-bond," After presets and this interpcussing retation, rarotion,dditional the authors n data suppo g P con- clude by posntiny out: "The observed ability of fluoride to disrupt the self - association in uracil and to produce strong NH..F`In- teractions is obviously of considerable Importance to a consideration of the possible biologically disruptive action of the fluoride Ion. " (Emphasis added.) They also caution, however, that "more detailed studies in this area, including a consideration of medium effects," will be necessary before meet►l4ul conclusions an bo drown from this work. 'Clrs, l.w " T"_. d.n,. IA. I . , Er . flews XrM.rw 6.4 M tM nnr _A E1•I•'•. J Ow.. r r. cft. cw,.nlNlaw. IMt. ar MFMe. National FLUORIDATION NEWS l MITE 1, GRAVETM, ARKANSAS 72736 Tdepbooe me 787-•MB and scientific information medium about Pabusbod quarterly UJR tidiscription rate: $2.00 one year; $3.50 two years. Cess/s (U.S. Funds) $2.00 one year; $3.50 two years. ,snipe (U.S. Funds) $2.50 one year; $4.50 two years. Qmtity rates;10 copies $1.50; 50 copies $8.00; Wasples $10.00; 300 copies $27.00; 500 ¢opine g5.00. (Fanniwiat to narint may he granted upon wrlaet requed) H. Fabian. ....... Editor N601*1 Adr6ary Dear$ is R. sessions, N.D., Iawrexa, Mesa.; Heaven, T. Pevuaurg. MD., Mate, e. oas,CAtivWry awed it E, wslwa, D.DJi., Relrlet, Calif.; unmet wider, b.DB., Beacon. N.Y.; he A, ewl4 D.N.D., Nernanvule, Mars.: C d it R. She t, D.DS.. Paawx, Lead Advisary, Bard a R. Aaesew, SprindleK Maas.; G.S. 1ri111ams, Fatnumdale, Me.; Jahn aalMaaafaham, as. Pad, MIM. aril G. LYWreight, NM Muaeni w. British cdwn6f., lndurrlal Raearca weer, ltal. Jame a. Pain t, [dYlmam, Dept. or ChanWry, 2W 6ddwin has, aNIIllton, va.; W. T. schema, PLD., Roaa, Mo., Clmlid; A. W. es@ I: Ph.D., Professor EmMte of Chemistry, Dxnell University. we_ M.T.: I" urn twau, starer, R-C., Cateds; Allen Schatz, Ph.D.. Adverse Factors of School Rinse Program Nrtiw,al Fluoridation N.wa: I hew been against fluoride since our dentist told F that our daughter's yellow and gray teeth were a to the fluoride in the Illinois water. I went to a dic- nary to look that up, and I have learned a jot about a is" since than. I am Chairman of Safe Water Coalition of Morin, ill -time group composed of people opposed to orkfeflon and In contact with other groups across a country to keep up with the latest studies. Our Wks[ chairman, Dr. John Lest, M.D. of Mill Valley, a Folly pprraactitioner, has worked with our group a- Onst fluoridation since being asked by the Morin sdlosl Society to report to them on It In 1972. He has d work on food fluoride published in medical joumals. Pkrorida treatments in a dental office art between must end patient, but when rinses are a school oc- rlty we urge full disclosure of the controversy and e adverse factors so that ppooranta can make an in- "MW choice. It involves dispensing a prescription tsdkinse and a poison. There is the Immediate danger keeping the concentrated poison on school grounds and the necessity of making sure that no child =allows the rinse. The sodium fluoride comes as a seder and Is mixed with water to make the .2 slutlen of which each child is to have no more than 2 i ispans. The packet label gives the antidote, but It euW rrobobly bat jeh where it was mixed — to it is Ajrurifent that parsons supervising the children have » antlsloro and directions for use. The case of David Kennerly who died after wallowing his rinse Is a warning that many efoasionals are not aware of the dangers in using welds. Testimony browpht out the fact that his life cold have been saved if he had been given milk or her calcium early In his suffering. Many dental jour- d articles since have reminded dental personnel that w lurks Is Indeed a poison. The family was awarded 150,000 in court. This should be a reminder to check 1teo1 district insurance and perhaps PTA insurance. Under California Pharmacy Law fluorides-soluble- �•waMr are a Schedule A poison with all the offen- sntMrestriction, but rinses up to a strength of .02% been exempted. The .2% used in schools is still eased as a poison. And yet the National Institute of antal Research provides parent -consent forms that ate "no known risks are attendant with this rtsgrom." Regarding some of the Jong -term issues, there is an stenslve report of existing studies by a Japanese =as lkof professor and statistician which volidafoa the nf of fluoride swallowed or absorbed by mouth saw" during rinsing. Levels of fluoride then in the ,stem are found to be high enough to inhibit the ac- tin of many enzymes necessary for body function. tls also adds to the total fluoride Intake from food ad that environment, which for children is at the seriseline of tolerable limits," according to a study Vd In Tha Journal of Preventive Dentistry. the Jepanrse study found "no scianfiflc dot. which tcerlains the safety and efficiency of mouthwashing ,ith fluoride solution," The studies ore all flawed by Pch factors as experimenter bias, jock of control recap, for instance. Dr. Takahashi did find evidence Ir recommending a diet without sugar and the 11.1nation of plaque. A study by the School of Dan- stry in Sweden reached the some conclusions, rating kttery restrictions first, oral by lane second and PAW fluoride least effective in their experimental rasp. I would suggest that schools conduct a true ruble -blind study on the children who are to receive to fluoride, with a control group of similar children scehrIng a placebo or other treatment... and the re•hsts and post-tests done without the examiners nawring which group the children are In. Than you 411 have valid results Shirley Groves, San Anselmo, CA A resident of Morin County, Cal., Since 1946 Pan. lobe D. W.00a 01— In Child's Waver In FW ,W- Caaa." NPw reek a lawaq 1979. t, Kesel. ,WMD. '11wIM itemrds Ateai to Pointing. Mwllrwerh1 p nd h.A Words ." pi, _1W al" lntwns-1 �ryenlrWlan WCony wngnr, Meng acne. 6 Jamey I,eDIAdwrr, - r nr teMo STI11, aha, 7Mn. Jsren in). awaala I. D.o.e. PNa,plai - A aw,wv." lavrn&i M Pw..aNr. 6:ra•sar. Iwo. NdMard!'iaerWYwNewe—AprlFJasRe,1601 QuidEffiterW Use of Fluoride a Personal Matter Reprinted from Waterloo Chronicler Waterloo, Ontario, Canada The noted American columnist James J. Kilpatrick once wrote "the fluoridation of a public water supply violates every principle of a frost society. The practice is an abuse of power by government." The reason Kilpatrick said this In 1976 is that he believes individuals should not be forced to con. sume a medical or dental prescription and that government exceeds its authority when it practically does that through fluoridation. After listening to and reading many varied opinions on the subject over the Jost several months, we keep coming back to this control point —good or bad, should a medical or dental treat- ment be injected into the water system? Most people wont water just for that - water, They aren't looking for a doctor's or dentist's prescription. If they feel fluoride may be good for them or their children, they're frot to ask the dentist for treatments, use toothpaste that contains it, or sub- scribe to taking fluoride tablets, If they feel it's bad for them, they shouldn't have to worry — nobody's going to force them to take o questionable chemical substance. At least, that's the way It should be. But, alas.... it isn't. Government doesn't always respect what should be the inviolate right of man to decide, except under extremely axceptianol cir- cumstances, what he eats or ingests Into his body. Remember, fluoridation is intended to treat people, not the water, as in the case of chlorination, This is another point -- when formidable experth disagree with one another, how can we, as 'eur- nalists, or councillors, as politicians, decide wie right on a matter of complete science? One cannot dismiss the reasonable doubt talqi,r wary loquacious, hysterical person opposed to fluoridation, there are probably three sombre, minded, objective and learned doctors, dentists scientists or researchers opposed to it. They cannot be disregarded or pointed as ponit- ridden, unrealistic alarmists. Consequently, the old adage that "better sale than sorry r should probably come into play here. With alternate sources of fluoride treat — politicians needn't worry about depriving any of the beneficial aspects of fluoride, If Ind , there are any. At the some time, by eliminating the practice isf fluoridation, they needn't worry about deprivi anybody of that most fundpmamal right — fr choice in a free society on o fundamentally P. - sonol matter, This is the crux of the matter, regardless fluoride's merits or demerits. Even If it w a positively of only benefit, as a medical treatmen It still should not be forced upon the citizenry. It's easy to be emotional about a subject like th�. But that's because people sense their rights are bring violated when forced to "swallow" such a prescription. What ails government? Xtt"NJ Igo d, ell40N A Callous Commercial Ploy To National Fluoridation Nabs: A health(?) shop in Hackensack, New Jersey is featuring toothpaste with fluoride added. This is a new rip-off for fluoride toothpaste to acquire respec- tability. Would anyone tout toothpaste with cyanide of potassium added? And yet fluorides are comparable to cynides In toxicity. To my mind any health store proprietor that features such toothpaste shows an abysmal jack of knowledge of what constitutes good health. As for as I know, there is no scientific evidence that fluorides in toothpaste cause a diminution in tooth defects. But there is overwhelming evidence that sodium fluoride has deleterious side affects and can cause genetic defects. I personally have made up a fist of Al such studies and experiments. And there are scores morel It has been found that children swallow 25 % of their toothpaste. If a child is already Ingesting fluoridated water, this could have serious side effects. This is a callous commercial ploy that should ba stopped energetically. peter Sommartino Rutherford, N.J. ..... Irritation Stopped To National Fluoridation Naves Two years ago I experienced swollen and poinfull Irritated gums. I went to my Dentist, Dr. Robert Mick of Laurel Springs, New Jersey and showed him my problem, Dr. Mick asked me if 1 used a fluoridated toothpaste and I did. Dr. Mick then recommended I use o non -fluoridated toothpaste. I did so and the irritation soon left and I haven't experienced this problem since. Kenneth Catalfamo Hammonton, N.J. 3,100 ppm In city Water Pipe To National Fluoridation Naves: After 16 years, the City Council has finally decided to investigate fluoridation. I examined 11,000 death certificates at our Court House covering the years 1930 to 1970. Before fluoridation in 1949, the Antigo heart death rate was well below the national average. After 1950, it rose to way above the national average. These figures are from death certificates signed by Antigo doctors. They are public records and can be examined by anyone who disputes them. A water pipe from an Antigo home on Tenth Avenue was examined at my request by the Wisconsin State Do partmenr of Hygiene. They found 3,100 ports Par million (ppm) of fluoride in the deposit In the pipe. One ppm is considered safe. Another piece of pipe sent to WARF (connected with the University of Wisconsin) hod 991 ppm of fluoride. Where did all this fluoride accumulate from? How much are you getting every morning, In your cup of coffee? What happened in Antigo besides fluoridation that could have deposited over 3,000 ppm of fluoride in our city tsrafar tell as9 We are enticed to have an answer to these questions from only advocate of fluoridation. The City Council is well aware of the above faces and many more that have born presented to over the years. The most important being freedom of choice. Why don't they simply stop fluorid ion? Those who want it have plenty of access to it. Isabel Jansen R.N. Antigo, Wisci>in No Conclusive Evidence To Natlortal Fluoridation News: The addition of fluoride to drinking we is a typical example of governmental action taken wi hout conclusive evidence that no nefarious effects in. dividuals may occur. Thera are innumerable inst ncas In which the medical profession has determined, after many years, that a particular solution or chomicc was harmful to human beings. It took 75 years to c star. mine that phenacetin caused renal disease, 30 ears that amidopyrine caused agranulocytosis a 4 a decade to establish that asbestos ingestion le to Jung and other forms of cancer. It is argued that the dosages of fluoride add to the water are so minute that there can bst no n fie result to humans, however, it is a poison and th re is always the danger of over -dosage to particul r in- dividuols when "mass medication to rp populations Is initiated. The Swedish Parliament banned fluordiation in 1971 and based that decision partly on the fact that allorgic reactions may be caused by fluoride and that p n s syndrome (mongolism) may be Increased I by the presence of fluoride in the water supply. There i also medical evidence to substantiate fears the cite presence of fluoride may have a detrimental effecturn human bones; lead to hyperactivity in children crowd M a causal link to cancer. It would seem reasonable that until a dofiriltive judgment as to the effects of fluoride is determined, that the possible negative aspects out-welgF thi opinion that it is merely beneficial to prevent fourth decay,and Its usage should be curtailed. Frederick E. Persia Member of Now York State Assembly ....♦ No Lack of Cavities In Newburgh To National Fluoridation Nevis: I was born In Newburgh, New York, and was pp rt of the Fluoride experiment between Newburgh and Kingston. In addition 1 have been a procticinill d ntlat in Newburgh for twenty two years. In all that me I have not observed any dentist in the Newburlgh area suffering from the lock of cavities to fill. It is nter- asting to note that there is more informatign 4 ibout the harmful effects of fluoride that never seat is to reach the hands of practicing dentists throng the madium of the ADA and AMA. In order to learn bout the other side of Fluoridation it is necessarryy to seek out loss known sources. After making a studll of both sides of the issue there is enough controvers and doubt concerning the efficacy of fluoridbti g a municipal water supply that I would strongly r om- mend against such an action. Carl Mestmon D.S. Newburgh, Ne ly Work 1 I 1 1 Natierl F'iMeiiaties Neese - J►�'iF•etrcr,1f01 Pajxe � l;zcerpt>s Mom: FLUORIDATION, 1979 and Fluor criti�i g s and Fluoride Dangers By Phi fp R. N. Sutton, D.D.Se. (Melb.), L.D.S., F.R.A.C.D.S. Editor's Note: This Is the third .. ".. in a series of exec" from Dr. "rt Soon's report to the Commit- r;a Bee of ingahy late the Floorl. deem of Victarlon water Sup on - 'Ise boot 1s available from (iAJL welter, 4A Manor street, atlgbton, Vittoria, Australia else The price is $4.22 plan passage • surface to U.S.A. Is $2.1111, Air Map $8.115. (Copias oWy damaged to shipnsest are available from National FbwWmtim News for $6.50Including postage), rbmw elation and Dental Um power Requirements It has been claimed for many years that fluoridation will reduce the number of dentists required by the community. That claim was strongly pressed at the Nate the Act was being considered, Naturally it has a strong appeal to governments who are faced with meeting the shortage of dentists. (The graduate out- put of the Melbourne Dental School has remained essentially static far many years.) At that time few people questioned that claim. (L) alsdles by Prde;rrar B, L. Douglas In 1972 Professor B. L. Douglas and his co-workers studied the 'Impact of water fluoridation on dental practice and dental manpower' in seven towns in the U.S. These had water supplies containing 0.7-1.2 p.p.m. fluoride naturally, and were 'matched' with seven towns with 'fluoride -deficient' water supplies. Contrary to their expectation they found that, �h dentists in the naturally fluoridated towns 14 per cent more people, 'their characteristics and practices appear to be virtually unaffected by fluoridation.' Soven years earlier Professor Douglas, with Syylvia Coppersmith, reported on a survey by 'Health Bullitln' of the number of practicing dentists In fluoridated and non -fluoridated cities. Newburgh (fluoridated in 1945) in 1%8 had a population of 30,000 and 35 dentists, compared with Kingston which hod a similar population f3 R Y (3) The Number of Dentists to Fluoridated and Non- FluorWaied'Representative American Cities'. The 1976 (but not the 1977 or the 1978) edition of C.B.S. News Almanac, published figures showing the number of dentists per 100.000 population in 'Repressintativa American Cities'. These included 30 of the 40 most populous cities (1970 census), 16 of which had been artificially fluoridated prior to December 31, 1969, 14 between 1951 and 1957, New York in 1965 and Detroit in 1%7. (U.S. Department of H.E.W., 1970). The remaining ten largest cities comprised Dallas (naturally fluoridated, with 53.5 dentists per 100,000 people, and nine cities which were not listed In that Almanac, two of which were naturally and 3 ar- tificially fluoridated and 4 non -fluoridated cities; The number of dentists per 100,000 population were: Fluoridated Non -Fluoridated Cities Laoee At Dee. IM Near York B8.6 Lot Angeles 63.5 Chlwppoo Philadelphia 67.2 71.0 Houston 4/.5 Detroit 53.9 son Diego Boston 61.9 72.0 Baltimore 48.6 Memphh 55.10 Washington 136.2 New Orleans 46.6 Cleveland 67.9 Phoenix 60.3 IndivnappooII 55.5 Columbus 62.6 MOwauk« 64.4 Seattle 96.0 Son Francisco 73.2 Kansas City 30.0 Pittsburgh 4,6 Atlonto 53-0 Pittsu 6 Cincinnati 37.5 suffvlo 66.7 Portlood 90.1 Minneapo0. Oklahoma city 77.1 09.2 Newark 36.0 Louisville 105.1 An estimate of the total number of dentists in each city was obtained by calculating the number of den- tists per 100,000 x population . 100,000. The mean number of dentists per I00,000 population were: Fluoridated cities - 76.7; Non -fluoridated cities - 59.2. These data are displayed in Fig, 1. (4) The N®ber of Dentists to U.S. Fluoridation Trial Clues In 19731 wrote a letter to the Lancet which nullified one of the claims which it had made in a Leading Ar- ticle (1973)- My letter, which was not published, point- ed out that, by 1955, the fluoridation trials at Grand Rapids and Newburgh had been in progress for e�pp proximately ten years and the Evanston one for eight years. More than fifiteen years later, in 1971, In tthhee whole of the U.S. the number of dentists per 100,000 people was the soma as in 1955 (i.e. 59). However, in these three artificially fluoridated cities the number of practicing dentists per 100,000 had Increased from 115 to 121. (Data from the American Dental Directory 1971, Statistical Abstracts U. S. 1971 and World Almanac, 1973 - including all practising dentists but omitting academics and administrators.) These three cities, after approximately 25 years of artificial fluoridation, then had more than twice the number of dentists per 100,000 people as was the average for the whole U.S. In Evanston after 23 years of fluoridation there was the remarkably small num• bar of 665 people par dentist. This is less than a third (0.3) as many people per dentist as there are in Mel- bourne and suburbs (2252) and about a fifth (0.21) as many (3171) as in the rest of the State. (Victorian figures, Dental Board, June, 1979.) These data are shown in Fig. 2. (5) Comment. Dentist/population ratios are determined by many factors. However, the fact that there was a high proportion of dentists in the three main trial U. S. cities after approximately 25 years of artificial fluoridation (and the other data mentioned above) does not support the contention that the demand for dental manpower will decrease after the introduction of fluoridation. Footeote. Old fallacies die hard. A letter, dated August 1, 1979, written by the Secretary of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Dental Association, stated: 'In a community with a fluoridated water supply the dental manpower required to maintain a good standard of dental health in a community is al- ways halved.' Typical' U.S. Cities. Number of Dentists per 100,000 ropnlatiam TLe Number of Dentists per 100,000 Population in Artificially Fluoridated (Data tram C.B.B. Now Almanse,1914) Test Cities, in the U.S.A., and in Melbourne and Victorian Country Areas. 169 140 120 Ira so 40 M 30 too t80 Lvo,,.ron t60 1955 911 940 Newburgh Grand 1971 Rapid. 720 1971 1935 too 19Mi 9 80 AwMge for U.S.A. 60 1955 1971 Mdbaurne I- Vkurmn 40 979 airy H I, 1lou 0o 20 'tof olHfkll Number aF years Ilaarkfatlan- la 26 10 26 a 24 Fig. 1. Showing the number of dentists tar 100.000 population in on0iclally Fig 2. Comparison between the number of dentists per loo,aap population in the three main . fluoridated and non -fluoridated 'typical' U.S. cities. Fluoridation carnrnencod be. American fluoridation triol cities, in 19p6 off tan yeah of 11uorWatlan. and in 1971 after 24-26 twerrn 1952 and 1956, except for New York, 1965, and Detroit, 1967. More than 20 yens fluoridation. Also, the average in 195S end 1971 for the whole of the U.S.A., and in 1979 for Inter (10 years for New York and Detroit) the number of demists per 100,000 In Melbourne and for Victaran country areas. After 2446 years of artificial fluoridation the number C. the fluwWoted dues listed in the Almanac was higher then In the hart-fluaridated of dentists per 100.000 people in these three trial cities showed an overall Increase since ISM. ones. These data give no Indication that fluwidotion reduced the demand for den, although the U.S. average hod remained the some. It was twice the U.S. average, and more than tht.. 2'h times as many dentists per 100,000 p4mlathan that is found in Melbourne. anti 3e dentists, (It may 6e mentioned that 34 goers of - �y�yy tor Kingston served as the nearby untreated 'control' it to fawn fan the NewburghRapids Roddin dCama, Ny trial still rejects proposals fluoridate.) Grand Rapids (fluoridated in 1945) had 115 What A Wferenee One Vote Can Mahe! dwAish per 100,000 population, but nearby un- The Rockland County, New York, Board of Health meeting of the County Board of Health on Monday, fkraw' 6' , Flint had only 70 dentists per 100,000. decreed by a majority of one vote in December 1978 June 22, )981 fluoridation came up for debate. The Floorldeted Toledo had 80 dentists per 100,000, but that the 229,903 residents of the county must drink ar- mandate to fluoridate Rockland's water supply was Imfktorkieted Dayton had 87 dentists per 100,000. tificially fluoridated water. Rockland County water repealed by a vote of 4-3. They concluded: 'This companies were ordered to install fluoride dispensing The Journal -News, serving Rockland County, report - indicated that there is apparently not a less- or need for dentists in those cities with fluoridation equipment and have it operational no later than April ad that Mrs. Kane urged the board to repeat the 197e 1, 1980. Federal grants were given to cover the cost of '•Obviously, federal M eanpared with fluoride -deficient cities.' (Doug- ruling by saying the some agen- the machinery. Some Rockland communities chose not ties who ore promoting fluoridation are questioning los and Coppersmith, 1965), to abide by the Health Board's ruling, and the Citizens its safe We are not here to convince you to believe for Health Freedom headed by Mrs. Joyce Kane and one or The *that, but rather to ask you to realise that (!)pusioYinBud (Swltreriasd) Mrs. Sandy Green filed a suit to prevent the Health when a program such as this is replete with con - The German Association of Gas and Water Experts Board's mandatory law from being put into effect. troversy the rational thing to do is nothing We are reported, in 1975, on the effect of fluoridation In Basel A year ago State Supreme Court Judge Robert simply asking for our own basic human rights -- the (fwllhafottd). They sold that in 1960 Professor Stolarik ruled That the group had the right to argue Its light to choose one's own doctor and medication." fGetkr wki*OIllsare li ,, of the 10 dentisthat ts practising n 1960,1t of claim only public that ink ngfluoride aterr were arbitrary to andded to the C capricious gThe Board also dropped proposed hearings and • would he required, However, by 1%7 the number of and did not promote the general health, safety and fines against three water companies for failing to dentists had increased to 17, and three years later, of- welfare of the citizens of Rockland County, comply with the fluoride law: Pothol, which sames tow )0 years of fluoridation, there were 18 dentists and Before the case was scheduled to come to court. Slootsburg; Spring Valley Water Co., which serves the 5 practicing dental auxiliaries. In 1975, the Swiss Marvin.Tholenberg, a member of the County Board of majority of the county; end Nye&. The fourth, Suffern Health Departmont ■upgestesd that fluoriatfon should Health, resigned. Dorothy Martz was appoinfed by the Water Company, won exetept from fines because they ba dbco etrZ des to ib InefiectiwneBB. Rockland County Lhylsloture to take hie place. At a won a stay. FbwMatin News-ApMiore, MI Dr. John Lee's Affidavit (Continued from pone 1) we exhaustively than probably "% of my fleagues, I feel an obligation to share the results of r studies. These can be summarized as follows: 1. Does it work to lower community dental costs? ;ipugh widely claimed, this supposed effect has been okad for by competent researchers and it is not und. Dentists' incomes and community dental costs e actually higher In fluoridated communities than in xi -fluoridated ones.' 2. Does fluoride supplementation result In higher into[ enamel fluoride levels? This claim, based on allot assays by Dr. W. Armstrong, Is now found to P untrue. Enamel biopsies on test children given their no fluoride or various amounts of supplemental ieride show no difference in their tooth enamel wide.' 3. What is the optimal level of fluoride Intake and here does it coma from? Since 1943, based on the ork of McClure, the optimal intake of fluoride for lildron has been set, roughly, at 1-1.5 mg per day its intake is achieved (and even surpassed) by diet one without the addition of fluoride to the public :ter supply.',' This rise In total environmental Foride exposure is now recognized to be the ,eetest single reason for banning water fluoridation, i urged by the National Research Council of Canada.' 4. Is fluoride toxic and is this toxicity manifested by e addition of fluoride at 1 mg/liter In the drinking ehil Fluoride is extremely toxic; its primary action that of an enzyme Inhibitor. A wide variety of Orion enzymes are Inhibitied by extremely minute inicentrations of fluoride' and this has been damon- rated both in vitro'''' li and in vivo'' " 10 by expert Hierarchal I have proved this in my own practice by suble•blind substitution of fluoridated and un- porldated water for pot 5 with a wide varie� of ness and symptoms, including colitis, rashes, b od- or spasms, gastritis, muscle cramps, and hyperbili- Ibinerna. Other researchers have incontrovertibly smonstrated chromosome mutagenicity.i..1i These Additional 1980 Rejections NO YES bdh= ,rdale 4/29/1980 Dropped by Board Citizens vocal against. massachontta try 11/4 /1980 3,498 21289 sll Citizens opposed (Health board withdrew ate for 2 years.) New Jersey well 9/8/1980 Rejected by City Council 4-2 Utah Logan 11/4/19M 656 396 Caoade in, Ontario 11/10/1980 2,154 2,055 Australia 'Field 1,465 382 H. requests that date and exact voting results be with each rejection reported. For Your � �luorida//fion Zit racy An a service to our readers Nadlonal Flaorldation News Is awbbg the fellowfag items avallable. Check or mosey order in U.B. Ftie ds must aecomp M er- Mrs, Add $1.00 for poll and handaog for esch order. NATIONAL F LUOREDATLON NEWS Route 1, Gravette, Arkansas 72736 1, FLUORIDATION: THE GREAT DILEMMA By Dr, George L. Wpldbott in collaboration with Albert W. aurgstahler, Ill and H. Lewis McKinney, Ph.D. Forward by Alton Ochsner, M.D. This is the long- ewaited, eye-opening, straightforward presenta- tion of documented scientific research. 423-plus pages, Coronado Press, Box 3232, Lawrence, Kan- sas 66044. (Publisher's price $7,50 paperback, $14,95 hardcover). Price from National Flucil "on News: Paperback - Single copy $6.00; 10 copies $55.00 Hardcover - Single copy $11.00; 10 copies $100.00 2. THE FLUORIDE QUESTION- PANACEA OR POISON? by Anne -Lisa Gotzshe. A well -researched, com- prehensive, notably rsadabla and clearly written book expal fluoride toxicity. It gives a clear per- spective on fluoridation, The Danish -born author established a solid reputation as a medical Journal- ist. She has written for the Sunday Times of London, Norpor's Now Sclentist, and numerous other med- laal and scientific journals. Published by Stein and Day, Scarborough House, Briarcliff Manor, New York, Hardcover, 176 pages. (Publisher's price $7.95) Price from N.F,N. Single copy $2.50; 10 copies $20.00 3. FLUORIDATION, 1979, Scientific Criticisms and Fluoride Dangers, by Philip R. N. Sutton, D.D.5.5c. (Melbourne), L.D.S., F.R.A,C.D.S., Academic As. sonata, University of Melbourne, Former Senior Lecturer in Dvival $eislJl, , Senior Research Fellow, toxic effects are ignored in common medical practice for two simple reasons: p) medical dagnosisand treat• ment is customarily predicated on syrptoms ano or- gan -system dysfunction rather than underlying causes, and, b) no convenient test exists 'for identifying fluoride as the toxic agent. The physician must under• take the clinical challenge of adjusting fluoride intake (a process demanding much of both) physician and patient) or, in the case of a deothr obtain tissue fluoride analysis (not a routine test). The Morin Medical Society has, by the way, refused to endorse fluoridation ever since our committee's work in 1972 and, in 1978. the board of directors voted 7.1 against fluoridation. Conclusion; Fluoride does not work as the proponents claim, it is not needed in the public water, and it is toxic at varying degrees to individuals within the population that must drink the water throughout their lives under ever -changing conditions of age, health and illness. Respectfully submitted, John R. Lee, M.D. REFERfuCF5 I. L... JR. Op. i Fl.rlde.kn - tM c .pt . H in a 1p tips re mvnkMpei �i5r fi wkd 'inn (. wwk Mesh 1.). Wn Ja 1 W 1n, AI•.2s. . ], w.l ,,. M a L« Ai, ieak,ry from r. iw Lew o'ef' ..pe.ur. m hrdrep.n floerid...b npe•r, ChNyPI i«Iraloer. 13. 3."1 =. ire, 9Ce.. r.p� wbm,n.d tp Nis Ini.rnpi�«el se.,.ry N IuwM. Rn.erch. to M 4. L-wM! Inrienhcn,nl,q N.u«. .N. G,Ih.n'. syrdrom. end FlvgkMtipn. R.e.niVy ubmle,.d 1. pu01k.hon. s. Douelm, wolloc., L.- e«P.A. i po.Aol wot �1Ar �q en�Veell rr.nk. e,d Mnml sVmp.nvJ«,net .1 Nr „w es, Rss.ae>. Fs. inn. 6. DAIM vpDlrnlal, 1DKaornu,. Arrvwp,.nem s...',l Rbgy Rxupin�ld, Ste[hnlidr:mDWryWrckj...h iw &,Krai o,.lis�pnF:,I«d.xtbnMe 7,.e64n. Mrs..r damn. 5E.517 STJ. lets. e. Rw., D { Nnrlee. JR. r„rNenm.nwl Fl-a . 1977. N.-1 -.-h a w-1 el Cemd.. W. lean, otie , July. Ire. e. Fl_w . Nmlwwl Aced ; el Sc4 -, vm.wnpmn, D.C. Mi. IC.h.nr 6 ._.,..Psis o1M g N F4wM. an 10. M 11 a CKendiv Cyieb.k.l Elf— W sodium F11 ,LRl,atk end RNbtle CMa,n i e1.1k Ch.- .nd Er,pn..nrp N.rn. s... 70. e. rir6. p M tin. a wm 14-1k ei.niyl emeyn in o Icon lap.. Archnn i i.�Enreen,pWb R mntpl N«I,h (Ametleen AR.dkel wupcleiknl, ve . „. DcnJas. Its. More Dendsts in Ashe Fluoride promoters usually claim that fluoridation will decrease cavities by a dramatic 65 percent. No mention is made of the increase of dentists in fluoridated communities. To cite one example the water supply of Asheville, North Carolina, was fluoridated in September 1965. 54 dentists were listed in the 1970 yellow pages of the Ash Ville telephone book and 86 dentists listed in the 19 yellow pages fifteen years after Asheville had "enjo ad the benefits of fluoridation," Despite the fact t at 32 dentists had moved into town the population had decreased from 57,820 in 1970 to 53,281 in 19 according to figures listed in the Asheville City Hall records. Doahmy, Massachl Duxbury, by a large margin, 3,498 t 2,209, rejected fluoridation on November 4, 1980 by a binding referendum even though $30,000 in federal funds were available to pay for equipmeni and chemicals for the first two years. Defeat of the question means that fluoridation, an Issue dating back eight years, is out for of least two years. State law says that a question on fluoridation can not be back on the ballot before th t time. A personal submission to the Co7�tl ittee of Inquiry into the Fluoridation of Victoriaater Supplies, August 1979 with on appendix Jary 1900. This 284-page double spaced typewrn book covers every aspect of fluoridation. Theliography con- sists of 364 references and an Appdndix of 31 ppaages covering the latest development in ttte field of fluorl- dation-an excellent reference it. The book is available from G.S.R. Walker, 4A anor St., Brigh- ton, Victoria, Australia 3106. The ook price ready for mailing Is $4.22 plus postage. Surface postage to U.S.A. is $2.20. Air Moll $8.95. (Copies slightly damaged in shipnt are available from National Fluroidation News f r $5.50) 4. FLUORIDATION AND TOOTH Of CAY BY Gladys Caldwell and Philip E. Zonfogna, D. In over 300 fact -filled, explosive pages, the a than expose the nationwide campaign fief led a i estimated 100 million Americans to drink one mg. fluoride In awry quart of water from cradle to grave........ , , $3. ; 10 copies $35,00 5. FLUORIDATION IN NEW ZEALAND By Bruce Collins. lot edition -Forward by Sir Dove -Myer Robinson, and an apppendix by G. L. Wol bolt, M.D. Pub- lished by tha N.Z. Pure Water Association, Inc., Pa r-cdver % pp. P, O. Box 2168, Tauranga, New Zedpl nil. 1.980. 7ha young author of this short but highly revealing book displays an unusually clear grasp of the realities of water fluoridation. Price $3.50 from N.F.N. TI:1)AwDij-y 6. FLUORIDATION AND CANCER, A E DEPENDENCE OF CANCER MORTALITY RELATED TO ARTIFICIAL FLUORIDATION BY J. Ylamouyio nis and Doan Burk, Delaware, Ohio and Washington, D.C. 23 pogo booklet reprinted from FLUORIDE, Volume 10, No. 3, July 1977, pages 102123... ....75 cents 10 copies $6.00) 7, Reprint: SCIENTISTS AND FLUORIDATION by Albert W. Burgstahler, Ph.D. Survey of dl�nlalmedi- Cal and findings, with bibliogra hy. , .....30 cents (10 copies 2.50;1 copies $20,00) a. Reprint: DENTAL AND MEDICAL, ASPECTS OF N"m miffs Late Placid, Florida Lake Placid Is a town of 960 residents w"h many more people in the winter. Last September the Town Council was ready to vote on the fluoridation (issue. but tabled it when Clarice B. Carter read o*erpts from Dr. Banik's book --- "Your Water end Your Health." The citizens present at the meeting had new been told anything about the dangers of fluorido t hod only heard that it was good for the children's s th. After a bitter but cleanly run campaign, NIe town - people voted on April 7th, 1981 145 against ohd 130 for. Alameda, Cal forma After four and a half years of water fluoridari n one over three years of participation in a weekly f oridR mouth rinse program in the public Is it Alameda, the Alameda Times -Star of Apri Jillreported severe dental problems in elemonte " roll students. Alameda dentist Robert Oliver is in the isroces, of voluntarily screening students of five allonilanton schools in the city for possible dental prabt "I:r" screening in the schools five years ago and flee cam hardly any dental problems," Oliver said. 'N it l super bad." We said 20 percent of the students at l allot Elementary School had serious dental troebl a. Or Oliver found problems ranging from bad coYlt to I cyst in a child's mouth. In addition to cavities. Oliver looks foes s a unhealthy gums, lesions and orthodontic �r Loma The school nurse is informed of any problems tan uncovered and the nurse sends notices to = rents It is the responsibility of the parents, not the shoals to see that the child receives dental attenlioM. Oliver's screening is also not meant toesolace I regular, thorough dental examination. No a-** an taken of the schools. The annual dental screen l�s come as a reel Is, school nurses to the A amedo County IDenta Society. 1 ltaralgon City, Australia Fluoride will not be added to Traralgon's Naf r sup- ply when the now pumping and filtration nt Is commissioned in March, as reported on Jon Hal by the Latrobe Volley Express of Norwell, V tone, Australia. fir The Traralgon Waterworks Trust modo41ihoul resolution not to add fluoride to the systemDunbar, chairman of the Trust told the Expr, 'Whave cleaned the slate, and we con look of I preconceived ideas." A Health Commission spokesman told T area that no further orders for fluoridation were no en- forced of the moment as the commissioners a con sidering the findings of an inquiry into fluor tion. The Government had instructed several w trusts to implement measures for fluoridation pre 1', Lomita, Wisconsin The citizens of Lomiro, Wisconsin fluoridation 3 to 1 (393.131) on April 6, 1981. Starr R.N. was in charge of the campaign. FLUORIDATED DRINKING WATER, by A t Wr0 stahler, Ph.D. A survey of the idZdil in number of detailed accounts of adveriteif 20 conts (10 cci $"SC 9. INCREASED DEATH RATES IN CHILE A IATEI WITH ARTIFICIAL FLUORIDATION OF NYC WATER, WITH IMPLICATIONS FROM OT R COON TRIES by Albert Schatz, Ph.D., F.R.S.H. 1 rs port from the Anthony University JourMl Arts Science and Humanities Special issue ao F rkk tion. The report includes a section which Ricall discusses "Implications of the United St "$1,0 10. CONTROLLING THE PpTENTIAI HAZ S O GOVERNMENT -SPONSORED 7ECHNOL b Michael Wollan, reprinted from The G Wash ington Law Review. Documented critigrto Phi promotion of fluoridation on the face a evidence. 25 cents (5 copies $1.00; 100 copin iil5.00 11. PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOURTH ANNUAL ER ENCE OF STATE DENTAL DIRECTORS WIT PW LIC HEALTH SERVICE, 1951. First-hand, itn rev alations on how the Public He Serv! of an offensive for fluoridation.... Cann (10c $4.00 12. YOU ARE THE GUINEA PIG. A succinct of the motive behind the fluoridation 15 cents (10 co =12.50 FLYERS 13. FLUORIDATION??? A flyer containing qu;stiora and answers and quotations from experts... . 3 copies 30 cents; 25 copies $1.50; 250 copra I .OD; 1000 copies $35,00; 5,000 copies $150. . 14, Reprint: BETTER DIET vs FLUORIDATION ill �^Ril W. Bu ilor, taPh.D............ 10 co aatdr (100 copies $3.00: 1000 cop .00J BACK ISSUE$ 15, COMPLETE FILE OF BACK ISSUES OF NAT FLUORIDATION NEWS - A VALUABLES E OF M/FORMATION, 19 years - April 1%3 to does.I$8.00 i- � m Jasssbora, Aleme OMCIAL REPORT: "FAULTY VALVE AND HUMAN ERROR" As reported in the preceding (July -October) issue of Na►lansrl fluoridation News, pupils and teachers at tlr Jonesboro (Maine) Elementary School became sud- denly III on the morning of Tuesday, October 6, 1981, from a massive fluoride overfeed in the school's water Wsyysstem. eased on fragmentary press accounts, the N story was necessarily limited in daratl, On Oc• tabor 22, however, Christine Torraca, Director of the Fluoridation Program for the State of Maine Depart- ment of Human Services (DHS), released an official stetemant concerning the incident. In her report, Torroca relates that not only was the fluoride flow switch not operating properly, but also that the enti•siphon valve was defective. When DHS technician Dennis Phillips want to the school on Oc• lobar 5 he replaced the flow switch but "did not have a spa anti -siphon valve with him so he isolated the fMareiioI IL system by closing the gate valves and epentng the by-pass gate valve." Than, according to Torroco, "by the time all this took piece the concentrated fluoride solution had al siphoned into the school storage tanks." When In• left the school, Phillips "Informed Adoin Smith [the custodian] that he needn't test the water the fdfewls 9 morning, as the fluoridation equipment was turned off. Had he (Phillips) not left those instruc- tion, Adam would have tested and the high concen• tra►ion of fluoride would have been detected." On the following morning (October 6), pupils and teachers began drinking and using the water, and between e:00 and 9;00 a.m. they began to experience toxic effects "consisting chiefly of nausea, vomiting, cramps and headache. Mr. George Alley, the prin. =pal, "seapected excess fluoride in the drinking water end called the Maine Poison Control Center for ad- vice, and notified DHS Office of Dental Health." The report continues: "Fifty-seven individuals were transported to Down East Community Hospital [in nearby Machias). Thirty-eight were treated for sespactod fluoride overdose. Treatment consisted of syrup of Ipecac [an extremely bitter -tasting alkaloid] to Induce vomiting, than milk and quiet observation. Two individuals were admitted to the hospital briefly for observation of rapid heart rate, excitement and anxiety, and released several hours later." (In another pat of her report Torraca states that "the overfluakdation caused symptoms in 31 persons In the JES" [Jonesboro Elementary School].) In regard to the amount of fluoride involved: "The concentration of fluoride in the water during the time of Ingestion can only be estimated. Subsequent analysis of four samples at the State Laboratory gave these results: Mr, Smith's sample - 11,5 ppm Water fountain 25.3 ppm Coffeepot 84 ppm Leftover cup of coffee - 236 ppm" Even with 236 ppm fluoride in the water, according to Terrace, "all individuals were well removed from serious illness." In her view, "At this concentration, a child would have to ingest a gallon or more of water and an adult over 2 gallons (assuming no vomiting) In order to experience serious or life - below.) illness." (For comment on this point, see 6elaw. ) From the Conclusions of the report: "The overfeed was duo to a combination of faulty valve and human error" ond; "We believe that the Illness was acute and seN•Itlnited (average duration 8 hours) and that no chronic effects should occur." Finally, Torroca's closing Recommendations stress #of On concentration of fluoride should be checked prior to each school day, "regardless of whether that equlprneM Is thought to be operating or net," [Em- phasis in original.] Comment The dosing recommendation of Me. Tor - race's report that daily checks be made of the fluoride concentration, even when the agtrfpment is not supposed to be operating, certainly provides a revealing commentary on the extreme uncertainty and unpredictability of fluoridation feeder operations. Moreover, In vier of the apparent increase in fluerldetion "accidents "overloads", and ethat are coming to light (see tbn on page 3 of this issue of Notional FkHertdstlon News), one can only wonder whether ANY of the various safeguards that we in use or have been proposed will ever be ods*sate to prevent such occurrences. Clearly, the claim that "fluoridation is ob- sew safe,' rings rather hollow when v against the frequency of these sorry episodes• Skece water containing 236 ppm fluoride hr 3% milligrams of fluoride ion per liter of water or approximately 900 milligrams per gtlllen. Torroca's contention that the ingestion of of least one gallon of such water by a child woA d be required for "serious or life - threatening illness' is more than Open to dwllenge. This amount of fluoride has frequently proved to be more than sufficient for a lethal dose in small children, and at the very Isast would be expected to induce ex - acute toxic reactions wen in a hfsaMhy adult, If Ms. Torroco thinks she can ingest this amount of fluoride at one sitting without bocomino violently ill, she Is sure to find that shs is wily mistaken I National FLUORIDATION NEWS Vol. IM11, No. 4 Nov. -pee., MI soviet lwsmrchen Report Fluoride Interference with RNA and Protein Synthesis in Mice EDITOR'S NOTE: Alµough many dental health officials In the saviet Union ore an record as favoring fluoridation, rientlllc research in that country, as elsewhere, continues to disclose many mrfau, adverse effects of fluoride. The laboratory mulls summoraed below provide striking Independent suppaf. fa ,he wpalidlry of clinical flndin s of deleterious effects of fluorldatad ler on People, Including srfa eow Mnponary reversals, thot haw been reported repeatedly M Wh physicians as J. R. Lee (Coidornio), H. 1. Moolenburgh (Hof and), H, T. Petral" (Minnesofe), G, L. woldbott (Michigan), and P. J. Zanfagna (Mossochusens). Mareawr three results on olso in accord wIµ the dlarupnon of hydrogen Lien blo-mdec eels by fluoride proposed scent' by y (London) topes of harm from Nuarlderd wafer including chromosome domape and Increased cancer deaths or Incidents. (D. Burk, J. Yiamouyannis), R•vevling studies on the effects of fluoride on RNA (ribonucleic acid) replication and protein synthesis in mice are reported by two Russian scientists in the Oc• tober 1981 issue of the journal FLUORIDE (Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 182.191). Originally presented In April 1961 at the Eleventh Conference of the International Society for Fluoride Research in Dresden, the work is by A. A. Zhavoronkov and L. S. Strochkova of Moscow's insti- tute of Human Morphology. Their report is antltled "Fluorosis: Geographical Pathology and Some Experimental Findings." In it, besides reviewing data on human fluoride in- toxication, these authors describe how daily sub- cutaneous injections of 12 micrograms We) of sodium fluoride (=5.4 pg of fluoride ion) per gram of bodywelght in CEIA micoproducod a wide range of ef- fects on RNA transcription and protein synthesis in various organs. Using in vivo incorporation of tritium. labeled uridine and leucine administered one hour before sacrificing the mice, they monitored responses to fluoride at weekly intervals for a period of four weeks. Among organs showing "a marked decrease of RNA franscri ptionerr were the heart, War, and knee joint. In the lungs, kidneys, pancreas, and duodenum the decrease was more gradual, whereas in muscle tissue, the adrenals, and the spleen it occurred within the first week but was then followed by a return to nearly normal RNA synthesis. Figure 3c from the pa r, reproduced below, illustrates some of these affects compared to thaw in control mica not receiving fluoride. Nave! Dwrwe of RIiAloY1MW m Hair p�mDanes NO mesdnaon (!<afcontrd) e. Iaisa, salmrr, ieeacrne, s•dnodmiim. Parallel studies showed that fluoride intoxication also affects protein synthesis in mica. In the spleen, odnnals, liver, and duodenum, "pronounced fluc- tuations were directly correlated with the Increase In fluoride levels." In most other organs, however, a marked decrease in protein synthesis compared to controls occurred. In tissues of the knee )•aint this decrease was detected in the first week, whereas in muscle tissue and in the large ealon (rectum) it oc- curred somewhat later. In the kidney, pancreas, heart, and lung, the decrease was followed by in- creased synthetic activity approaching the control levels, as illustrated in Figures Ic and 4 below. lehlMdar of Protein sregew: dose mar Intoxication c. liidsq, 1peetlYt . AN r r e tarots. s•.g The authors attribute these disturbances of protein synthesis "to a decrease in activity of a group of on. lymes catalyzing the key processes of cellular metabolism." These enzymes include those that con- trol specific stages in the biosynthesis of nucleotides and nucleic acids and in protein synthesis. In the same series of experiments, metabolic changes in certain organs of the mice were also studied morphologically. In the eye, for example ganglion cells showed a progressive decrease in RNA content and dry weight (Figure So)- The authors correlate these effects with pothologic changes In the blood vessels of the retina, noting that they are probably related to 'the disturbance of ascorbic acid [vitamin C] metabolism and the development of fluoride retinvpathy in [human] fluorosis." Metabolic Oiatees in Min IWur wring NaF mtosiaMMo yt-w RwA ad dry wei�l.t wn >f s jarjll.eale aaUa wwt.el %!be �~ ! aeakx R ► __� a.ProgrWvede al RNAcordons(I)aidardryad d Wotgaa wcells. In still other experiments, undertaken In view of the findings of other Soviet researchers on sperm cell ob- normalities In workers suffering from industrial fluorosis, Zhavoronkov and Strochkova also in- vestigated the effects of the fluoride injections on testicular cells in the mice at various states of spar• matogenesis, particularly in the seventh stage. Although reproductive RNA in the spermateganas was not appreciably altered, "between the second and third weak after the beginning of the axparknont there was a decrease of rRNA in the basal pert of the Sartoli calls, In Laidig calls, and in spermati lox-" A marked decrease In the dry weight of Laidig cells and spermaticies also occurred by the second week, followed by a return trend toward the control level. These findings are shown in Figures 6a and 6b. noses MdehoRs ilice aRNA end Peetem in Drr&rnt CeW a[Mk Tortes nonog xeP lotodaaan T•_ st►! c.atart err eau �r foal. Me tgpes of sells. a. 14ek gcY4lsgWB nW, 74pnmata6011411 A. Ngnnasar• 161 wish, ._& .J \ � l M r \ _•� r � I "eke a a s 0. peavd •dgMsp (l Luca nus f21 h. Concerning these lost results, the authors suggest that "the noted cytochemicol alterations In Laidig cells and in the basal parts of Sortoli calls reflect disturban- ces in the protein -synthesizing system of these cells in fluorosis and to a certain degree explain the hor- monal imbalance in this disease, since Laidig calls syn- thesix• testosterone [male hormone] and Sertall calk produce protein -binding androgens." In their conclusion, Zhavoronkov and Strochkova emphasize that "fluorosis (lFfeeM the whole organism with elective lesions of the tooth and the skeleton," In their vkwv, cellular MMrWMns and disturbances in RNA NatwRrl/Nan and III a ansyrnihask an "MhMsk mechanknw of Nee Influence of flimerldle on the badly. "The plain fact that fluorine is an insidious poison, harmful, toxic and cumulative in its effects, even when ingested in minimal amounts, will remain unchanged no matter how many times it will be repeated in print that fluoridation ofthe watersupply is 'safe' " Ludwik Gross, M.D., Former Chief of Cancer Research of the Veterans Administration, Bronx, N.Y. Natiohal FLUORIDATION NEWS ROUTE 1, GitAVETTE, ARKANSAS 72736 Telephone 501-70741M0 IA seneral and scientific information medium about Published Quarterly UJL Subscription rate: $2.00 one year; $3.50 two years. Canada (U.S. Funds) $2.00 one year; $3.50 two years. Foreign (U.S. Funds) $2.50 one year; $4.50 two years. Quantity rates:10 copies $1.50: 50 copies $6.00; 140 copies 1110.00; 300 copies $27.00; 500 copies $45,00. oak w Morey order In U.S. .S. Punds roust orders. Add s1.oD for eyrnd lerraing.) (Perm -non to reprint ma, to grafted upon anten requel i kd H. Fabian.....................................Editor Medical 44l1sory Board he E. Za-goa, M.D., lawrc . Mom.. Harvey T. Pebpborg, MD., Mtkm, R; AM R. Lae, M-D., Mal Valley, Camon". Basel Aawbwy Board LE. esters, D.D.S.. Hemet, Calif.: Bsrnel winter, D.D.S., Ret—. N.Y.: A. Russell, DA D., Nowlo n lot, Mass.; Caamur R. Shelf, D.D.S., Passaic, Legal Advisory Board e R. Auchter, SpnnOitld. M .; G.S. WWiane, Fannhn/dale, Ma.; JoM rrsaPoa Graham, St. Paul, Minn. AM G. RallmgWA New Wppnlninar, British Columbia, hAtalr sl Rexamh saw; Prof. James 6. Patrick, Chairman, Dept. of cheMnry, Mary Baldwin lye, Neuman, Va.; W. T. Schmnk, Ph.D., Rolls. Mo., Chemist; A. ofas v)tr, Ph.D., Prahesor Emeriloa at Chemistry. Cornell University. Ip, K.Y.: ten Grenwsll, Surrey, B.C. Canada: Albert Schatz, Ph.D.. feasphis, Ps.;Isabel Jansen, R.N., Amiga, Wi. on Western Europe Prepared by the National Pure Water Association 13 Withington Rood, Manchester, England M16 8NB STRIA NO FLUORIDATION: It has, on pprinciple, never been considered by the Austrian Government. LGIUM NO FLUORIDATION: Two small studies were DISCONTINUED in 1965. NMARK NO FLUORIDATION E - Fluoridation is compulsory; is/e million people are on a water supply equipped for fluoridation (1977) Is ND Fluoridation is permitted and car- ried out in two communities fol- lowing decisions by local author- ities. ANCE NO FLUORIDATION: It has never boon authorised. Water Authori- ties have not been allowed to add fluoride to water treatment for household consumption. RAL REPUBLIC. NO FLUORIDATION. One study GERMANY DISCONTINUED. On 13th Decem- ber, 1978, the Federal German Health Council decided to refrain from recommending fluoridation because of the unresolved quas• than whether the harm of fluori- dation might for outweigh Its pos. Bible benefit. ECE - NO FLUORIDATION HIDLLAND NO FLUORIDATION: In Septem- bar 1976 the Government approv- ed the discontinuation of fluoride" lion of the drinking water follow" Ing the 1973 High Court decision that fluoridation is illegal because It is a medical treatment, NO FLUORIDATION RG gktZL NO FLUORIDATION NO FLUORIDATION - Only one small scheme at Monte- mor•o-Novo started 1%2. AIN The first fluoridation plant was started on 16th February 1980 at El Pedrosa, Saville (2,500 inhab- itants). - NO FLUORIDATION. DISCONTIN- LIED: On 18th November 1971, Parliament repealed the 1962 low and made fluoridation Illegal on medical and pharmacological grounds, IWIrrZOILAND Only the city of Basle is fluoridat- red: in 1975 the Health Adminls- trotion recommended Its discon- tinuotion because of lack of eye- dence of dental benefit and no savings in public expenditure. IWNGARY NO FLUORIDATION. DISCONTIN- UED in 1976 because of "dolefor- iaus effects". Aft NO FLUORIDATION. D15CONTIN- LffD. Novo=[ rkwrWWuNg" — 1991 Fluoride Hostages ours deprive Bn j i 1 �uQr1aA @o �It$ i f(uoP�datio S good for • a s s0r,Bo. -f, , , ' �lupridati�, �s sQ Q effect jve a nvIrle 0 chi 1S%n1 f6rmed rl spfluo�`�' � •/-f v ll \Y th.., 1 C NrSSrONA, G'Yu �O4w. P.FrukrD eY H� �/ NEWS BRIEFS Fredonia Declines Fluoridi For the second time in little o Fredonia, N.Y., Village Board declir federal grant from the New York Iluo on December 14, 1981. The questio choice was brought up by several and board members during the public the vote which drew an overFlov Trustees Room at the Village Hall. Not Worth;4,116g The Pembroke, North Carolina, Toy ad a grant of $16,000 from The North I of Health Services on June 1, 1981 wh, Disease Control said the town wot $2,000 in engineering fees. Resounding Defeat In Two UI "Utah has lose fluoridation than aril a group of us are going to make s way," said Elizabeth W. Shofar of Ogc In the town of Tramonton, obout r Ogden, fluoridation was defeated one, 729 to 243, on November 3rd, T on the ballot by petition of the prop or The small town of Uinta about 11 Ogden also said "No" to fluoridation 167 To 33. Shamokin Dam Spurns 1 The City Council of Shamokin Dal had been offered a federal fluoridate 1981. Since than the National Health tee addressed the town council on sd debated three dentists and one pods nishod citizens with printed material hormful effects of fluoridation. Amo were Emanual Roth, President of Gerencher and Thomas Mahlon. On November 2, the Council vot fluoridation of the borough's water su Colorado City Says etNi Twelve years ago Canon City, i rejected an attempt to add fluoride tc supply. They did it again on Noveml decisive margin — 1119, No; 665, t idation had boon proposed by the Department, the City Council decided vote of 5 - 2 to allow the citizens tc decision, Florida Commissioners Hee The Pompano Beach, Florida, I decided against placing fluoridath March ballot, Pompano Beach voters n 1973. "1 persorially think it's a mortal wont It you can buy the tablets or said Commissioner Olson. "A doc prescribe a drug without a prior ex patient. He would never force the W treatment, yet that's what would ho Commissioner Louis Albrecht. lonia's Crusade Fizzli Dr. Ralph Madre, an Ionia, Michig years was o leading crusader in a i fluoride to the water supply used by residents. For three months Dr. Moc in., renorganizations and service cluspeIoffon fromabible"tsted,pas"aeffectsofluc to a May 22, 1981 Itory In Magazine of the Ionia Sentinel -Star Maureen Meads, staff writer. negatives to fluoride," writer Mead Moore. Not enough Ionians were col was defeated on November 3, 1981. Michael Lolly, Chairman of the Cot Ionic's Water Pure, and Andrew Cram, the successful opposition. A sim defeated fluoridation in 1973, 515 No ])eleven Defeats F7uo1 The Delovon, Now York council eopting a proposed contract for fit state on July 7, 1911. ori�Q��°rn �� ndprS�S y,�Xpe New Jersey Update Offer a'yaO°e n "Bayonne nixed fluoridotion" was the hV�i era year the )d an offer of a The Jersey Journal of November 4, 1981. Voidation programfad fluoridation on Nov. 3, 9,550 No; 5,937 i of freedom of ►vro-yeorcontroversy. The day before the election the Bayonne (Times illage residents f°ported that "according to City Hall source'ttl�e vote meeting prior to in the was too close to call." Question No. 9 on fee ballet crowd asked the voters: "Shall the potable water eye of the city be fluoridated?" 80 prople were present at the first public ring n Council reject- before the Councll held on May 5, as Dr. t7at it R. arolina Division Shaft, a Passaic dentist, warned of the rs of n the Center for fluoride, and Dr. Arthur Yeager, a Wasty fist Id have to extolled fluoride's cavity -fighting properties" T final pay two hours of the hearing were devoted to a tion and answer period. Ih Towns otherstote and Clementm The Record -Breeze on July 29, 1981 rep that re it stays that "Battle lines were drawn several weeks ago fha Dn. borough council on July 2, was surprised fly n ad- 3 miles north of dition to the agenda which offered a resolut to ac- dmost throe to cept a federal grant for fluoridation of the oh's 10 issue was put water." Representatives of the state were t to Ints. discuss the program. All but one councilmen ter to miles south of approve the resolution and apply for the groM. py a 5 to 1 vote, Onca the news was out, so many rosldeob�collad councilmen to oppose the program that a peciol Fir meeting was called on July 23, to discuss e grant. rant The Council voted 3.2 to rescind the motion the Pennsylvania i, yl ylMoorestown audience cheered The decision to refuse the fit. n grant June Action Commit- A binding referendum on fluoridation, Ordlinsence teral occasions, No. 1015, was defeated by a vote of 4,445 filecinst to triclon and Fur- 3,231 for fluoridation on November4, 1980, ocumenling the Officials in Trenton said that if Mooresttri O -'a' 1g the speakers quickly it could be eligible For $45,000 In fad funds NHAC, Grace to purchase fluoridation equipment and tkv years supply of the chemical. The township counts v Fed tc -d 5.2 to reject apply for the grant, but after'farmy Meath errs a )Ply. „ successful 10-day petition drive, the quiet was placed on the November ballet. Every seven years here, It's Iike the olorado voters Almost to the day every seven years in M town the ci s water h' somebody has wanted to debate fluoride," so Jahn or 8, 1981 by a Logue, Township Clark. as. After fluor- East orange olorado Health in Sept, 8th by a The people of East Orangemade if clear did fluoridation, the City Councilin r make the final not want so pn$0 to public opinion voted 7.0 on October 20, 140 not to accept a f35,0D0 state Deportment of Health t, I Voters >�eese, Hopewell, Camden, Refnnlc, Newarpr itv Commission Councils in Bridgeton and Hopewell voted We n on the city's fluoridation. The Health Systems Agency p if jaded the Idea in Fluoridate Camden, Redbank, Newark and Ilvile of choice. If you but the city councils showed no interest. iha or would toothpaste, nawr " (`goad News From Remington imination of the A reader from Remington, Indiana, rites: Plant to continue 'Tuesday evening, September 8, our Town Board )pan here," said voted unanimously not to fluoridate our wdfw . Even the one member who was so outspok ri for fluoridation voted against it. What a relief It sea to 3 n, dentist for 23 n, dentist us. We had a lot of names on our petitions sled all the to add aign t add info' we had against it was documented. The osenl Iha Town Board said they would consider it o issue a visited lama's an long as they remained In office." —Mrs, Arm is spreading the Bourwch. Victory is Alberta f facts extolling idation," actor- Grande Cache, a mining town, and known Me ,he Mainstream newest town in Alberta, Canada, scored a re riding lard written by victory at the polls on December 16, 494 No; 1 YM. here are no quoted Dentist Dorothy Didow, and Brigat Taylor, leaders of f group against fluoride, were instrumental in getR rwt a varied. Fluoride large number of voters, according to The rends 125 No; 400 Yes. Cache Mountaineer. imittee to Keep and others lead Correction: Incidence ofDenalCeelM lac referendum In our report on the work of Dr. R. Zi r, 300Yes. (NFN, July -October 1981), the last s°nterece In rho fourth paragraph should be changed to r" 11AR M stion clearly evident from the log -normal distributi ai dr4 tad against at- data, the Incidence of dental caries in those Wror dation the shows no evidence of an inverse correlation INI 0 with fluoride concentration in the water sot ly (R' 0.Oalle).' 1 Ned" Fbmwti illin News — Nevenbeil%Deeemikkir. ixl rave 10 Years of Fluoride "Leaks," "Spills" and "Overfeeds" in the U.S. Compiled by Martha Bevis, President is Safe Water Faumiletles of Tezas —11419 Shadow Way, Houston, TX TWA TOWN AND REFERENCE DATE CAUSE 1EAUC13D Northeast Bradford 6/6/72 Blockage of BIF feeder by-pass occurred sand• Ing excess fluoride Into water system as high 150 students attending a school picnic vomited after drinkingElem. orange juice made with the waver. School, Rome, Pa. He Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene - as 67 mg./L. DER (Dept. of Env. Resources), Towanda, Pa. Records show fluoride at 48 '•{ :,• " Lion Report, (Annapolis) Field Investigation ga Po 35.36 (3.19.80) State of Maryland; ppm in water and 230 ppm in coffee. M. Duggan (8/20/79 and 12/30/81) '. Stattly cOgtlty, N. C. 4/16/74 Fluoride feeder pump malfunctioned, causing the fluoride solution to be fed Into the water 213 individuals experienced nausea after drinking orange juice mixed with water. 201 students and 7 adults vomited. {•` Morbid. Mart. Weakly Report, Center for Disease Control, 23:199 system continuously while water pump not K. (6/l/74) operating. r; Lebanon, Pa. 8/20/75 Storage tank holding 6,000 gallons of hydro• fluosi Icic (fluoride) ruptured, Sustantial damage to water plats. Approximately 1,500 gallons Into drains below plant threatening structure. e;DER NFN, (July -Sept. 1975) acid Pent (Dept. of Env. Resources reported fluoride leaked into Lebanon Doily News holding ponds and Swatara Creek killing fish. yi Seattle, Washington May/76 Plastic fitting broke in rubber -lined steel tank spilling fluoride on the ground in Cedar River 5,000 gallons of fluoride spilled. An earth mound was built around tank to divert spillage from river. NFN (July -Sept. 1976) Seattle Times (5/23/76) watershed. Syracuse, N. V. 3/29/77 1,200 gallons of fluoride was accidentally Into Skaneateles Creek from a rug- Within hours of the spill, hundreds of dead fish lined the banks of the creak. 1,900 previously stocked trout assumed dead. NFN (April -June 1977) Auburn Citizen pumped tired underground fluoride tank. ji Merles Cawty, Calif. 10/26.11 /1 /77 Fluoride feeder voles malfunctioned. Five communities received fluoride above "accepted" level for several days without notice to the public. The Ind. Jrnl. repor- �iiiSin NFN Oct. -Dec. 1977) Rafael led the water district staff justified distribution of the over. iiiidosed Ind. Jrnl. water on the grounds it was a drought year. Harbor Springs, Mich. 11/22/77 A tree cut down by contractor fell on power lines controlling city water system electrical Approximately 189 Ibs, of fluoride was accidentally pumped Into the city's water system. Tests at one discharge line ,•. Jrnl. Am. Water Wrks. 72 238 243 (4/80) signal lines, The disruption automatically showed 1,000 milligrams per liter of fluoride. a: NFN (Apr -June 1980) trigggered Into simultaneous operation three f rha city's four well -water pumps, and the Four people experienced nausea or vomiting and weakness. r Ii Harbor Light,(12/2.8/81) Toxicology, Clinical Toxicology, 1 (5) Clinical(ogy, fluoride feeder continued to operate. (It was oft first thought the problem was an "iron build- Iron levels were high due to interaction Hod it not been on off-season for this resort town and the ac- cident happening after lunch and before afternoon coffee breaks, more could have been poisoned. up of the fluoride with the water mains.) i Im Lum, New Mexico 11/17/78 Faulty electric relay switch caused cancan. trated fluoride to be pumped into water - 34 people had acute fluoride poisoning. Symptoms were ob111 dominol pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, muscle (ZlementuTSchool) NFN (July -Sept. 1980) syy stem without being diluted with non -fluor- twitching and excessive salivation. Pediatrics, 65, Na. 5897-9m (May 1980) idatod water. )(gjand Falls, Maine May, 1979 Falls Fluoride machine let extra fluoride into water system while motor head was being changed. 5 people suffered gastrointestinal illness. Dopt. of Human Services advised announcement on radio for Report loan b Island op° q y Manager WaferInves "The exact water fluoride level was not ascer• public not to drink water. 'y' Investigation "Field Inwstigatlon Report" (Annapolis) Dept. of Health talnad although a water sample of a manufac- turing plant was greater than W ppm." end Mental Hy Iona, Maryland pg. 28 (3/19/81� Aaalap011a, )yaryjaad 11 /11 /79 Operator failed to close valve of fluoride can- tolner; 1,000 gallons of fluoride went Into Dialysis patients: 1 death., 1 cardiac arrest (rrsusciatad), nausea, hypotension (low blood pressure), chest pain or "Field Investigation Report", Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene drinking water supply of Annapolis. If the water plant supervisor had realized the pressure, diarrhea, itching, flushing, vomiting (blood tinged), weakness, dyspnoo (breathing difficulty), diaphoresis ii iiiiy (3/19/80) Mort, Mort. Weekly Report, toxicitof fluoride and reported how much (profuse sweating), shakiness, localized numbness, ob- dominol headache. Center for Disease Control, fluoride had gone Into the water, fewer would have been harmed. (Clinical [romping, Others not on dialysis suffered nausea, headache, abdominal 29:No. 12 (3/28/80) Clinical Toxicology, 18 people Toxicology, Vol, 18, No. 5, pp 531.541, 1981). The was compounded by health of- cramps, diarrhea, and dizziness. For ramifications of fluoride poisoning in existing illnesses, sae Clinical toxicology, 18, (5) ' (S) 591 541) (1981) Dec. pproblem ficials falling to report the spill because they 531-541 (1981) and NFN (July -Oct., 1981). k NFN (-541) 1979) NFN (July -Oct. 1981) did not want to {oopardize the fluoridation Pepsi Cola filed suit for $1.6 million for damage to product; program (Baltimore Sun 11 /28/79), other suits pending. r�ariileton, Oregon 6/2.8/Bl) from fluoride storage tank DEQ gallons of the data gathered ndgineer stated into' Fround. Brett 'am East Oregonian (7/20/81) b�eleading environmental from the soil sampling and water samples, there exists a real need for continual monitoring in the oreps." The Umatilla In- dian Reservation water also comas from this source. .j m'N.y. 8/10/81 The diffuser, a plastic pipe that controls flow of fluoride Into the water system brake off, Village residents were without potable water, and In a state of "water emergency" from 2:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. • }. [sutler -Freeman (8/18/81) allowinq the entire contents of a drum of fluoride, ten times a normal "dose", into the found The village administrator said the biggest cost would be aver - time for Public Works personnel. This would not include water supply. The diffuser was outside the water treatment plant where It had been pay cost of investigation by State Health Dept, personnel. Hushed by backwash. i v Jatom`Oro+fie 10/6/81 Equipment and personnel malfunction. Equip- merit had boon shut down due to faulty Volvo 57 students, teachers and principal token to hospital. 38 ware administered regurgitants to make them vomit the fluoride, daf9MYoroEh'n1. $r11001 Duet, of Human Services, controlling the quantity of fluoride going into the drinking water. A Technician from the and milk to counteract the poison. Two we ro admitted To the hospital for several hours for fast heartbeat. Other symptoms and vomiting. stele of Maine (10/22/81) Dept. of Human Services told the custodian ware nausea and abdominal pain, ',, gor Daily News (10/7/81) BnTM Mein Paper (12/14/81) and principal there was no need to test the fluoride content of the water, that he had turn- On December 1, 1981, Jonesboro citizens voted 43.2 not to re - Portland Press Herald (10/8/61) ed the unit off. Tests showed 46 times the instate fluoridation at the school, and to charge the Dept. of the emergency room bill of $1,137.24. 4; NFN, (July -Oct. 1981) normal ratio of fluoride In the water. Human Services with •4: VngsforMdMd9119fa1llllti9aal>IC4k@INplg9Cf MIN11 COMtati6a. ey. dl to assamedon. Attar 6* 4% LNr9 9i 1111% la NN Settle had to MAN in 1rm fl m*f�atsata t�at9t$17,f11.'.. }:• 1ia erradvesep or t1lseNe 1111dra �a F A NntlBanl MaK'ii aen New. — Cost Figurn f1Br the M.D.C. rB�ar'c Note; The Metropolitan District was blared by the advice of three public health of- f n instead of a public referendum. Many people their strong objection to it, but to no avail. In a letter dated March 12, 1981, Francis D. Faucher, no Director of the Water Division of the olitan District Commission, 20 Somerset Street, ton, Massachusetts, 02108 reported as follows: The treatment facility performs two water treat• t functions. First, hydrofluosilicic acid is applied to ,,he water to optimum fluoride concentration as L1*1mIn by the Massachusetts Department of Ik Health, Secondly, sodium hydroxide is added to sate for the pH depression caused by the ad• of hydrofluosilicic acid and for pH adjustment In nctlon with the Lead Control Program. This lead trol program has proven to be an effective method reducing the solubility of lead where lead connec- exist in communities within the MDC Water tract. buring the fiscal year of 1980, approximately 605 of hydrofluosilicic ocid were purchased of a cost 1$239,943.00. Also 5,5W tons of sodium hydroxide purchased at a cost of $482,825.00. Fluor!dot!on—phl Adjustment Facility is staffed two personnel on a 24-hour, seven-day per week is. Duties of this personnel include building Intononce, minor equipment repair, sampling, on. , and record keeping. During fiscal year 1980, 1 ,000.00. salaries amounted to approximately design, construction and equipment for the ido►bn facilities were authorized under Bond Lpl Fund Chapter 519, Acts of 1974 at a cost of B941,066.00. Bonds were issued in 197B of Interest rate of 5.8%. All monies are charged to the MDC Water Fund which is subsidized by the MDC Water Users, TotolCost: $239,943.00 hydrofluosilicic acid 482,825.00 sodium hydroxide (Lye which Is often added fo stop corrosion) 102,000,00 2 personnel on 24-hour, seven-day per week basis. 941 056.00 Bonds issued in 1978 at 5,8% $1,7cost plus 5.Bt/a interest, Book About Arthritid With a Section on FluorM tiou Waldo Zimmerman is the author of 0 48 ge book entitled, "You Can Stop Arthritis." "A reading of this book may bring about a complete phangv in your lifestyle ... may add years to your life, and life to your yvors," so says the author, The author has been a long time fighter against fluoridation, and has devoted pages of the end of the bOct k to forceful evidence against fluoridation. He soya "...it solved the greatest problem our aluminum and some fertilizer manufacturers ever had. Between three and four decades ago it wag costing them millions of dollars every year to d &pose of their mountains of fluoride wastes— until they bribed,"' the U. S. Public Health Service o order these poisonous wastes to be put into our dr nking water as a Health measure!" The book is available from Waldo Zimmermann, 2143 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN 381 Telephone: 901.72S-4072. Price$2.50. ts from: FLUORIDATION, 1979 BY Phillip R. N. Sutton, D.D.Se. (Melb. ), L .D.S., F.R.A.C.D.S. s Note: This 1s the IM Baal oxeerpt from Dr. But. 'e M jpr$e report to the Cam- igahy late the F%or- r Victories water Sup. etiflMitkd August, 11178, eggenda Joe. 1/0. Dr. gross extearWe references M Mat whkh have sot bear Y excerpts, iL wgrtlgby of Dr. Sutton's soNnements was printed with the first moGRmeat beak In nveaable from G.S.R. Walter, 4A Manor 1Hghtan, Victoria, Australis nu. The price is $L72 pmftp • surface to U.S.A. Is $2.110, Air Man $8.95. he sgktfy damaged in shipment are avasuble from If MLoridnaa0 News for $6.50 including postage). Trere is No Margin of Safety With Artificial Fluoridation Important question of the margin of safety of kiul fluoridation has received little consideration, may be due to the widely held impression that • Is a wide margin of safety when water is f filleted at 1 p. p. m, Ifs Need for a Wide Merin of Safety far f ktmces Added to the water Supplies, Ing on the general subject of the I of water quality, the Director of the of !sanitary Engineering, PennsylvanI Deport- th Health, sold that a 'latk of precision and Ilty makes it essential that adequate factors of M employed.' (Lyon, 1968). r, C. G. Dobbs (1957) pointed out that: Then is ne level of intake at which fluoride thong" from a tew8 to a purely "beneficial" substance; and since it Is the tarty intake which matters, the question at issue I. not the aaMy of flwrldes at 1 p,p.m, but the safety of any per anent edalrlan to the general intake of fluoride, erpecially by those vrenaea Intake is already high.' rgord to fluoridation, In 1950 Drs. G. J. Cox and H. K. Hedge (two of the main early proponents of idetkon) said that, with the increased use of f We in water, toothpastes, topical applications rwevthwoahos, vitamin tablets and chewing gum: H it proper to Imat that due attention be paid to tpose Zheaards and to Insist that them be v large factor oftfety. IMI4and m compounds have long been known as poisons.' rs T. Gordonoff and W. Minder (1960) said: rifsas agree that fluoride Is in no way an Innocuous; sta reawr, since Its H mivatic range Isw wrynpy leada itself to owrdaragt,, well known even !n 1940, for Drs. Mar- ith and H. V, Smith said: MMeen toxic and nontoxic Iwds of fluorine In• very small. Any procedure for Increasing fluorine to the so-called upper limit of rron-toxidty would aas. This would ben ially true in the case of the f fkwlne to public food or water supplles where individual fluctuations In Intake would be an - 'Ifs Mamt Martall Decreases In the ■bremmeWW Dose of Fhsadde. T rrow, therapeutic range Is wall Illustrated by the need degreases in the recommended levels of do hagestion from tablets, which have been forc- ed sin ineteasing evidence of dental fluorosis in *Ian the previously recommended dose. In a s wing the old levels of 0.5 mg F up to the age of years and thence 1.0 mg F daily, it was found #m 67% of fire children included in the study :Inca teed derrial fluorosis. The group fluorosis Index wan q,a, which is well above the level of 0.6 which ' his pubik health problem. (Ansenden and Originally one tablet of sodium fluf mg F) was recommended for all ages. changed, the American Medical A saying the usual fluoride supplement fi for children up to the age of three ye per day for 3.14 years. Supplements teed those amounts'rn order to insure the teeth does not occur.' Recently the recommended daily aft less than two years of age has again 1 0,25 mg, (Council on Dental Then Editorial, 1978; Driscoll and Ho Therefore the newly recommended d quarter of the dose a finally pr statement must be qualified by the ref the American Dental Association's Co Therapeutics: 'Before a fluoride supplement Is preacribst contration of a child's drinking water mur void the Vieibnity of the child developii tram exces I" Intake of fluoride during th, tooth calcification. For proas that have not concentration of 0.2 ppm or greater in the "for, appropriate downward pd ur*mean the dosage schedule. The Council on Dent the American Dental Association has sugg supplements should not be prescribed whet of natural fluoride exceeds 60% of the co, mended for community water Huoridattol region.' (Driscall and Horowitz, 1978). Therefore, the present common fluoridated Melbourne, of providing I with fluoride tablets Is a dangerous or In regard to the likelihood of the develol fluorosis. It is clearly contrary to that mendation by the Council on Dental T the American Dental Association. The subject of the fluoride ingest children obviously is in a state of confus cif on Dental Therapeutics pointed out If 'In oddition to the dosage schedule recommn, c0, various (sight] other athedull, haw b posed. In some Instances, these schodulas in ties than that of the Council for the early IHe: in others, a hlQQhe dosage is used or so. and Horavritr, 1978), False Clatma Met there Is a Wide 1) of Safety wHh Fl a trldntlon. The claim is often made that with fluc (at approximately 1 p.p,m. fluoride) th margin of safety. Two papers are typica made: A paper which is repeatedly cite, Journal of the American Dental Associo P. Black (1955), He said: 'A wide maryyln ot safety isthus provided, Ira offluorine rz 1 fifty per cent above the id wry mlld wklances in the appearance of i test.' An article, �y an anonymous author Chronicle said thof'there is a very wide between the optimum level and the la which harmful effects have boon detect@ admitted that mottling can occur, 'but c level of fluoride is of least 4.6 times gre Optimum level.' The'optimum level' was from 0.6 to 1,2 p.p.m., depending on (WINO, 1969), ride per day (1 n 1963 this was satiation then 0.5 mg per day rs, and 1.0 mg should not ex- hort mottling of se for children van halved, to peutres, 1977; owitz, 1978), se is only one (scribed. That ent warning of ncil on Dental the fluoride con - be determined to If dental fluor"ts crucial periods of 'to, fluorides at a supply of drinking must be made in II Therop-11cn of .red Chef Fluoride the concentration wntraeon rwom- In a geographic practice, in ung children , particularly tent of dental scent recom- fropoutics of n by young n. The Coun- lard by the Coon - in used or pro- mos conserva• en of a chlkla ested.' (Driscoll idated water to Is a large of the claims Is one In the Ion by Dr. A. much as Intake. of dose produce teeth of such In the WHO afety margin vest level at L' The article fly when the nor than the iaid to range the climate. owever, the following year, Profes r A. H. S!d- diqui, in another WHO publication, the Is k Fluorides and Human Health, stated that: 'At 6 ppr the inciden- ce of mottling is 100%.' (Siddiqui. 1970). his has been known for many years, Drs H, C. Hod a and F. A. Smith (19S4) !n Fluoridation as a I ublic Health Measure, stated that at 4 p.p.m. less tit in 5 % of the tooth are normal, almost half have nodarate or soverefluorosis, and at 6 p.p,m, no teeth are normal, NotwNhNandinq those witill.know faicts (to-Thpee, ilefdiflu De f n 1iem Gertrude Engel meets Secretary of Heal end Human Services, Richard Schwaiker in fiea's Capitol. Ms. Engel, Executive Director of $0 a fit• 41 United States Health Movement and Repress total for the National Health Federation, testified J • 10, 1901 before a Sub -Committee of the Comm on Appropriations of the House of Representatly . In 0 statement to the Committee, Ms. Engel so' t the proposed budget for FY 1982, fo the C t r for Disease Control, incidental to water fluori t n be rejected, and the $6.8 million FY 1981 be de . Ms. Engel has testified before congressional tout Ines meetings on numerous occasions. Scientific Criticisms and Fluoride Dangers who read the litoroture) Incorrect statemento ate still being made here. In 1977 the Chairmon � of the Fluoridation Sub -committee of the Victoriar of the Australian Dental Association said: Thee is an extremely wide tolerance, and the takirntahteh after the introduction of fluoride into the water lac is not dangerous,' (rwom, 1977), In contrast, the German Federal Republift DIspart- ment of Health said, in 1976: 'It Is of the utmost importance to make s that tan• foss additive intake of fluoride tram fluorifurde tob`�n fkexl. dated toothpaste and fluoridated salt does not hikeel (Deparnetnt ef Health, 1976). Regrettably, fluoride tablets are still' vi.—Wly (y available in Melbourne— and are used— dene fluoridation of our water supplies, and rinll toothpaste on sole contains considerable n• tratfons of fluoride. It is now known (as ha been mentioned) that children, Inporticur swallow significant doses of fluoride from ta�hrt�pasa 6. Iltbplaced Confidence In f9plms Regarding e Safety Margin with Fla tridat on. Confidence is "till being shown in the clown that there is a wide safety margin with }luoridoti; even by government advisors. For instance, Mr) D, Green, Secretary to the Premier of Victoria, it�a written in 1974 to reassure a woman who was kv Had by the prospect of having to be forced to Ink fluoridated water, said: The concentration of fluoride proposed for flu about 1 port per million. At tot level, no matter dollin ismnnch water you drink, no harm from fluoride should occur. Clearly, whoever briefed Mr. Groan won of the situation. In a letter to me on Nov 5, 1973 — and an identically worded one to SIB r Amies, Jan. 7, 1974 — Mr. Green said the 'decision to proceed with fluoridation i only reached after Ion? and exhaustive investigatiffn 0all available material.' That term 'exhaustive' recalls the stateme tIM Hon. D. J. Killen In the House of Represen I in 1964. He said that the fountain -head Iaadin the fluoridation of Canberra'& water supply was of a sub -committee of -the Territory Advisory neil. He commented: That report has been dascribed variously as being cattkiii ex- houstivt, and extensive and as appraising wary k lace of iluorldation.'but this subcomminee of the Adviso tKif dealt with this great Issue In five paragraphs, or I Each of the pama7phs represented a proposition xtp- ported fay area akarrick of evidenc9.' Chrhus fare Safety Margin with Floarideaod arc Tatently Naive'. For more than thirty years the claim that t It o wide margin of safety with artificially flu fed water has been known to be false. The Dir r of Laboratories, Department of Water Supply, sand Electricity, City of New York (B.C. Nesin, 1956) f : The proponents ef fluoridation have tried to de iraM various factors Of safely which air patently naive. T af factors of safety of I. or 8 oft. with little camp Ion of the meaning of this term as used In "tar supply 9. A teeter of wfrty o12 or 8 an their terms Is no factor at all. IT hen beea cuuomory to consider a minimal ef safety of not Ins than 10 for svio-huc" which ad - mined to water supplies. This would mean that the amount of proposed substance when present in ow supply would be d.11nitely without herm to human t. H Is obvous from the knowledge of fluoride toxicitfyy seal, a factor of safety cannot be established when fluorilik to the water supppply of the level recommended by pre. patients of fluoridation. in view of the fact that the ef water consumption may wry over a ratio of 20 to kr- sistmncaupon afactor of sagty. of 10 h exceedingly m He then acid: 'It must be concluded *het the floorMetivn af grbl��cc �aMr supplied Is a haturdous procedure, propla are baunfd ti gn hurt, it rontalns to find out how merry and when.' CIN e 11M by rYlYg rt N. YBllsr 1