Fluoride Action Network – February 11, 2016 – While the nation focuses on the catastrophic health effects caused by Flint Michigan’s lead-poisoned drinking water, fluoride chemicals are still purposely added to public water supplies even though studies show they leach lead from water pipes and increase lead levels in children, according to a report from the Fluoride Action Network (FAN).
Fluorosilicic acid (FSA), a corrosive fluoride byproduct of the phosphate industry, is added to public water supplies, including Flint’s, in a failed effort to prevent tooth decay.
“Studies show that FSA-spiked water is contributing to children’s unsafe lead exposures and making the lead crisis worse,” says attorney Michael Connett, FAN Executive Director.
“The nation is rightfully shocked by the lead crisis in Flint and the systematic failure of health authorities to prevent it, but the problem with lead poisoning is not a Flint problem, it’s a national problem,” Connett adds.
Lead service pipes were banned in 1986, but America’s water infrastructure is still laden with lead-containing pipes and fixtures. The FSA circulating through these aging pipes intensify their corrosion, according to laboratory experiments.
Studies have found that children living in areas with FSA-treated water have higher levelsof lead in their blood. Data collected by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) show that children drinking water treated with FSA and other fluorosilicate chemicals are 20 percent more likely to have dangerous levels of lead in their blood.
The CDC has yet to warn the public about the fluoridation/lead risk. Instead, as it did during the Washington D.C. lead crisis, the CDC has gone out of its way to downplay the hazard.
“The failure of public health authorities to warn the public about the hazards of lead in tap water has a long history that extends beyond fluoridation and Flint,” notes Connett.
A study by National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Food & Drug Administration (FDA) scientists found that fluoride facilitates the uptake of lead into the blood of rats, and magnifies lead’s toxic effects on the body. The study was conducted in the 1970s, but the NIH and FDA failed to take any follow-up action.
Recent animal experiments confirm the NIH/FDA findings showing that
fluoride exposure “consistently increases the concentrations of lead in whole blood,” and intensifies lead’s poisonous effects on the brain.
Everyone of of the appointed and elected supervisors and council people plus school board campaigned to keep fluoride in the water the first time the public could vote on the issue.
The local government went out of their way to saturate the media with PRO Fluoridation with absolutely nothing to back their position. Yes, we no longer pay to contaminate our water with toxins. The voters finally got it together and did not rely on the advice of their leaders. The voter did some conscientious research and voted to not allow the toxic bi- product from the phosphate fertilizer manufacturers to be (purchased by the county) and dumped into their drinking water supply. Congratulations to us. Before we sit back and check that off our list of things not to swallow be advised toxic fluoride waste is mounting up and becoming a costly problem for the producers of “F”. The producers want “The Good Ol’ Days” back. They could make a profit by simply telling you fluoride gets rid of cavities. And they were not burdened with the expense of dumping a toxic waste. Stay tuned-in to the attempted brain washing that has become an every day occurrence from our national and local leaders. It will be time to vote soon. It is time to become conscientious again. To ask ourselves the hard questions. Are our lives better than they were the last election? How much in-put have the individual citizens had? You voted to not raise your sewer rate, to keep our health care here, to enforce pollution laws that keep cancer causing chemicals out of the Smith River. Is our salmon population growing?
(No).
Are three of the five “legs” of the Smith River so polluted that the food supply for baby salmon can not survive?
(YES)
What happened to the crab season? Any help for the fishermen and their families? Are you afraid you may take your last breath at last chance? Do you know anybody who has cancer, multiple sclerosis, autism? Did you know every county in California reports annually any new cancer cases, the kind of cancer and where the person lives? Did you know Del Norte County has not reported their new cancer cases since 2012? They have jumped on Humboldt Counties back and include their new cancer cases with Humboldt Counties. Do you think your local gov. is interested in finding any areas in Del Norte County that could be considered part of a cancer cluster.?
(NO)
Do you think supervisors who are developers, contractors, real estate brokers and the spouse of a contractor are interested in cleaning up toxic areas to protect the health of their constituents?
(NO)
Is our local government involved in declaring negative declarations on land that could be toxic with out thoroughly testing the land? In giving low interest loans to contractors and developers, applying for grants for development.
(By all reports YES, YES & YES)
Do you think the leaders and their cloned appointees have contributed to or even caused the life threatening events above?
(YES)
Are you ready for a positive change in your life?
(YES)
What can you do to get these people out of office? I am praying for new candidates who are not appointed, or contractors or developers or part of the inner circle. We can do it! Let’s get somebody who is on our side (and would not vote to buy fluoride and dump it into the water) into office.