Fluoride Friend or Foe

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Or Read the transcript below:

Fluoride Friend Or Foe? Part One
Rose Ann Haven
WKRG Channel 5 (CBS affiliate out of Mobile, Alabama)
Thursday, February 15, 2007


Part 1

Did you know the fluoride in your toothpaste isn't the same as what we
drink? This fluoride... we spit out is pharmaceutical grade. The
fluoride local governments put in your drinking water is industrial
grade.Does it matter? Should you care? North Baldwin utilities does...
the water board stop putting this in the water. Community coverage you
can count looks at fluoride facts.

Nothing brightens a smile like a set of pearly whites. The dental
community gives fluoride much of the credit. "It simply makes the
teeth harder. You really can't understand that until you've put a
dental drill on them and see how much harder the teeth are" says
Doctor David Tillery, a long time dentist in the Baldwin County town
of Bay Minette. Tillery is a staunch supporter of community water
fluoridation and believes it's responsible for saving teeth of many
people who otherwise would be wearing dentures.

"it's a hazardous waste. It's a hazardous byproduct, it would have to
be disposed of in accordance with E.P.A. standards for handling
hazardous waste. As it stands now, they can sell it to water districts
and we can get rid of it by putting it in the water", says Margo
Allen, Ph.D. She questions whether we're risking overall health for
strong teeth. Allen uses a filter in her home to remove the chemical.
But, as a member of the North Baldwin Utilities Board, she recently
voted to stop adding fluoride to the water supply. Allen says, "I sit
on the board for a utilities company. We provide water for our
customers. We have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that what we
put in the water at our treatment plants is not going to harm the
citizens that we serve. We're going to remove the fluoride and we're
going to give our customers a choice, and we're going to recommend
that they continue to brush their teeth and continue to use fluoride
on an oral basis and see their dentist. That is from a standpoint of
informed consent. I think we're all concerned with informed consent."

A video entitled DRINKING WATER, "LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD", has the
attention of water board members. In the video you'll find information
also put out by the Fluoride Action Network, a group against
fluoridated drinking water. Fluoride opponents point to research in
other countries showing adverse health affects. Dr. Robert Isaacson,
Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Binghamton New York, studied
fluoride in rats. He says, "Fluoride treated animals developed
anatomical changes in the brain that are dramatically similar to those
in the alzheimer's patient."

Dr. Isaacson says the kidneys were also affected, "The kidneys were
greatly impaired, and sometimes the space that is absolutely essential
to the absorption of waste products in the kidneys...was almost non-
existent Of course, if it is non-existent you have a fatal situation".
Isaacson says as someone who's served on a National Research Council
Fluoride Committee, he's concerned of the lack of studies done on
hydrofluorosilicic acid which goes into drinking water. He says a plan
of experimental studies endorsed by the National Program of Toxicology
never came about. "Yet, I must say that unpleasant fact that this set
of studies was never undertaken by the EPA for unknown reasons. One of
the parts of the program which was going to be most essential was to
repeat many of the studies which had been done with the aluminum
fluoride and the sodium fluoride with the fluorsilicic acid which is
the most commonly used chemical in the fluoridation of drinking water.

Researchers also point to the results of a Harvard Study published in
2006. Dr. Elise B. Bassin has a background in Dental Health and
Dentistry. She's always been taught fluoride is safe and effective.
So, what she discovered surprised her. She found a link between
fluoride levels in drinking water and bone cancer in young boys.
Despite her research, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
in Atlanta still strongly supports fluoridated water.

"The National Research Council looked at all the studies that were
available. They actually had a pre-publication copy of Dr. Bassin's
work", says Dr. William Maas, Director of the Division of Oral Health.
Doctor Maas adds, "In the case of fluoride, we actually have a recent
report. The National Academy of Sciences is a group that the EPA goes
to when they're trying to get an objective answer to these questions.
You know we have thousands of studies about fluoride in drinking
water. So in order to sort that all out, you need to form a panel of
experts people coming from all different scientific backgrounds, and
so they've done that with the national research council."

The National Research Council released a report on fluoride in
drinking water in March of 2006. The committee concluded "The evidence
to date is tentative and mixed as to whether fluoride has the
potential to initiate or promote cancers, particularly of the bone."
The committee found the Environmental Protection Agency's maximum
drinking water standard for fluoride..."does not protect against
adverse health effects." Children in communities with higher fluoride
levels are at risk of "developing severe tooth enamel
fluorosis"...spots on the teeth, and people drinking higher levels of
fluoride "over a lifetime are likely at increased risk for bone
fractures."

Dr. Bill Hirzy is a Scientist with the E.P.A. As a spokesperson for
his Union, he's taken his group's concerns to lawmakers in Washington.
"We've studied the toxicity of fluoride for a long time. We started
into this many many years ago when an employee came to us saying that
he was being asked to write a regulation which he felt violated his
sense of professional ethics, basically that E.P.A said that the dose
that would be safe to drink would would actually in fact cause a
substantial fracture of the people to have a condition called moderate
to severe dental fluorosis, and we got involved in looking at the
toxicity of fluoride when the employee came to us with that complaint.
Over the years, our concern has grown as other toxic effects become
apparent", says Hirzy.

But, despite fluoride opposition, fluoridated water gets the stamp of
approval from leading national organizations like the American Dental
Association and the Centers for Disease Control. Hirzy claims, "Those
organizations have their institutional reputations involved in this.
They hate to admit having made a mistake".Dr. Maas admits fluoride put
in drinking water is industrial grade, but, he says it passes
standards set by the National Sanitation Foundation and the American
National Standards Institute. He says the byproduct is safe and
environmentally friendly, "There's nothing toxic about the ore that's
left after they remove the phosphates. In fact for many of the
companies, they take the remaining ore and put it in a landfill on
their property..because there's nothing toxic about it".

But, the CDC says it continually monitors and evaluates scientific
information on fluoridation as part of it's responsibility for public
health assurance and protection." In the meantime, the government
agency looking out for your public health wants you to enjoy the
benefits fluoride offers and drink up. "Fluoride is a first line of
defense for the poor and indigent. There are thousands of children out
there that simply can't afford proper dental care and the only thing
they have is fluoride in the water That's all they've got says, Dr.
Tillery.

The E.P.A'S maximum standard for fluoride in the water is higher than
what most american communities actually have. The maximum standard is
4 parts per million. The optimal level is considered about one part
per million. To help put that into perspective, The American Dental
Association says to think of it as being equivalent to about one inch
in 16 miles or one penny in 10-thousand dollars. In part 2 of Fluoride
Facts, find out how much fluoride is in your water, and what mothers
need to know about fluoridated water before using it to mix baby
formula.

Story Links:

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL "FLUORIDE IN DRINKING WATER, A SCIENTIFIC
REVIEW OF EPA'S STANDARDS"

FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK

AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE

NATIONAL SANITATION FOUNDATION

EPA HEADQUARTERS UNION - DR. BILL HIRZY





Part 2
Boiling tap water to sterilize it, then mixing it with baby formula is
something new parents do all the time. Most do it without giving a
second thought about the fluoride in the water. Boiling water does not
remove the fluoride. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has issued a statement for mothers concerned about it.

http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/safe...nt_formula.htm

Dental fluorosis isn't pretty to look at, spots on the teeth caused by
excessive fluoride use. Researchers who oppose fluoridated water say
this is proof our children are getting too much fluoride. Dr. William
Hirzy, a scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency speaks on
behalf of his Union. "The toxicity of this stuff compared to any
therapeutic benefit is way out of bounds", says Hirzy. But, dental
health professionals have long said dental fluorosis is a cosmetic
problem not a health issue. "You take anyone that's got dental
fluorosis and you'll find that their teeth are in excellent condition
and extremely hard", says Dr. David Tillery a long time dentist in Bay
Minette.

Now, the American Dental Association, and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention are posting new information about mixing infant
formula with fluoridated water after a recent study. Dr. William Maas,
CDC Director of Oral Health says, "It seemed to be some evidence that
exposure to fluoride from the re-constituted formula during that first
year of life was associated with some increase risk of fluorosis".
Even though high fluoride exposure affects the teeth, Dr. Maas says we
shouldn't be worried about what it's doing to our bones, "Your bones
are very different, your bones are turning over all the time, 99
percent of the fluoride that's in the body, is in the bones, and the
bones are constantly being re-structured and being re-shaped a we
grow".

The CDC recognizes community water fluoridation as one of the great
public health achievements of the 20th Century. "Oh, absolutely it's
safe. The issue is entirely about whether someone is concerned about
reducing already a low risk. But, reducing still further..the risk of
some cosmetic blemishes on the teeth". Dr. Maas says fluoride is a
naturally occuring mineral. It's also found in drinks and food
processed in fluoridated communities. Maas says the biggest threat of
fluorosis isn't from drinking fluoridated water, but, from children
swallowing toothpaste during the early years when teeth are forming.
He says if you're worried about your child getting spots, even on
their back teeth, control their fluoride exposure through age eight.
"The most important thing to know is..........does your water supply
have a normal than optimal level, an optimal level or a greater than
optimal level. Because that is the basis for all the future
decisions", says Maas.

To find out how much fluoride is in your water...you can call your
utility company and ask. FLuoride occurs naturally in water. So, if
you have a home well, you may want to have a lab test your water. The
CDC says your dentist, physician, or public health department should
be able to help you with that. But, there are kits you can buy to test
the water yourself. North Baldwin Utilities gets it's supplies from
USA Bluebook.

http://www.usabluebook.com/

Hanna Colorimeter - Stock # 52200 -- $190.00
Fluoride Reagents - Stock # 52201 $23.00

http://www.wkrg.com/servlet/Satellit...news%21 local



New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof

Fluoridation News Releases
http://tinyurl.com/6kqtu

Tooth Decay Crises in Fluoridated Areas
http://www.fluoridenews.blogspot.com/

Fluoride Action Network http://www.FluorideAction.Net

Fluoride Journal http://www.FluorideResearch.Org