5/1991;. .

RACHEL'S ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH NEWS #724 . . ---May 10, 2001--- .

FLUORIDATION: TIME FOR A SECOND LOOK?

by Paul, Ellen and Michael Connett*

In 1997 the union representing scientists, engineers and lawyers at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C., voted to support a California citizen initiative to stop fluoridation of public drinking water. In 1999 the union's vice-president released a paper explaining the union's opposition to fluoridation.[1]

Fluoridation is the practice of adding fluoride to the public water supply to reduce dental decay. U.S. fluoridation trials began in 1945 and by 1992 approximately 56% of the U.S. public received its water from fluoridated systems.[2]

...... In May 2000 the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) was formed by a coalition of activists and scientists from 12 countries (see: http://www.fluoridealert.org ). FAN's goal is to end fluoridation and minimize exposure to fluoride. FAN's founding members include the late David Brower; Teddy Goldsmith; Michael Colby; Gar Smith; Terri Swearingen; the union representing professional employees at EPA headquarters; and Dr. Hardy Limeback, Canada's leading dental authority on fluoridation who in 1999 apologized for having promoted fluoridation for 15 years.

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You can read the whole article at http://www.rachel.org  

You can subscribe the Newsletter : send E-mail to . listserv@lists.rachel.org  with the words .SUBSCRIBE RACHEL-NEWS YOUR FULL NAME in the message. .

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2/2001:

Use Of Fluoride Never Approved by the FDA

FLUORIDE: FDA UNAPPROVED

Fluoride is an unapproved drug!

Fluoride in any form - drops, tablets, or vitamins - has never been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (as required by law since 1938).

http://emporium.turnpike.net/P/PDHA/fluoride/unappfda.htm  

This means that the FDA has no proof of the safety or the effectiveness of fluoride. Furthermore, no drug application is pending.

Discovery of John V. Kelly

The alarming discovery that fluoride has never been approved as a prescription drug was announced by New Jersey State Assemblyman John V. Kelly in 1993. Kelly's investigation revealed that neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) nor the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry has proof of fluoride's safety or effectiveness. Although virtually every American is exposed daily treatment with this medication the official FDA classification for fluoride is Unapproved New Drug.

(1. Letter to U.S. FDA Commissioner David Kessler by John V. Kelly, June 3, 1993 2. Kelly Seeks FDA Ban on Fluoride Supplements by Guy Sterling, Trenton Star Ledger. June 4, 1993)

FDA - Dragging Feet

The FDA did not voluntarily come forward with this startling information. When the Honorable Mr. Kelly asked the FDA for the records of tests used to verify the safety of fluoride, the FDA initially refused to comply with his request. Later, under the Freedom of Information Act the FDA was required to turn over the required documents, and again they did not comply. But at this time it was a court order they were not complying with . Eventually, because they had to return to court to explain themselves, they revealed that there is no drug application for fluoride approval and none has ever been submitted. (The judge reportedly burst out in anger and emphatically stated, "Earlier, when you refused to turn over the documents you were in contempt of court. Now, apparently you are in contempt of congress.")

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From:

INTERNATIONAL FLUORIDE INFORMATION NETWORK.

IFIN-BULLETIN # 125 May 24, 2000

Despite the fact that Sodium Fluoride "is a persistent, non-degradable poison that moves through the environment and accumulates in the soil and organisms" (Waste Not #461) the USDA is allowing for its use in the new National Organic Standards which are nearing completion. We need to act now to ensure that organic food production does not contribute to our already excessive exposure to fluoride. To submit comments visit http://www.fluoridealert.org/organic-standards.htm

 where we have set up one-click access to the USDA's email comment-form. The USDA is accepting comments up until June 12. So please add your voice to this matter and remind the USDA that  *Section 6508 (c)1 of the New Organic Standards says that producers shall not use "poisons such as arsenic and lead salts that have long-term effects and persist in the evironment." Fluoride is in this category.  *Chronic ingestion of fluoride has been associated with damage to kidneys,teeth, and bone (5); increased hip fractures in the elderly (6-13); bone spurs (14); stress fractures (15); and osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in young males (16-18). Fluoride collects in the aorta, skin, skeleton, and cataracts. It causes calcifications in joints, soft tissues, and in and around teeth (19), and disturbs the formation of collagen (20).

*Fluoride concentrates in the pineal gland with a decrease in production of melatonin, accompanied by early puberty in gerbils (21,22) and perhaps in young girls (23).   *Fluoride passes the placenta from the mother's blood to the  developing fetus (24-26) and can interfere with calcification of bones and formation of teeth (27,28).

*Two recent animal studies reported that fluoride accumulates in the brain (29,30). Fluoride enables aluminum to enter the brain; aluminum appears to associate with the protein tangles seen in Alzheimer's disease (29). Other studies suggest fluoride exposure may have adverse impacts on the developing brain (31).

(The above are excerpts taken from Waste Not #461, which was written by Ellen Connett and Jackie Jacobson, and which is presented in full at the website address given above)

References:see at the Web-site

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Fluoride does have a listed CAS number of 16984-48-8.  There are also over 30 Fluoride variations listed at: http://www.scorecard.org/chemical-profiles/text

And this: According to the September 2000 issue of The Ecologist (p.57), at least one water dept. adds silicofluorides (aka hexafluorosilic acid) to their water supply. this is a  byproduct of phosphate fertilizer production and may include  arsenic, beryllium, lead, mercury and more.

Here are some good websites for more info:

The Pennsylvania Environmental Network is at  http://www.penweb.org/issues/fluoride/

Check also the website run by Dr. Paul Connett, of Work on Waste USA. It's called Fluoride  Action Network and it's located at  http://www.FluorideAlert.org

The International Society for Fluoride Research http://www.fluoride-journal.com/index.htm