Scientists will request a moratorium against fluoridation of water supplies at hearings before the state Legislature on Tuesday.

At a hearing of the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, J. William Hirzy will testify on behalf of the union that represents all of the toxicologists, biologists, chemists, physicians and other scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. He will be supporting Assembly Bill 1565, the California Fluoride Product Quality Control Act.

Hirzy is expected to provide background information on the decision by his union to request a moratorium on all fluoridation. He’ll cite evidence from a Congressional investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Science in 1999 and 2000 that showed no government agency has performed a risk analysis on the specific fluoride-releasing compounds that are used in 90 percent of the nation’s fluoridation programs. No fluoride product, including fluoride drops, tablets, and vitamins intended for ingestion for the purpose of controlling tooth decay, has ever been approved for safety and effectiveness by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Also testifying will be Myron Coplan, co-author of two studies published in 1999 and December 2000 that evaluated lead levels in the blood of 280,000 children. His studies showed danger levels of lead doubled in children’s blood when fluoride-releasing compounds from the phosphate fertilizer industry are present in public drinking water.

AB 1565 by Dennis Mountjoy would require the state Department of Health Services to only certify fluoride-releasing compounds for addition to the public water supply if a risk assessment by a government agency has been performed.

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