10-year-old suffers traumatic brain injury after Florida home is fumigated with Sulfury fluoride
According to a September 10th press release from Beyond Pesticides:
After returning to their home hours after the Terminix subcontractor told them it was safe to enter, the whole family became very ill. While the parents and the 7-year-old daughter recovered, the young boy’s condition continued to worsen. “He was having some uncontrollable muscle movements, couldn’t stand up, couldn’t speak, so they took him to a local walk-in and the doctor quickly recognized it was probably poisoning from a treatment,” said Peyton’s uncle, Ed Gribben. Current reports indicate that the boy has likely suffered brain damage and has lost all muscle control, rendering him unable to stand or speak. He remains in a hospital in Miami weeks after the initial exposure took place.
Sulfuryl fluoride is a highly neurotoxic chemical that is used in both food and structural fumigation. As you may recall, FAN, together with Beyond Pesticides and the Environmental Working Group, were involved in the effort to stop its use as a food fumigant. We thought we won the battle in January 2011 when the Environmental Protection Agency agreed with all of our objections and proposed to phase out its use. However, Dow AgroChemicals launched a campaign that brought in the weight of the major players in the agricultural industry and the U.S. Congress. Dow won when their lobbyists got both Senate and Congressional members to approve an addition to the Farm Bill despite overwhelming scientific evidence in support of the phase-out. Citizens and EPA scientists were left powerless and the often used phrase, “Corporations rule the world,” hit home. The Farm Bill was passed February 7, 2014, and that immediately cancelled this phase-out and ten years of hard work by FAN.
Lois Gibbs Calls for Fluoridegate Hearings
Daniel Stockin, MPH, of The Lillie Center for Energy and Health Studies sent out a press release on Wednesday announcing that Lois Gibbs, famed environmental health advocate and “Love Canal Hero”, has joined in the call for investigative congressional hearings on fluoridation.
Lois Gibbs is best known for bringing national attention to a massive toxic waste dump buried beneath the Love Canal neighborhood and elementary school in Niagara Falls, New York. Her activism led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, known as Superfund, designed to locate and clean up sites contaminated with hazardous pollution. Lois was an early signer of FAN’s professional statement against fluoridation.
According to Stockin “Lois joins others such as Erin Brockovich, civil rights leaders Alveda King and Rev. Gerald Durley, and Rev. William Owens of the Coalition of African American Pastors in calling for Fluoridegate hearings.”
READ AND SHARE FULL PRESS RELEASE
There is Still Time Send Comments to the FDA–Nov. 1st Deadline
The FDA does not currently regulate public drinking water or its additives, putting public safety at risk and leaving fluoridation without proper oversight or regulation. On June 1, 2015, Attorney Gerald Steel, along with ten organizations (including Food and Water Watch and Fluoride Action Network) joined together to submit a formal petition to the FDA requesting:
“That the FDA issue a regulation in 21 CFR Part 250 (or in another appropriate Part) stating that fluoridation chemical additives and fluoridated drinking waters are drugs pursuant to section 201(g)(1) of the FDCA when the intended use is to aid in the prevention, mitigation, and/or prophylactic treatment of dental caries disease (tooth decay, cavities).”
A month ago, we asked FAN professionals, supporters, and campaigners to submit comments in support of our FDA petition. In response, 12,388 of you submitted comments, making it much more difficult for the FDA to push our request aside.
We originally told you that the deadline for comments was August 27, 2015, but comments can still be added. This gives us an amazing opportunity to submit more comments, and make the petition impossible to ignore. If you haven’t submitted a comment yet, please take the time to do so before November 1, 2015 because the FDA can rule on the petition on or after November 30, 2015.
- Click here to download and read the petition (PDF).
- Click here to view the primary and supporting documents.
The best way to comment is to attach a Word or PDF file with your statement and supporting documents, then type a very short description of your attachments in the “comment box.” You can also type your full comment in support of this proposed regulation directly into the “Comment” box without any attachments. (NOTE: You have to put something into the “Comment box” even if it is only a description of your attachments. If your comments don’t fit in the box, or your attachments are too large, you can make multiple submissions.)
When other people access this docket, they will see what you put in the “Comment” box, they will be able to read any attachments, but you will only be identified by your country, state or province, and your category (either “individual consumer” or “Anonymous”). If you don’t type in your name, your comment will filed under “Anonymous.”
*If you’re having problems, here are detailed instructions for submitting a comment.
Teleconference Reminder
The September International Fluoride Free Teleconference will be held TODAY (September 12th) at 5PM Eastern Time. The call, entitled “Don’t Mess with Texas Water,” will feature key campaigners from Dallas, Austin, and San Marcos. They’ll be sharing their recent campaign experiences and successes dealing with the fluoride lobby and elected officials throughout Texas, offering listeners insight and advice.
REGISTER FOR THE SEPTEMBER TELECONFERENCE
News You May Have Missed
–Snowmass Fluoride Fight Moves Beyond Local Interests (Colorado)
–Food Policy Council Urges Asheville to Stop Fluoridating Water (North Carolina)
–10 Year-old Suffers Traumatic Brain Injury From Sulfuryl Fluoride (Florida)
–Newport Fluoride Debate Shakes City Hall (Oregon)
–Dr. James Beck on Fairview’s Fluoridation Plebiscite (Alberta)
–Issues Surface Over Hinton Fluoridation (Alberta)
–Disposing of Prince George Fluoridation System to Cost City (British Columbia)
–Keeping Parry Sound Fluoride Comes with Hefty Price Tag (Ontario)
–Fluoride Now Flowing Into Ross Region’s Water Supply (Australia)
–Fluoridated Water Comes Down to Freedom of Choice, Says Minister (Australia)
–Lismore Councilors Reject Call for Public Poll on Fluoride (Australia)
For more fluoride related media, please visit FAN’s News Archive.
Sincerely,
Stuart Cooper
Campaign Manager,
Fluoride Action Network
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