Dear Mayor Yurgartis and Members of the Board of Trustees,
Cancer Action NY has become active in an effort underway in Watertown to bring an end to fluoridation of city water. We are a member of Watertown Anti-Fluoridation Action. Please visit the Facebook page for this group. The page provides access to a great quantity of information on the subject of damages to health caused by fluoride exposure.
The Jefferson County Public Health Department takes the position that fluoridation has been proven to be safe. Director Jean Bilow and Steve Jennings of that department have provided Cancer Action NY with the several documents that they consider to constitute the foundation for this position. These documents are listed below.
Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: The Impact of Fluoride on Health
Review of Fluoride: Benefits & Risks; Report of the Ad Hoc Sub-Committee on Fluoride of the Committee to Coordinate Environmental Health and Related Programs – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Institute of Medicine Dietary Reference Guidelines
National Academy of Sciences on Fluoride in Drinking Water
I have read “Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: The Impact of Fluoride on Health”. This document contains no information that constitutes a basis for concluding that fluoridation is safe. The document includes the following sentence, “Fluoride research of more than 65 years has shown that fluoride is safe and effective at the levels used for water fluoridation (0.7 to 1.2 mg/L).” However, the document presents this claim without offering any support for the claim. The position paper named above fails to address the matter of total fluoride exposure. It fails to address the endocrine disruption effects of fluoride. It fails to address the increased risk of bone cancer imposed by fluoride exposure.
In “Review of Fluoride: Benefits & Risks” a report of the Ad Hoc Sub-Committee on Fluoride of the Committee to Coordinate Environmental Health and Related Programs an entity of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, three health risks are assessed: cancer, dental fluorosis and bone fractures. This report states that existing animal studies fail to establish an association between fluoride exposure and cancer. However, it states that two animal studies have demonstrated increased cancer risk associated with fluoride exposure. Clearly, the matter of fluoride exposure and cancer risk has not been studied sufficiently to conclude that fluoride exposure does not increase cancer risk. The report states that evidence exists for increased risk of dental fluorosis and bone fractures in populations receiving fluoride exposures in the range utilized by fluoridation programs in the United States. I find this report to provide a basis for the conclusion that fluoride exposure has not been proven to be safe.
The 2007 National Research Council report “Earth Materials and Health: Research Priorities for Earth Sciences and Public Health” does not provide any in depth review of the scientific literature of fluoride exposure and damage to health. It is not a suitable document for use as a foundation for the claim that fluoridation is safe.
The webpage titled, National Academy of Sciences on Fluoride in Drinking Water presents information on several reviews of the scientific literature that have been conducted over the course of many years by the National Academies of Sciences (NAS). The most recent document found on this webpage, which constitutes a scientific review is the 2006 National Research Council report titled, “Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards”. I have reviewed this document and found information therein that raises concerns about the endocrine disruption effects of fluoride exposure, especially adverse impacts upon the thyroid gland. It is incorrect to claim that this document serves as a basis for concluding that fluoridation is safe. The document serves as a basis for concluding that fluoridation has not been proven to be safe and that there is reason to conclude that it is not safe.
Based upon all that is stated above, a reasonable person would reject the claim of the Jefferson County Public Health Department that fluoridation has been proven to be safe. Fluoridation has not been proven to be safe. Much to the contrary, fluoridation has been shown to cause harm. Furthermore, so little research has been conducted on total fluoride exposure and endocrine disruption effects that no reasonable person would conclude that fluoridation was safe.
I am hopeful that the Village of Potsdam will carefully consider the information provided above and on the Watertown Anti-Fluoridation Action Facebook site in taking a hard look at the health risks associated with fluoridation of municipal water. I would like to make a ten minute presentation on the subjects of fluoride exposure and damages to health with focus on total fluoride exposure and endocrine disruption at an upcoming meeting of the Board of Trustees. Can an agenda spot be made available?
Thank you for your attention to this correspondence.
joyous in Nature,
Donald L. Hassig
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