PRESS RELEASE. “If anyone is fully aware of the massive scientific and medical evidence against fluoridation – if they actually hear both sides of the issue – they’d know it isn’t safe.”
That was the conclusion of Jeff Irish, chair of the citizen group Safe Water Spokane, following its Zoom public forum last night. It featured scientists, a physician, dentist, lawyer and a patient directly harmed by fluoridated water.
Michael Cathcart, the only city council member who participated, said the forum “was very well-organized and provided a lot of well-presented information. People on both sides of this issue would benefit from seeing it.” The forum is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/6cbXCvi6xRY?t=679. The city council is expected to vote Monday night to decide if fluoridation, which could take as long as four years to set up, would begin.
Chris Neurath, chief scientist for the American Environmental Health Studies Project, reviewed the major studies linking fluoride to lowered IQ’s and increased ADHD rates in children. “It’s not just one study. According to the National Toxicology Program, there are 29 high-quality human studies, nearly all finding harm, with many at levels in fluoridated water. The evidence is overwhelming.”
Those studies are the basis for a lawsuit against the EPA for allowing fluoridation, which was tried in federal court in San Francisco in June. Michael Connett, lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, presented testimony from officials at the EPA, CDC and FDA. None could provide any scientific studies showing fluoridation was safe, and none said there were any dental benefits prenatally or in the first six months of life, when neurotoxic risk is greatest. The judge has already said “there is serious evidence” of neurotoxicity and is expected to rule by the end of this year or early 2021 whether it’s an unreasonable risk. If it is, EPA must take remedial action, including the possibility of ending fluoridation.
Robert Dickson, a family practice physician from Calgary, addressed the ethical problem of putting fluoride in the drinking water, taking away the patient’s right to informed consent on ingesting a drug. He also noted how wasteful it was, with 99% of the water not even being drunk. “If I gave you 100 pills, and you threw away 99, it wouldn’t be a very effective way to prescribe a medicine.”
Julie Simms, a Seattle resident, suffered from daily migraine headaches for years. She had seen specialists, had an MRI and tried several drugs and therapies with no success, until a friend recommended she stop drinking fluoridated water. When she did, her daily migraines disappeared within three days and haven’t been a problem since. “I’ve managed to get my life back. Fluoridated water harmed my health. My doctor knows this too and also advises me to avoid it.”
She also estimated that the added expense of avoiding Seattle’s fluoridated water came to $800 a year for water and filters. She added, “I can manage this but I imagine it would a terrible hardship for other (low-income) families.”
Contact: Jeff Irish, Chair
Safe Water Spokane
safewaterspokane@gmail.com
509-279-8155
Website: https://safewaterspokane.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SafeWaterSpokane/
Print 
PDF