Scientists Grow Disillusioned Waiting for \’Clear Guidance\’ From Obama Admin – NYTimes.com

EPA Scientists Grow Disillusioned Waiting for \’Clear Guidance\’ From Obama Admin – on lowering allowable water fluoride levels to a safe amount.

By EMILY YEHLE of Greenwire

William Hirzy, a former U.S. EPA chemist, has a favorite example when discussing the role of science in government policy: fluoride in drinking water.

His view — and that of the EPA chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union — is that the chemical can be dangerous, possibly increasing the risk of bone cancer in young boys. But EPA has yet to change its 4-milligrams-per-liter drinking water standard (though a spokesman said the agency is “actively moving ahead” with an assessment).

Hirzy worries that EPA officials are dragging their feet because the U.S. Public Health Service has long touted fluoride as a beneficial additive to drinking water. And to him, that slow response is indicative of the Obama administration’s failure to fulfill its promise of scientific integrity in federal agencies.

President Obama first directed that a scientific integrity directive be released in July 2009. By July 2010, White House officials promised it was forthcoming; almost two months later, there’s no indication of when it will emerge.

“Why this administration has taken so long, I don’t know,” said Hirzy, who is now an adjunct professor at American University. “I don’t know the motives. I just know the effects.”

Government scientists had high hopes when Obama took office. But Hirzy and others say that some are now disillusioned, witnessing less change than they had expected. They point to EPA’s use of dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the recent salmonella outbreak and egg recall, and the revelation that the diabetes drug Avandia increases the risk of heart attacks. In all cases, the concerns of some agency scientists were ignored, they say.

“All these times where something’s gone wrong, it’s pretty clear that someone on the inside knew or had concerns,” said Francesca Grifo, director of the scientific integrity program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). “Yet because we have no clear guidance on when and how scientists can speak out, and since we have no clear protection for whistle-blowers, it’s a lot to ask someone to go out on a limb.”

Continued:

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/08/27/27greenwire-scientists-grow-disillusioned-waiting-for-clea-91109.html

New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc (NYSCOF)

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Fluoride Action Network

News Releases
Fluoride Journal

Limit Fluoride to Prevent Lead Poisoning, study says

Fluoride chemicals added to public water supplies, boosts lead absorption in lab animals’ bones, teeth and blood, report Sawan, et al. (Toxicology 2/2010). Earlier studies already show children’s blood-lead-levels are higher in fluoridated communities, reports Sawan’s research team.

“…exposure to increased amounts of lead and fluoride occurs at about the same age (1-3 years)… Therefore, this is a critical time when systemic exposure to fluoride should be minimized since fluoride may increase lead accumulation,” the researchers caution.

Fluoride purchased from China and used in Frostburg, Maryland contains 0.032% Lead.  See Certificate of Analysis:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/29108391/Chinese-Fluoride

Fluoride chemicals are added to water supplies ostensibly to reduce tooth decay in tap water drinkers.   However, recent studies show fluoridation does not reduce tooth decay but does create more dental fluorosis (discolored teeth) in children.  (See  http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/Clinch_2009_No_Benefit_Definite_Harm.pdf

Low-level lead exposure is associated with lower IQ, ADHD and many health and behavior ailments.

The New York State Department of Health lists drinking water as a potential source of lead.

NSF International, a private company that regulates public water supply additives, reported in February 2008 that 2% of   245 fluoridation batches sampled over a six year period had detectable levels of Lead.  (There are approximately 155,000 US public water supplies.) Lead is an allowable trace contaminant in fluoridation chemicals along with antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, selenium,  and thallium.  See:

http://www.nsf.org/business/water_distribution/pdf/NSF_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Sawan’s team put fluosilicic acid, with and without lead, into lab animals’ drinking water. They found more lead in tooth enamel, surface bone, whole bone, and tooth dentine in rats co-exposed to fluoride and lead.

Possibly anticipating criticism that rats were fed higher fluoride-concentrated water than people drink, the authors write, “this concentration was chosen because it produces plasma fluoride levels that are comparable with those commonly found in humans…”

Increased prevalence and severity of fluoride-discolored teeth (fluorosis) proves US children are already fluoride-overexposed “which may cause their blood-lead levels to increase and produce more lead toxicity,” they write.

“These findings suggest that a biological effect, not recognized so far, may underlie the epidemiological association between increased blood-lead levels in children and water fluoridation,” concludes Sawan’s research team.

“[O]ur findings may have serious implications for populations exposed to increased amounts of both lead and fluoride, particularly young children,” the research team writes.

Attorney Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation (NYSCOF) says, “People need to lobby and petition their legislators to stop fluoridation in their towns, cities and states. Legislators are ignoring the science proving fluoridation is endangering our health, our water supplies and wasting tax dollars while denying freedom of choice.” (see: http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/sitemap.html )

Masters and Coplan’s landmark studies (included NYS children) show higher blood-lead-levels in children living in silico-fluoridated communities (Neurotoxicology 2000, 2007).  Macek’s research shows children’s higher blood-lead-levels are associated with water fluoridation when lead is already in the environment (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2006).

New York State Department of Health dentist J. V. Kumar published national statistics in the July 2009 JADA which show similar cavity rates regardless of water fluoride content, However, dental fluorosis rates increased along with water fluoride levels.  See analysis “Fluoridation No Benefit; Definite Harm,” by Kathleen M. Thiessen, Ph.D., SENES Oak Ridge, Inc., Center for Risk Analysis here:

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/Clinch_2009_No_Benefit_Definite_Harm.pdf

Some fluoridation chemicals originate in China, Mexico and Japan, reports the CDC. ABC-TV Boston reported that a Massachusetts city was forced to discontinue fluoridation because  Chinese fluoridation chemicals were clogging up the water system with an unidentifiable contaminant.

CBS-TV Atlanta reports: “Fluoride, Friend or Foe.”

SOURCE:  New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.

PO Box 263

Old Bethpage, NY  11804

http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof

http://www.FluorideAction.Net

Follow NYSCOF on Twitter or Facebook

Fluoride Damages the Thyroid, studies show

New York –  September 24, 2007 — There is clear evidence that small
amounts of fluoride, at or near levels added to U.S. water supplies,
present potential risks to the thyroid gland, according to the
National Research Council’s (NRC) first-ever published review of the
fluoride/thyroid literature.(A)

Fluoride, in the form of silicofluorides, injected into 2/3 of U.S.
public water supplies, ostensibly to reduce tooth decay, was never
safety-tested.(B)

“Many Americans are exposed to fluoride in the ranges associated with
thyroid effects, especially for people with iodine deficiency,” says
Kathleen Thiessen, PhD, co-author of the government-sponsored NRC
report. “The recent decline in iodine intake in the U.S could
contribute to increased toxicity of fluoride for some individuals,”
says Thiessen.

“A low level of thyroid hormone can increase the risk of cardiac
disease, high cholesterol, depression and, in pregnant woman,
decreased intelligence of offspring,” said Thiessen.(C)

Common thyroid symptoms include fatigue, weight gain, constipation,
fuzzy thinking, low blood pressure, fluid retention, depression, body
pain, slow reflexes, and more. It’s estimated that 59 million
Americans have thyroid conditions.(D)

Robert Carton, PhD, an environmental scientist who worked for over 30
years for the U.S. government including managing risk assessments on
high priority toxic chemicals, says “fluoride has detrimental effects
on the thyroid gland of healthy males at 3.5 mg a day. With iodine
deficiency, the effect level drops to 0.7 milligrams/day for an
average male.”(E) (1.0 mg/L fluoride is in most water supplies)

Among many others, the NRC Report cites human studies which show

- fluoride concentrations in thyroids exceeding that found  in other
soft tissues except
kidney

- an association between endemic goiter and fluoride exposure or
enamel fluorosis in
human populations

- fluoride adversely affects thyroid and parathyroid hormones, which
affect bone
health

“If you have a thyroid problem, avoiding fluoride may be a good
preventive health measure for you,” writes Drs’ Richard and Karilee
Shames in “Thyroid Power.”(F).

Over, 2600 Physicians, Dentists, Scientists, Academics and
Environmentalists urge Congress to stop water fluoridation until
Congressional hearings are conducted. They cite new scientific
evidence that fluoridation is ineffective and has serious health
risks. (http://www.fluorideaction.org/statement.august.2007.html)

Please sign the petition and Congressional letter to support these
professionals http://www.FluorideAction.Net

“Fluoride can harm bones, teeth, kidneys, brain and more,” says lawyer
Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to
Fluoridation.

References:

(A) “Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s
Standards,” Committee on Fluoride in Drinking Water, Board on
Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Division on Earth and Life
Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies of
Science. March 2006 Chapter 8
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11571

“Thyroid Function: Fluoride exposure in humans is associated with
elevated TSH concentrations, increased goiter prevalence, and altered
T4 and T3 concentrations.” (Page 262)

“(The thyroid effects are associated with average fluoride intakes
that) will be reached by persons with average exposures at fluoride
concentrations of 1-4 mg/L in drinking water, especially the
children.” (Page 260)

(B) Sodium Hexafluorosilicate and Fluorosilicic Acid
Review of Toxicological Literature, October 2001
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/Chem_Background/ExSumPDF/Fluorosi…

(C) Chemical & Engineering News, “Fluoride Risks Are Still A
Challenge,” by Bette Hileman, September 4, 2006,
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/government/84/8436gov1.html

(D)   Mary Shomon, About.com Thyroid editor, Patient Advocate –
Author of “The Thyroid Diet” and “Living Well With Hypothyroidism”
http://thyroid.about.com/

(E) Fluoride, “Review of the 2006 National Research Council Report:
Fluoride in Drinking Water,” July-September 2006, by Robert J. Carton
http://www.fluorideresearch.org/393/files/FJ2006_v39_n3_p163-172.pdf

(F)  Thyroid Power and Feeling Fat Fuzzy or Frazzeled”by Richard
Shames MD & Karilee Shames RN, PhD http://www.thyroidpower.com
http://www.feelingfff.com/

Fluoride/Thyroid Health Effects
http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/thyroid/

Sources of Fluoride
http://www.fluoridealert.org/f-sources.htm

Sulfuryl Fluoride Pesticide Residues Allowed on Foods
http://www.fluoridealert.org/pesticides/sulfuryl.f.all.food.html
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Fluoride
Database of Selected  Beverages and Foods
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Fluoride/Fluoride.html