A new study of the compound used to fluoridate most city water systems in the U.S. has found that it contains significant levels of arsenic, raising concerns among fluoride opponents that this industrial-grade chemical raises health risks.
Tags: · arsenic, Drinking Water, EPA, fluoride, Fluoride Action Network, risk assessment, toxic
How do you know which beverages and foods at the grocery store are most likely to contain elevated fluoride, and which of these products are most important to avoid? To answer these questions, the Fluoride Action Network has produced the following seven “general rules.”
Tags: · fluoride, fruit juices, grape beverages, organic foods, processed foods, processed meats, reconstituted drinks, tea
Fluoride has been controversial for longer than many of us have been alive. Back in the 1940s and 50s, when scientists introduced the idea of adding fluoride to our water systems to strengthen Americans’ teeth, people fought the effort.
Tags: · anti-fluoridation groups, BarbaraKesslerBlog, bones, China, cognition, dental health, Europe, fluoridation, fluoride, hip fractures, IQ, move to remove fluoride, teeth, thyroid
New York City Council member Peter F. Vallone,Jr has called a “Speak Out Against Fluoridation” Rally to be held at 11 a.m. on May 15, on the steps of City Hall.
Fluoride chemicals are added to NYC’s water in a failed effort to treat tap-water drinkers against tooth decay, according to Vallone and the two groups that oppose fluoridation and are supporting the rally, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc and Fluoride Action Network.
Tags: · American Dental Association, anti-fluoride experts, fluoridation hazards, fluoride, Fluoride Action Network, New York City, New York State Coalition Against Fluoridation
Last week the federal government announced a plan to reduce the safe upper limit for fluoride in drinking water, to help protect children from the disfiguring marks or mottling of teeth that occurs with overexposure to the mineral.
Fluoride has been added to public drinking supplies in the U.S. for decades, at the behest of dental experts who claim it helps reduce cavities.
But opponents of fluoridation — which now affects about 70 percent of the U.S. population — say its risks outweigh any possible benefits. In addition, recent science shows that topical fluoride treatments work best to strengthen tooth enamel, rendering fluoridation unnecessary.
Following last week’s announcement, the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) issued a statement saying the new proposed fluoride levels were neither protective of teeth, nor safe for developing brains. FAN argued that more than 100 studies have shown that fluoride damages animal brains, and 24 studies show an association between moderate to high fluoride ingestion and lowered IQs in children.
Tags: · CDC, dentists oppose fluoride, dentists support fluoride, Dr. Paul Connett, EPA, EPA regulates fluoride contamination, fluoridation unnecessary, fluoride, Fluoride Action Network, fluoride affects brains, fluoride health effects, fluoride opponents, fluoride protects teeth, hazardous waste added to water systems, hazards of fluoridation, HHS, new lower level for fluoride, support for fluoridation
Just days after the federal government announced it wants to lower the safe limit for fluoride in drinking water, the EPA has put out notice that will be phasing out a fluoride-based pesticide used in food storage and processing.
The rationale for phasing out the pesticide sulfuryl fluoride is the same as the reason to lower the safe limits for fluoride in drinking water: To scale back Americans’ exposure to the toxic substance.
“Although sulfuryl fluoride residues in food contribute only a very small portion of total exposure to fluoride, when combined with other fluoride exposure pathways, including drinking water and toothpaste, EPA has concluded that the tolerance (legal residue limits on food) no longer meets the safety standard under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA)….,” the EPA said in a statement on Monday.
The move comes after pressure for changes from environmental and health groups, including the Environmental Working Group (EWG), Beyond Pesticides and the Fluoride Action Network.
Tags: · EPA, fluoride, fluoride in food, Pesticide, phasing out sulfuryl fluoride, sulfuryl fluoride
After decades of promoting water fluoridation, the U.S. government today announced it wants to lower the amount of fluoride recommended for drinking water.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proposing that a new “safe” level for fluoride be set at the lowest end of the “current optimal range,” according to a news release. The new level would lower the top threshold for fluoride to .7 milligrams per liter from the currently allowed 1.2 milligrams per liter to better protect people from “excess exposure”.
The EPA, which regulates water authorities, will be reviewing the issue while HHS takes comments before finalizing its position.
Department officials cited mild mottling or spots on children’s teeth as the reason to cut back on fluoridation. The spots indicate that these American children have absorbed more fluoride than necessary, during the formative years up through age 8, because they are exposed to fluoride from a variety of sources, from toothpaste to mouthwash to fruit drinks and bottled water made with fluoridated water.
Most dental fluorosis among Americans is mild, the HHS noted, and is “barely visible lacy white markings or spots on the enamel. “The severe form of dental fluorosis, with staining and pitting of the tooth surface, is rare in the United States.”
Tags: · bone fractures, excess fluoride, fluoride, fluoride health effects, fluoride in drinking water, fluoridosis, fluorosis, greenrightnow.com, teeth mottling, thyroid and fluoride, tips to reduce exposure to fluoride, water fluoridation
Ready to banish the plastic water bottle? You can choose to drink water straight from the tap, which the federal government says is largely safe, or you can filter that tap water for contaminants and chemicals, and to freshen the taste.
If you choose to filter you be joining an apparent migration away from disposable bottled water to more efficient home filtering. The estimated revenue for the water-filter pitcher/carafe market last year was $183 million (excluding Walmart), a 24 percent growth rate since 2005, according to one research group.
There are at least a dozen systems to choose from, starting with market-leader Brita (owned by Clorox), which has dominated the water-filter pitcher market in the U.S. for years, and including number two seller, PUR, and an array of other big and boutique brands. All offer a variety of styles, safeguards, bells and whistles.
Here are the highlights of 12 brands on the market:
Tags: · Aqua Blue Barrier, Bottled Water, bottled water controversy, Brita, Clear2O, countertop water filters, Crystal Quest, Cuisinart CleanWater, Culligan, DuPont, fluoride, MAVEA, Ovopur, PUR, Tap Water, Tersano, water filter systems, water filters, water pitchers, water-filtering pitchers, Zero Water
From Green Right Now Reports
The EPA has proposed adding 16 chemicals that the agency considers eligible to become “reportable chemicals” to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list — including some that wind up on smoked or grilled foods or in the air around incineration facilities.
Inclusion in the toxics registry means that companies and industries using these compounds would have to disclose that they are using them, and how they are disposing of them, to the EPA, which in turn makes the information public. (See the TRI Explorer tool on the EPA website.)
The TRI list exists to help insure the safety of the public and the environment from needless or excessive exposure to chemicals used in industry. It was set up after industrial accidents, such as the Bhopal chemical leak of methyl isocyanate that killed
Tags: · carcinogen chemicals, coal combustion, EPA, fluoride, grilled meat, incineration, polycyclic aromatic compounds, smokehouses, Toxic chemicals
By Chris Reinolds
Green Right Now
A new cancer study from India suggests that fluoride is a contributing factor to osteosarcoma, or bone cancer – but just how much fluoride intake causes the uncommon disease is not clear.
Fluoride in Americans’ tap water has spurred controversy since its introduction in 1945. Anti-fluoride activists say the risks are too high to add “medication” to the water, while government officials cite scientific studies that prove fewer cavities and no serious risk.
In Europe, most countries refuse to treat their water with fluoride with the exception of the United Kingdom. According to the British Medical Journal, fluoridation was introduced in 1963, and the Department of Health reports that rates of dental decay have been reduced 70 percent. But experts remain divided over epidemiological research that has suggested that water fluoridation might be linked to osteoporosis, dental fluorosis, irritable bowel syndrome, and other health problems.
Tags: · American Dentistry Association, cancer, dental cavities, Environmental Protection Agency, fluoridation, fluoride, Fluoride Action Network, fluorosis, irritable bowel syndrome, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, osteoporosis, osteosarcoma, spring water, toothpaste, water filters
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift