One big cavity in Journal Sentinel PolitiFact piece on fluoride

“I understand that it’s toxic – but so are many things. But where do you see it (fluoride) defined as a poison?”

When Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Jim Nelson asked me this question in an email during his lead up to today’s PolitiFact Wisconsin article, I knew the truth COULD be the victim in a faulty verdict by our city’s “Judge and Jury” news media outlet.

I was right to have that opinion.

To read Nelson’s piece today is to believe that for a poison to truly be a “poison,” it must kill you.

This is, obviously, a ridiculous position.

We define lead as a poison, yet when children eat lead paint chips, they typically do not die; rather, they get lead poisoning. Lead collects in the blood and manifests in serious physical, behavioral and cognitive effects that impair their ability to learn and develop normally.

The same can be said of fluoride – classified by the Centers for Disease Control and the EPA as a “poison” (please go to the web pages referenced below – also shared with Mr. Nelson during his “research” for the article – for more information). Fluoride is a cumulative poison that can have very serious neurological and other negative effects over time. Does it kill a person immediately after ingestion? No.

And you do not need to just take my word on it, either.

The National Research Council’s (NRC) 2006 fluoride report revealed that fluoride, even in low doses, can harm the thyroid gland, kidney patients, babies and high water drinkers. They also report studies linking fluoride to osteosarcoma (bone cancer). A study conducted at Harvard in 2001 and published in 2006 showed that young boys exposed to fluoridated water in their 6th to 8th years had a 5-7 fold increased risk of succumbing to osteosarcoma by the age of 20. Despite promises that this study would be refuted, no published study has done so.

Another troubling statement Nelson makes is that fluoride is a toxin “some of the time.” This is flat out wrong – fluoride is a toxin ALL OF THE TIME.

The “some of the time” statement shows a lack of understanding on his part for what a toxin truly is. In the definition he cites for a poison it states “a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy life or impair health.”

If one followed my entire line of argument in the debate on my fluoride bill (and in addition to my time before the MJS editorial board) at no time did I refer to the substance as being lethal. When I and the other medical and scientific experts testified, we were very clearly pointing to fluoride as a cumulative poison which, like lead which is also cumulative, will produce an increasing likelihood of impairment to health if greater amounts of it are consumed.

The issues that were most focused on during the debate are the neurotoxic effects (brain/IQ diminishment), and its effects on the thyroid and kidney. Along with lead, fluoride has been listed by the EPA’s Neurotoxicological Division as a “Chemical with Substantial Evidence of Developmental Neurotoxicity” http://epa.gov/ncct/toxcast/files/summit/48P%20Mundy%20TDAS.pdf .

The point being that fluoride is a poison. I never made a claim that its use in toothpaste or water is lethal. The author of this article has made that false assumption on his own. The statement I made is correct and PolitiFact once again FAILS.

Again, I want the Milwaukee Water Works to stop adding fluoride to our water because studies have shown it does NOT provide the claimed dental health benefits when ingested in drinking water, and because fluoride IS a poison that can cause harm.

These two websites also offer additional information about the poisonous nature of fluoride:

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/substances/toxsubstance.asp?toxid=38

http://tinyurl.com/c2wc39r

NOTE: On the link (tinyurl) to the EPA Site:

See bottom of Page 5 – Human Health Risk Assessment- Toxicity of Sodium Fluoride.

See bottom of Page 6 – General Toxicity Observations- Acute Toxicity.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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