Fluoride Chemicals Leach Lead Into Water Supplies
NYSCOF
other water additives, pull health-damaging lead from plumbing systems
into drinking water, according to University of North Carolina
researchers reported a North Carolina newspaper on May 18, 2005 (a).
Fluoride is added to water supplies to prevent cavities, not purify it
as some believe.
A combination of chloramines and fluorosilicic acid, especially with
extra amounts of ammonia, leaches lead from meters, solder and plumbing
systems, according to Richard P. Maas, PhD and Steven C. Patch PhD,
co-directors of the Environmental Quality Institute at the University
of North Carolina, Asheville.
Chloramine, a combination of chlorine and ammonia, is a water supply
disinfectant. Fluorosilicic acid, the chemical used by over 91% of U.S.
fluoridating communities, attempts to improve dental health in those
who drink it About 2/3 of U.S. public water supplies are fluoridated
but tooth decay remains a national epidemic, according to the U.S.
Surgeon General. (b)
Maas said, "Tests showed lead levels three and four times higher in
water with that combination of chemicals ...About 500 systems, across
the country, have switched to chloramine treatment since 2001...and
most also use fluorosilicic acid," according to the North Carolina
newspaper, the News & Observer.
Maas said this chemical interaction could be responsible for the
elevated lead levels recently plaguing Greenville, North Carolina (c).
Health authorities issued a lead advisory for water from the Greenville
Utilities Commission when elevated lead levels showed up in 26 of 106
sampled homes.
Water leaving the plant and its distribution lines do not contain lead.
But testing showed two children with harmful lead levels, leading
health officials to speculate that corrosion of pipes within the home
may be the cause. Greenville authorities warned pregnant and
breastfeeding women and children under age six to avoid the tap water
until it is tested for lead.
Maas, who heads a lead poisoning prevention program in Western North
Carolina funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, said his lab has tested more than 150,000 homes across the
country in the past 18 years and found that 10 to 15 percent have a
significant lead contamination problem, according to the News &
Observer article.
"No amount of lead is safe for a young child's developing
brain," says Paul Connett, PhD, Professor of environmental chemistry
and toxicology at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY and Executive
Director of the Fluoride Action Network.
"If this new data is confirmed, it will further underscore the
negligence of U.S. authorities using fluorosilicic acid as a
fluoridating agent in the absence of any research establishing the
safety of this particular fluoride chemical," says Connett.
These new findings may help explain earlier published, peer-reviewed
research by Roger Masters, PhD of Dartmouth College and Michael Coplan.
Their studies show a link between water fluoridation status and
elevated blood lead in children. (d)
Elevated blood lead levels are linked to developmental delays in
children under age six and fetuses. Lead can adversely affect almost
every organ and system in the body. The most sensitive is the central
nervous system, particularly in children. Lead also damages kidneys and
the reproductive system. The effects are the same whether it is
breathed or swallowed.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "fluoride
works primarily after teeth have erupted." (e)
"It really doesn't make any sense to ingest fluoride chemicals,
anyway. Fluoridation is an outdated concept, wastes money, jeopardizes
health and should be stopped everywhere," says Connett.
References:
(a) North Carolina News & Observer, "Water treatment process called
potential risk Chemicals' mix with plumbing could put lead in tap
water"
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/story/2417101p-8794959c.html
(b) "First-ever Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health Finds
Profound Disparities in Nation's Population," News Release, May 25,
2000 National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Research
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/NewsAndReports/NewsReleases/NewsRelease05252000.htm
(c) "Pitt County Issues Advisory After Lead Discovered In
Children." May 3, 2005, WFMY News - Greensboro, NC
http://www.wfmynews2.com/news/local_state/local_article.aspx?storyid=40346
(d) Masters RD, Coplan MJ, et al., "Association of silicofluoride
treated water with elevated blood lead," Neurotoxicology. 2000
Dec;21(6):1091-100.
(e) "Recommendations for Using Fluoride to Prevent and Control Dental
Caries in the United States," August 2001
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5014a1.htm
Contacts:
Michael Connett, Project Director, Fluoride Action Network,
in...@fluoridealert.org
Dr. Paul Connett, Executive Director, Fluoride Action Network,
pa...@fluoridealert.org
Media Relations Director, Fluoride Action Network,
ca...@fluoridealert.org
SOURCE: FLUORIDE ACTION NETWORK
http://www.FluorideAlert.Org
PO Box 5111
Burlington VT 05402
E -mail: in...@fluoridealert.org