Fluoride Removal Victory in New York
AP
Pulaski, New York may be a small town of just 2,400 residents, but it has now added itself to the list of more than 130 communities across the country that have banned the addition of fluoride to their water supply.
While not all fluoride is bad, the type that has been promoted by dentistry and added to our water and food supply beginning in the 1940s certainly is. Calcium fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, while its synthetic counterpart, sodium fluoride (silicofluoride), is an industrial-grade hazardous waste material made during the production of fertilizer. Its past history includes patented use as rat poison and insecticide. There are many blind- and double-blind studies that show sodium fluoride has a cumulative effect on the human body leading to allergies, gastrointestinal disorders, bone weakening, cancer, and neurological problems, while actually damaging tooth enamel if consumed in high enough quantities. The chart below illustrates that dental fluorosis rates have only risen over the 60 years since its addition to dental products, food and water.
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| source: Fluoride Action Network |
As people have become more aware of the dangers of the toxic effects of excessive fluoride exposure, activist pressure has forced its removal in many locations. However, in the case of Pulaski, NY, it was was not due to public outrage; it was a well-informed water board chaired by Mike Sacco who voted to pull the plug on exposing the community to fluoride’s harmful effects.
A rather biased piece from The Post-Standard features a local dentist who gives his testimony as to the benefits of fluoride he has observed over his 45 years in practice, as well as the position taken by the 20 or so people who did show up for the meeting that comprised mostly people from the dental and healthcare professions.
An ancillary concern was that of corrosion that had been noticed in the town’s copper water pipes. However, even on this note Sacco “said village water workers were told during one of their state-mandated training classes that fluoride damages the pipes.”
Nevertheless, for Chairman Mike Sacco, he cites Dr. Paul Connett’s book The Case Against Fluoride which documents the damaging effects of what winds up in 72% of the nation’s tap water without their knowledge. As you will see in the video presentation below, Connett also documents how politics often trumps health, especially in the case of Portland, Oregon.