Letter from an antifluoridationist

The reality

(My Reply)

My correspondent's observations are in blue.

My replies are indented and in black.

"Fluoride was the key chemical in atomic bomb production, according to the documents. Massive quantities of fluoride – millions of tons – were essential for the manufacture of bomb-grade uranium and plutonium for nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War."

Fluoride is used in an intermediate step in the processing of of U-235, the radioactive metal used in nuclear reactors and in atom bombs. Uranium hexafluoride is a gas. This gas is placed in a very expensive gas centrifuge and the U-235 is separated from U-238 because of a very marginal difference in the mass of the two isotopes. Once the uranium hexafluoride containing the correct isotope is separated from the others, it is further processed to form pure metallic uranium-235 which is the active ingredient in both nuclear reactors and in nuclear weapons. During this processing step, all the fluoride is removed. There is no fluoride in the nuclear fuel used in either atomic bombs, or in nuclear reactors. Finally, the fluoride used during processing is recycled and reused in refining new batches of uranium-235

The mythology that somehow fluoride is involved in the lethality of nuclear weapons goes back to a newspaper article written by Chris Bryson & Joel Griffiths, and commissioned by the Christian Science Monitor in the spring of 1997.

The Monitor is a reputable publication and they stake their reputation on the integrity of the material they print. The authors made clear that the information in the article was based on "hundreds of declassified documents". Unfortunately, if there ever were any documents, they apparently did not prove the thesis of the article, because the Christian Science Monitor who paid for the article refused to publish it. Furthermore, you will not find a link to any of these documents anywhere on the web, including on the most ardent antifluoridationist site. (Note that every link on my page connects directly to an independent source, most of them to government sites which can be verified by looking for the .gov domain in the address bar at the top of your browser.)

The article itself centers on a series of 1944 lawsuits against the E.I. du Pont du Nemours Company chemical factory in Deepwater, New Jersey. The factory was then producing fluoride for the Manhattan project, the ultra-secret U.S. military program racing to produce the world's first atomic bomb. The suits asserted that there was a massive industrial release of toxic fluoride compounds into the local environment, and the government was responsible because it held the contract. The article tries to draw a link between:

The atomic bomb

Stonewalling by the government

The injuries to persons and property by a massive industrial release of toxic fluoride compounds

Fluoridation of municipal water supplies as a public health measure

Q. One of these things does not belong with the others. Can you guess which one?

A. The concentration of fluoride added to municipal water supplies is minute in comparison to the amount that would be required to produce the toxicity alleged in the lawsuits. Furthermore, fluoride in municipal water systems has absolutely nothing to do with atomic bombs!

Antifluoridationists claim that the Bryson/Griffiths article is the most censored article in the US. However, the facts don't support this contention since the article is reprinted on huge numbers of antifluoridationist websites. You can find the article featured, or referred to, on about 35,300 sites (at time of this writing) just by Googling the authors' names; Chris Bryson & Joel Griffiths.

"Much of the original proof that fluoride is safe for humans in low doses was generated by A-bomb program scientists, who had been secretly ordered to provide "evidence useful in litigation" against defense contractors for fluoride injury to citizens."

As a matter of fact, Dr. H Trendley Dean and a team from the US public health service had spent ten years studying the effects of naturally occurring fluoride on the dental health of 7000 children in four southwestern states from 1931 until 1941. While the team's emphasis was on determining the effects of fluoride on teeth, they observed no ill effects on overall health caused by the differing concentrations of fluoride in the drinking water of the various populations they studied. It was Dr Dean and his team that established the optimum fluoride concentration for cavity prevention without fluorosis at 1 ppm (parts per million). It is likely that the government called on scientists involved in that study to defend itself in the 1944 litigation against the E.I. du Pont du Nemours Company. It is also possible that some of those scientists were also involved in the development of the atomic bomb. However, the observations made by Dean and his team had already established the safety and efficacy of low concentrations of fluoride in drinking water well before the invention of the atomic bomb or the chemical spill that caused the lawsuit.
The first public health experiment in the use of intentionally fluoridated water was carried out in 1945 in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Rapids was paired with the city of Muskegon, Michigan which received no fluoride in their water. The experiment was performed to see whether deliberate addition of fluoride at 1 ppm to a water supply that had little natural fluoride would provide the same benefits as had been observed in the 1931 - 1941 study. Over a period of ten years, the children of Grand Rapids developed 60% fewer cavities than the children of Muskegon. During the same period, other paired cities were selected to widen the experiment. All showed the same results.
No adverse health effects were noted during this experiment, and as the results of this experiment began to leak out, even before the official results were released, neighboring cities began their own fluoridation programs. This effect snowballed until today approximately 65% of all US citizens drink water from municipal water supplies that are fluoridated at 1 ppm.

"Fluoride was found to be an equivocal carcinogen by the National Cancer Institute Toxicological Program."

Wrong!! Nothing could be further from the truth! (actually, I think he meant unequivocal)

The National Cancer Institute has the following on their web page: (click here to see the actual page)

Many studies, in both humans and animals, have shown no association between fluoridated water and risk for cancer.

Further studies by the New Jersey Department of Health have now confirmed a 6.9 fold increase in bone cancer in young males.

In April 2006, a preliminary study was published that observed an association between exposure to fluoride in drinking water and the incidence of osteosarcoma in young males . No apparent association was found in females. (Bassin EB, Age-specific fluoride exposure in drinking water and osteosarcoma) The author acknowledges that this study has limitations and further research is required to confirm or refute this observation. This study is addressed by the US CDC at this link.

"The principal investigator for the overall study cautions against over interpreting or generalizing the results of the Bassin analysis, stressing that preliminary analysis of a second set of cases does not appear to replicate the findings (Douglass et al., 2006)."

"The weight of the scientific evidence, as assessed by independent committees of experts, comprehensive systematic reviews, and review of the findings of individual studies does not support an association between water fluoridated at levels optimal for oral health and the risk for cancer, including osteosarcoma."

The New Jersey Department of Health website does not cite this study. The only mention I could find of a link between bone cancer and fluoride using the search function on their website was this one:

Exposure to fluoride was linked to osteosarcoma in male rats, but epidemiologic studies have generally not supported this finding. (Click here for the link)

The New Jersey Department of Health issues numerous hazardous substance fact sheets on fluoride compounds, one of which can be accessed here. They refer to sulfuryl fluoride, sodium hydrogen fluoride, lead fluoride, vinylidine fluoride, and numerous other compounds of fluoride. All of these compounds are gasses. They are released in industrial processes and are toxic when breathed into the lungs in high concentration. They are listed as corrosive chemicals, and I have been unable to find any that are actually listed as carcinogens (cancer causing substances).

All this is beside the point, however, because NONE of these substances are used in either water or toothpaste (only sodium fluoride or stannous fluoride are found in consumables). Furthermore, all of the factsheets state quite plainly: "This effect does NOT occur at the level of fluoride in water for preventing cavities in teeth."

The National Cancer Institute addresses the cancer question specifically (Click here to go to the site itself). There is a LOT of good info on this site.

In a February 1991 Public Health Service (PHS) report, the agency said it found no evidence of an association between fluoride and cancer in humans. The report, based on a review of more than 50 human epidemiological (population) studies produced over the past 40 years, concluded that optimal fluoridation of drinking water “does not pose a detectable cancer risk to humans” as evidenced by extensive human epidemiological data reported to date (4).
In one of the studies reviewed for the PHS report, scientists at the National Cancer Institute evaluated the relationship between the fluoridation of drinking water and the number of deaths due to cancer in the United States during a 36-year period, and the relationship between water fluoridation and number of new cases of cancer during a 15-year period. After examining more than 2.2 million cancer death records and 125,000 cancer case records in counties using fluoridated water, the researchers found no indication of increased cancer risk associated with fluoridated drinking water (5).

In 1993, the Subcommittee on Health Effects of Ingested Fluoride of the National Research Council, part of the National Academy of Sciences, conducted an extensive literature review concerning the association between fluoridated drinking water and increased cancer risk. The review included data from more than 50 human epidemiological studies and six animal studies. The Subcommittee concluded that none of the data demonstrated an association between fluoridated drinking water and cancer (5). A 1999 report by the CDC supported these findings. The report concluded that studies to date have produced “no credible evidence” of an association between fluoridated drinking water and an increased risk for cancer (2).

In any case, since fluoride has been in widespread use in the US since the mid 1940's, if there were a link with any form of cancer, someone someplace (besides the antifluoridationists) would have noticed an epidemic of cancer in areas where there is a high naturally occurring concentration of fluoride in the local water supply, or at least a major difference in cancer rates between the 65% of Americans living in fluoridated communities and those who live in non-fluoridated communities. Nothing of the sort has been noticed.

"Earlier studies had found a 5% increase in all types of cancers in fluoridated communities."

I am unable to find ANY studies that show this. I refer you instead to the following US Government links:

The national cancer Institute website on fluoride

The US Center for Disease Control and prevention (The CDC) systematic review

CDC Statement on the 2006 National Research Council (NRC) Report on Fluoride in Drinking Water

The CDC Recommendations for Using Fluoride to Prevent and Control Dental Caries in the United States

(The CDC is the US government agency responsible for tracking any and all disease processes that affect the population. They keep statistics on all epidemiological problems including sicknesses caused by widespread use of toxic materials.)

"Opaque white spots and brown ugly teeth caused by fluoride is called Fluorosis."

I can't argue with this one, however the truth is that fluorosis in children's teeth is not due to the fluoride in the water system. It turns out that unsupervised children will swallow large amounts of fluoridated toothpaste because it tastes like candy to them. This is what causes the white fluorosis spots you see in many children's teeth. These spots show up all over the country, even in areas where there is no fluoride in the drinking water.

"Fluorosis currently affects one out of five or more children in this nation although it is rarely seen in California. California is the least fluoridated state with less than 16% of the population drinking artificially fluoridated water."

Wrong on all counts

Actually, if you want statistics on ANY health issue, go to the US government agency which is tasked with the job. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) keeps fluoridation statistics on this page. More statistics can be found here. California does rank low in percentage of fluoridated towns, but it is by no means the lowest. Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, Hawaii and Utah rank MUCH lower in percentage of the population living in fluoridated areas. The percentage of the population drinking fluoridated water in California is not 16%, but a bit over 27%. On the other hand, 65% of all Americans live in areas with fluoridated municipal water supplies.

No official government agency keeps statistics on the incidence of fluorosis, however you should read the US CDC report on fluorosis which asks, among other questions:

In which communities can enamel fluorosis be found?

Enamel fluorosis occurs among some persons in all communities, even in communities with a low natural concentration of fluoride and no fluoride in the municipal drinking water.

The reason for this is that most dental fluorosis in the US is caused by the unsupervised use of high fluoride toothpastes by small children who tend to swallow the toothpaste rather than spit it out. Between birth and about the age of ten, the crowns of teeth are developing. While small amounts of fluoride, such as that found in water systems, is helpful because it is incorporated into the tooth enamel making it harder and less prone to decay later in life, large amounts can cause deformation and discoloration of the enamel. The amount of fluoride in the average fluoride containing toothpaste is vastly greater than the daily intake of fluoride in any municipal water system.

From my own experience, the most fluorosis I have seen was in the Los Angeles suburbs, although Los Angeles is not unique in this respect. There seems to be a correlation between family income and the level of fluorosis. From my own observations, more fluorosis is found in children from high income areas than in low income areas. The reverse can be said about the incidence of tooth decay.

"Fluoride is not effective in reducing tooth decay. No correlation was found between the level of fluoride in water and dental caries."

Wrong again. The CDC Recommendations for Using Fluoride to Prevent and Control Dental Caries in the United States has this to say: (And I urge EVERYONE to read this authoritative report if they have concerns about the safety of fluoride.

Fluoride's ability to inhibit or even reverse the initiation and progression of dental caries is well documented. The first use of adjusted fluoride in water for caries control began in 1945 and 1946 in the United States and Canada, when the fluoride concentration was adjusted in the drinking water supplying four communities (2--5). The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) developed recommendations in the 1940s and 1950s regarding fluoride concentrations in public water supplies. At that time, public health officials assumed that drinking water would be the major source of fluoride for most U.S. residents. The success of water fluoridation in preventing and controlling dental caries led to the development of fluoride-containing products, including toothpaste (i.e., dentifrice), mouthrinse, dietary supplements, and professionally applied or prescribed gel, foam, or varnish. In addition, processed beverages, which constitute an increasing proportion of the diets of many U.S. residents (6,7), and food can contain small amounts of fluoride, especially if they are processed with fluoridated water. Thus, U.S. residents have more sources of fluoride available now than 50 years ago.

The prevalence and severity of dental caries in the United States have decreased substantially during the preceding 3 decades (39). National surveys have reported that the prevalence of any dental caries among children aged 12--17 years declined from 90.4% in 1971--1974 to 67% in 1988--1991; severity (measured as the mean number of decayed, missing, or filled teeth) declined from 6.2 to 2.8 during this period (40--43).

Finally, the US center for Disease Control has listed fluoride among the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.

"The FDA considers fluoride an unapproved new drug for which there is no proof of safety or effectiveness."

Wrong again.

The US Food and Drug Administration makes the following recommendations: (Click the link for the citation.)

Recommendation for Using Fluoride to Prevent and Control Dental Caries in the U.S.

"Widespread use of fluoride has been a major factor in the decline in the prevalence and severity of dental caries (i.e., tooth decay) in the United States and other economically developed countries. When used appropriately, fluoride is both safe and effective in preventing and controlling dental caries. All U.S. residents are likely exposed to some degree of fluoride, which is available from multiple sources." (Summary section, page 1)

"Community water fluoridation is a safe, effective, and inexpensive way to prevent dental caries. This modality benefits persons in all age groups and of all SES, ...." (Recommendation section, page 24)

Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General (2000):

"Community water fluoridation is safe and effective in preventing dental caries in both children and adults. Water fluoridation benefits all residents served by community water supplies regardless of their social or economic status. Professional and individual measures, including the use of fluoride mouth rinses, gels, dentifrices, and dietary supplements and the application of dental sealants, are additional means of preventing dental caries." (Executive summary)

Review of Fluoride: Benefits and Risks (Public Health Service, 1991):

"Extensive studies over the past 50 years have established that individuals whose drinking water is fluoridated show a reduction in dental caries. Although the comparative degree of measurable benefit has been reduced recently as other fluoride sources have become available in non-fluoride areas, the benefits of water fluoridation are still clearly evident." (Conclusions section, page 87)

"The FDA does not consider fluoride an essential nutrient."

He's got me here. He's right about fluoride not being an essential nutrient. But then neither is penicillin or Lipitor. If you could take a pill for ten years with the result that it makes you less likely to get a serious disease for the rest of your life, wouldn't you take it? Tooth decay is the most prevalent disease in the world. I was born in 1947, before municipal water fluoridation became widespread. I also have a mouth full of fillings. My son was born in 1971. He hasn't had a cavity for 35 years (and he used to drink regular Coca-Cola all the time). He also had the benefit of fluoride since he was a baby.

"The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology has classified Fluoride as an unapproved dental medicament due to its high toxicity."

The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology is not a respected academic or government affiliated website. It is a great example of an antiamalgamist/antifluoridationist construction. It was created specifically to advance health conspiracies, and you will find numerous similar examples all over the web. They always choose an official sounding name that sounds like it is affiliated with the government, the UN or an academic institution, but the people who write them are devoted to spreading unsubstantiated health conspiracies. For more on assessing conspiracy websites see my page on dental amalgam.