May 25, 2021
Dear Dr. Walensky,
Here again is our letter originally emailed to you on May 3 and again on May 11, together with a hard copy sent to your office via Fed Ex.
This letter has now been signed by 112 people: that is the 29 who signed on May 3 (indicated by an asterisk) and those who have signed on since.
We eagerly await your response to the recommendations we made in our letter.
Paul Connett, PhD, on behalf of all the signers listed below.
Also available in pdf
May 3, 2021
Dear Dr. Walensky,
First, let us congratulate you on your recent appointment as Director of the CDC. Like millions of Americans and others we wish you every success in your leading role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
With respect to this emergency we believe that it is critical that everything possible be done to maintain the public’s trust in the credibility of your agency. Hence the reason we are writing to you today.
We write as professionals who have experience in a wide range of arenas including academic research, medicine, dentistry, public health, public utilities, law, journalism, the environment and environmental health.
Most of us have spent many years involved in the debate over water fluoridation and have carefully studied the science dealing with the toxic effects of fluoride.
Neurotoxicity of fluoride
Of particular interest to us has been an ever-growing body of studies, beginning in the mid-1990s, that indicate that fluoride is neurotoxic.
To date, more than 67 human studies, most from endemic fluorosis areas in China, have associated lowered IQ with fluoride exposure. Promoters of water fluoridation have dismissed the relevance of these studies a) because of methodological limitations and b) because many (but not all) of these findings occurred at higher fluoride concentrations than those used in water fluoridation programs. Nevertheless, there has been general agreement that the findings have been remarkably consistent (Choi et al., 2012).
A very significant improvement in the quality of these studies occurred in 2017, when the first of four NIEHS-NIH funded studies were published (Bashash 2017 and 2018; Green 2019; and Till 2020). These were rigorously designed studies for which many potential confounders were controlled. In addition, fluoride exposures and cognitive outcomes were based on measurements made at the individual (as opposed to community) level. For the first time, the studies included measurements made in pregnant women and their offspring. This was important because fluoride is known to cross the placenta.
Most importantly, the fluoride exposures in these studies were at levels commonly experienced by pregnant women and children in fluoridated communities in the USA. The weight of evidence now strongly suggests that fluoride is capable of damaging both the fetal and the infant brain at very low levels.
Presumably, such findings have been jarring for those who have enthusiastically supported water fluoridation and who have hitherto believed that the only harm caused by fluoride for those drinking fluoridated water was mild dental fluorosis (disrupted enamel formation which can appear as white spots or staining on teeth). Needless to say, damage to the developing brain is far more serious than damage to the tooth enamel.
The leaders of the Oral Health Division at the CDC appear to be in a state of denial on fluoride’s neurotoxicity. This was clearly illustrated at a recent event, which has triggered this letter to you.
CDC Oral Health director’s false statement
At a recent webinar (March 11, 2021) organized by the American Association of Dental Research (AADR) and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), CDC Oral Health Director Casey Hannan responded to a question submitted to him about a week before the meeting. He claimed that the recent NIH-funded studies, discussed above, were conducted at levels much higher than currently used in water fluoridation programs. This answer was false and it is disturbing that it was issued in a prepared statement. A slip-up in an off-the-cuff comment might have been excusable.
Here is his exact quote:
Contrary to Hannan’s assertions, the NIEHS-NIH funded studies were carried out at doses currently experienced in fluoridated communities. Specifically, these studies were either done in communities fluoridated at the CDC’s recommended level of 0.7 ppm (mg/L) of fluoride in water (Green 2019 and Till 2020) or in communities experiencing equivalent fluoride doses as measured in mother’s urine (Bashash, 2017 and 2018).
Hannan might simply claim that he was doing his job in carrying out the Oral Health Division’s mission of promoting water fluoridation as a method of fighting tooth decay in children. To our point, it is the way that the CDC’s mission has been carried out over so many years that concerns us. It has been highly biased and Hannan’s blatant mis-statement is just the latest example. Many of Hannan’s predecessors have repeatedly claimed that fluoridation is “safe and effective” without producing the studies that demonstrate safety and ignoring those that show harm.
The Oral Health Division’s biased promotion of fluoridation
We believe CDC Oral Health Division personnel have seen their task as simply promoting the benefits of fluoridation, and have repeatedly downplayed health risks posed by swallowing fluoride. We believe that this situation, in part, is due to the fact this small division of about 30 people has no specialists in tissues other than the teeth. None are specialists in neurology, neurotoxicity, bones, the thyroid gland, the kidneys, and other systems that have been found by the National Research Council to be affected by fluoride (NRC 2006). The Oral Health Division appears to employ no toxicologists.
While fluoridation is instigated at the municipal level (often against the express wishes of many citizens), local decision makers are often heavily influenced by the CDC’s enthusiastic promotion of this practice. Indeed, hardly a day goes by without some local official somewhere stating that the CDC considers fluoridation, “One of the top public health achievements of the twentieth century” (CDC, 1999).
The CDC’s failure to adequately consider health risks posed by fluoride
We are concerned that the CDC’s failure to adequately consider the health risks posed by fluoride has left a gaping hole in CDC’s understanding of the consequences of fluoridation.
The loss of IQ points has lifelong consequences. For the individual, it has been estimated that a loss of one IQ point would reduce lifetime earnings by $18,000 (Grandjean et al., 2012). The losses observed in the NIEHS-NIH funded studies range from 3 to 9 IQ points for an increase of 1 mg/liter of fluoride in water and thus an estimated drop of 2-7 IQ points drop for a community fluoridated at 0.7 ppm. To put that into perspective, at the population level a shift downwards of 5 IQ points halves the number of very bright children (IQ >130) and increases by 57% the number of children needing special care (IQ <70). Both changes have enormous social and economic ramifications for the USA.
In addition, a major prospective cohort study from Sweden demonstrates a higher risk of hip fractures in post-menopausal women associated with long term exposure to natural fluoride at levels in water in the same range as America fluoridates its water [Helte et al., 2021].
Also, recent epidemiological studies conducted in the United States, using individual biomarker measures of fluoride exposure, have found an association between low to moderate fluoride intake and impaired renal and hepatic function [Malin et al., 2019], increased risk of hyperuricemia [Wei et al., 2021], as well as adverse effects on reproductive endocrinology in U.S adolescents [Bai et al., 2020].
Need for a pause in CDC’s promotion of fluoridation and a resolution of the safety issues surrounding fluoridation
When you and your staff have examined these recent findings, we hope that you will agree that there is an urgent need to put a pause on further promotion of fluoridation by the CDC – at least until these scientific issues have been very carefully reviewed by qualified CDC personnel who have had no prior association with efforts to promote this practice.
To this end, and looking even beyond fluoridation, we urge that you institute a special committee, or even a new division at the CDC to regularly review the scientific underpinnings of public health practices. Such reviews would look at neurotoxic and other effects that, in the context of public health policy, could expose the whole population to unacceptable risks. Reviews should be comprehensive and rigorous and be submitted to Congress on an annual basis.
As far as the Oral Health Division is concerned we believe that until the issue of these serious health threats has been resolved, the division should focus its resources on ways of fighting tooth decay without exposing the population to fluoride in the water supply. As you know, most countries promote dental health without fluoridating their water.
There is a clear need to focus on dental care for low-income families, but we need to do so without compromising our children’s mental development. Federal, state and local governments need to provide better access to preventive dental care and early education for better diet and dental hygiene. The latter has proved very successful in Scotland (see the ChildSmile program).
Environmental Justice
Seen as a way of reducing inequities in dental care, fluoridation claims a noble purpose. Unfortunately, the effort has seriously backfired. Lowering IQ with fluoride exposure adds a further handicap to the mental development of children from low income families, especially those living in the inner city. The latter are already contending with a higher burden of lead pollution (see Fluoride Action Network’s 2015 report submitted to the Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group).
Immediate warnings needed for pregnant women and parents
As an immediate step, we urge you as Director of the CDC, to issue warnings to both pregnant women and parents of formula-fed infants to avoid fluoridated water and other sources of fluoride. A Cochrane Review in 2017 concluded that ingestion of fluoride during pregnancy conferred no dental benefit, so this is a situation where risks are being taken for no proven benefit. This point was made by two leading public health researchers (Bruce Lanphear MD, MPH, and Christine Till, PhD) along with Linda Birnbaum, PhD, former Director of the NIEHS/NTP (2009-2019), in an editorial published in Environmental Health News, Oct 7 2020.
Please put protecting our children above protecting an outdated practice
In summary, Dr. Walensky, we sincerely hope that the CDC under your new leadership will acknowledge the strong scientific evidence of fluoride’s neurotoxicity (and other health effects) and that you will put the welfare of our children and the overall health of our people at the forefront of the agency’s agenda.
Sincerely yours
*Paul Connett, PhD
Binghamton, NY
Director of the Fluoride Action Network, a 501(c)(3) non-profit established in 2000
Co-Author, The Case Against Fluoride (Chelsea Green, 2010)
Email for follow up: pconnett@gmail.com
The following have subscribed to the contents of the above letter:
Audrey Adams
Renton, WA
“I am a plaintiff in the TSCA lawsuit on behalf of my son Kyle, who is 35, has autism and is hyper-sensitive to fluoride, including fluoridated water and fluoridated showers. I have spent a decade of efforts in two non-profits to educate lawmakers and officials about the tragic harm fluoridation causes vulnerable populations. If Dr. Welensky witnessed the suffering my son goes through when he is inadvertently exposed to fluoride (fortunately now rare because of my painstaking and expensive precautions) she would not allow the CDC to promote this practice for another single day. She would see an otherwise happy young man brought to his knees in pain.”
Charles C. Adams, MD
Ringgold, GA
Integrative Internal Medicine
“As a former Radio-chemical Laboratory Analyst at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, I learned a little bit about water quality. The Harvard School of Public Health and JAMA Pediatrics have both documented fluoride decreases children’s IQ. All fluoride should be removed from potable water.”
Kenji Akiniwa, DDS
Tokyo, Japan
Vice president of the Japanese Society for Fluoride Research (JSFR)
Founding member of the Fluoride Action Network
Alaric T. Arenander, PhD (Neuroscience)
Kalaheo, Kauai, HI
Director, Brain Research Institute, Iowa: President, Anti-Aging Company LLC
“I do my best to keep up with the effort to ban and overturn this terrible practice.”
Tiffany Baer, MD
Internal Medicine
Albany, CA
“The time is long overdue to have this neurotoxin out of our drinking water.”
Ricardo R. Bartelme, MD
Ann Arbor, MI
Emeritus Assistant Professor
Department of Family Medicine
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
“I have followed the science of fluoridation since about 1995.”
James Beck, MD, PhD
Calgary, Alberta,
Co-Author, The Case Against Fluoride (Chelsea Green, 2010)
Rosemary R. Bishop, MS Health Ed.
Retired teacher
“I have followed the science on the detrimental effects of fluoride for the past 15 years.”
Mark A Breiner, DDS
Fairfield, CT
“I started researching fluoride in the late 70’s. This is an ongoing human experiment and the research is clear on fluoride’s harmful effects when placed into drinking water. Please put a stop to this.”
Ruth Bednar, RHN, RNCP, ROHP
Gravenhurst, Ontario
“Our group, Muskoka Citizens Opposed to Water Fluoridation worked diligently with district councilors and ended Community Water Fluoridation in Huntsville and Baysville in 2014.”
Christopher Bryson,
NY, NY
Former BBC producer/reporter and author of The Fluoride Deception (Seven Stories Press, 2004).
“I spent ten years researching for and writing this book. In my view, the promotion of this practice has been one of greatest deceptions in the history of public health.”
Karen Buck, Bachelor of Education
Barrie, Ontario.
Retired.
“After 5 years of actively being involved in both providing and participating in public education presentations and actions on removing fluoride from the drinking water in municipalities in Ontario, I concluded that an individual’s optimal health status and outcome needs to be protected from fluoridated drinking water and that an individual’s teeth need to be protected by proactive dental hygiene practices and healthy diets not fluoridated drinking water.”
Chandos F. Caldwell, PhD
East Brunswick, NJ
Retired analytical chemist
“I am a trained industrial chemist and a community activist and chair of our Water Policy Committee. We would like to end fluoridation of our drinking water. I have been involved with this issue for at least 7 years and have given many presentations at town Council.”
Noel Campbell, BDSc, LDS, FACNEM
Parkville, VIC Australia
Retired dentist, Cancer Researcher
“I have followed the mercury amalgam and fluoride debates since 1969.”
*Neil J. Carman, PhD
Austin, TX
Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter working on toxic chemical pollution
*Leo B. Cashman
Minneapolis, MN
Executive Director of DAMS Inc. (Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions), a 501(c)(3) non-profit
Hyla Cass, MD
Los Angeles, CA
Psychiatrist
“I have followed the issue for 40 years. Fluoride is toxic and has no place in our water system.”
Deborah Catrow, LMT, NMT
Springfield, OH
Worked at cancer centers as a Neuromuscular Therapist
“I have been involved with FAN since 2005 and successfully helped keep fluoride out of Springfield’s water twice.”
Christopher Christianson, T3, D3, Grade IV
Fortuna, CA
Chief Treatment Plant Operator
“I disagree with adding a chemical to the water supply for medicinal purposes, regardless of its efficacy. Fluoride is not a water treatment chemical. It is there only to treat people, and at uncontrolled dosages.”
Ann Morris Cockrell, BS, MS
Englewood, CO
“I lived in San Antonio, TX for 54 years. I taught Earth Life Sciences in Public Schools for 34 Years. I have followed the fluoridation debate for more than 30 years.”
*Griffin Cole, DDS NMD
Austin, TX
Clinical Instructor, American College of Integrative Medicine and Dentistry
Ellen Connett
Binghamton, NY
Managing Director for the Fluoride Action Network
“I am responsible for our webpage, including updating the fluoride health database [StudyTracker] and the latest news section [NewsTracker]. I am also responsible for submitting all of FAN’s responses to government reports and requests for input, which takes a lot of work but is usually ignored. Such is the arrogance of those agencies which promote this practice. I have followed this issue closely for 26 years.”
*Michael Connett, JD,
Long Beach, CA
Environmental law/toxic tort attorney
*Jack Crowther,
Rutland, VT
Retired. Spent 22 years with the Rutland Herald as a reporter, editor, columnist and editorial writer
Clark Culver, WT3, DST2 and MS grade A water treatment
Savannah, TN
“I am a water utility director with 20 plus years of experience in all aspects of water treatment and distribution. I’ve been working with citizens (TN Against Fluoride) for 7 years to get fluoride our of our water. We have been successful with several utilities.”
Donald R. Davis, PhD
Magnolia, TX
Retired research scientist, Biochemical Institute, the University of Texas at Austin
“I have followed the fluoridation debate since 1980. I co-authored a paper
on fluoridation effectiveness studies in 2017.”
Robert C. Dickson, MD, CCFP, FCFP
Calgary, AB
Founder SAFE WATER CALGARY
www.safewatercalgary.com
Judy Dragon, AS
Santa Rosa, CA
Former Dental Hygienist from 1971 to 1997
“I am the author of books on childhood trauma and abuse. I lectured in the 70’s to stop water fluoridation, due to witnessing children vomiting after fluoride treatment.”
George Eichholzer, BASc, Systems Design Engineering
Toronto, Ontario
VP Engineering
“I have been doing extensive health research for over 20 years and I started removing the fluoride from my water when my initial research exposed the paucity of evidence supporting the efficacy of the practice. Two decades later, the decision is a no-brainer given the growing indisputable evidence of harm.”
Peter Joseph Farrell, BS (Human Nutrition)
Baldwinville, MA
Chemist.
“My involvement with water fluoride goes back over a decade. Fluoridation is a poisonous lie.”
*Naomi Flack, EdM
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Co-Founder, NY State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation
David W. Forrest, CEng MIEE
Lancashire, UK
Retired Engineer.
“After spending almost 20 years examining the promotional material for fluoridation I am NOT a supporter of the practice. I tend to take a broader perspective of the issues surrounding water fluoridation and despair at the selective use, and misuse, of the so-called science. In my view water fluoridation:
- is unnecessary, with questionable legality
- sets a precedent of using the public water supply system as a vehicle for delivering medication to individuals
- breaches the fundamental rights of an individual to consent to medical treatment
- is surrounded by uncertainty over the benefits
- exposes populations to inadequately safeguarded harmful risks.”
Gary Fortinsky, DDS, CCH
Toronto, Ontario
Dentist, Homeopath
Fluoride free office for 24 years
Chris Gupta, BASc (Eng), PE
London, Ontario
Gupta Research (Alternate Energy and Health)
“I have been following and educating on the harms of water Fluoridation for at least 25 years.”
Angela Hair, BSc (hons), Dip Hom, Advanced Dip Hom
Hastings, New Zealand
“I have led the campaign to stop fluoridation of Hastings water supply because of severe symptoms observed in patients who accumulate fluoride in their bodies over a lifetime of consumption. I am a natural health practitioner. My practice is Concordia Health.”
Jay Harrison DC
Grapevine, TX
Chiropractor
“I have been following the science on fluoridation for the last 5 years and the overwhelming scientific evidence shows that fluoridation is not a safe practice for our children.”
Katharine Herndon, BSN, Retired RN, PHN
Los Angeles, CA
California Public School Nurse
School Nurse 21 years in Los Angeles County and Los Angeles City Schools
David R. Hill, BA, MA, MSc, PEng, CEng, FBCS
Bowen Island, British Columbia
Professor Emeritus
“I have been actively involved in studying the effects of water fluoridation
for the last 32 years, including reviewing reports and public participation.”
*J. William Hirzy, PhD
Washington, DC
Senior Scientist, Retired
Risk Assessment Division, Office of Toxic Substances, US Environmental Protection Agency, and Past President EPA HQ Professionals Union
Andrew Houlson, Engineering Doctorate
Toronto, Ontario
Drinking water scientist
“I have studied drinking water purification for years.”
*Vyvyan Howard, MB, ChB, PhD, FRCPath.
Coleraine, Northern Ireland
A retired medical practitioner, pathologist and toxicologist.
Past President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment
Fellow of the Collegium Ramazzini
April M. Hurley, MD
Oceanport, NJ
“ I am a 35-year seasoned Family Physician with Board certification and, multiple
state licenses. I have witnessed the increased ingestion of fluoride containing foods,
beverages, and prescriptions in our society with every decade of my
family medicine practice. Rates of fluorosis, chronic disease, and cognitive impairment in children and adults are escalating. Ingestion of fluoride should be avoided. Adding fluoride to municipal drinking water is both unsafe and unwise.”
Lisa Intemann, PhD, BAppSc
Wauchope, NSW, Australia
Business director; Elected local government councilor
“I have been working since 2004 to try to protect my community from this unsafe, unscientific malpractice.”
Allan Jones
Process engineer, occupation and safety trainer grade 4
Lithgow, NSW Australia
“I am a retired researcher into toxic substances in process engineering. I have been involved in toothpaste manufacture, water treatment plants, chemical dosing equipment and phosphate production. My research with fluoride chemistry covers at least 90 different sources. I see no reason to add any fluoride to drinking water as it is a poison that many people already consume far too much already from a maze of everyday sources.
“I am aware of the TSCA court case where the issue of fluoride’s neurological damage to children before and after birth is being determined. I agree that this practice should be ceased on that evidence alone. However, the matter should be expanded to include all other potential harm caused by fluoride as reviewed by the U.S. National Research Council in 2006 (NRC, 2006)”
*Jack Kall, DMD, FAGD, MIAOMT
Louisville, KY
Executive Chairman, International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology
Junji Kato, DMD
Sendai city, Japan
*David Kennedy, DDS
San Diego, CA
Past Chairman, International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology
Robert Kerwin, Jr., MD
Madison, Wisconsin
Recently retired family physician
“I have been opposed to water fluoridation and following the science since reading the 2006 NRC Review of EPA standards.”
Tom Lankerin, BSc, DC
Basalt, Colorado
Bio-energetic Chiropractor
“I have studied this topic for 25 years. It is wrong to be putting a neurotoxic substance into our water. Fluoride is poisonous to everything in the environment.”
Kristie Lavelle, MOT, OTR/L, CHT
Berkeley, CA
Occupational Therapist
“I have been involved in this issue since 2012 when I helped to form a SF Bay Area nonprofit, Clean Water California. We successfully persuaded the local Bay Area water districts to add a warning to their annual statements about the risk of neurotoxic harm to infants from drinking fluoridated tap water. I am currently a board member of the 501c3 Moms Against Fluoridation and a plaintiff in the TSCA EPA fluoride neurotoxicity lawsuit.”
*Katherine Lajoie, BSN, BA, RN
Charlestown, NH
Former public health nurse with the NH Department of Health and Human Services
*Hardy Limeback, DDS, PhD
Ontario, Canada,
Former Director of Preventive Dentistry,
University of Toronto
Panel member of the landmark review of fluoride’s toxicology in water by the U.S. National Research Council, (NRC 2006).
Carmel Marentette
Chatham, Ontario
Retired pharmacist
“I have researched the neurotoxic effects of fluoridating municipal drinking water for over 20 years. This needs to stop ASAP. “
Michael May, CEng, BSc Eng, MIET
Phoenix, AZ
Site Operations Manager and previously Director of Engineering, VP and CEO for various companies
“I have been following the fluoride debate for over 40 years. Initially, I was a believer in fluoridation, but after extensive reading and research now believe fluoride is highly detrimental to human health.”
James Collins Meek III, PhD
South Jordan, UT
Neurological Learning Specialist with The Learning Clinic
“I have been 40 years in private practice as a neurological learning specialist. In the early years of my private practice it became clear that fluoridation of water supplies was interfering with the learning capacity of children.
*H.S. Micklem, DPhil (Oxon)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Professor Emeritus (Biology) Edinburgh University
Co-Author, The Case Against Fluoride... (Chelsea Green, 2010)
*Howard W. Mielke, PhD
New Orleans, LA
Research Professor of Environmental Signaling in Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA.
(I am known for my studies of the effects of lead, which like fluorides, effect calcium metabolism resulting in the blockage of neuron signaling in the brain.)
*Deborah E. Moore, PhD
Montpelier, VT
Exec. Director, Second Look, a national Environmental Health non-profit
Second Look educates about the science of fluoride toxicity, fluoride poisoning in individuals, and the science of EMF toxicity
*John F Mueller, Jr, BSc Geop Engr P.E. Civil
(Water Resources for > 20 years)
Senior Engineer, Retired,
Tulsa, OK
My water treatment engineering and operations experience began revealing twelve years ago, and very disturbingly, that fluoridation has been an egregious violation of the spirit and intent of the federal SDWA and the public trust, if for no other reason than it typically and knowingly allows for legally contaminating our tap water with lead and arsenic, as well as fluoride. Lead and arsenic are recognized and regulated contaminants with their respective MCLGs of zero. I have seen Certificates of Analysis showing arsenic up to 51 ppm in the fluorosilicic acid (FSA) being shipped from the fertilizer industry supplier. FSA is the most common fluoridating chemical agent added to the public drinking water at treatment plants in the US.
Akihiro Nagano, DDS
Sapporo City, Japan
*Janet Nagel, EdD
Greensboro, NC
Retired public health educator and active clean water advocate
Gerald D. Natzke, DO, FAAEM, DIBEM
Linden, Michigan
Past President of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine
Past President of the Genesee County Medical Society
Assistant Clinical Professor Michigan State University
Director of the Allergy & Environmental Medicine Center/JLN Wellness Center
“I have long been an advocate for removing fluoride from municipal waters and have worked at the county level to help accomplish this task. Had it not been for the lead water crisis in Flint it is possible we would have accomplished this goal. The science backs the claim that fluoride damages our youth’s neurologic development especially in their earliest years and provides little to no benefit for the teeth.”
Kenichi Narita, DDS
Hokkaidou, Japan
President of the Japanese Society for Fluoride Research (JSFR)
*Chris Neurath
Lexington, MA
Research Director, Fluoride Action Network
Author of several published papers on fluoride and many submissions to governmental agencies
Chris Nidel, JD
Washington, DC
“I have been involved in several lawsuits dealing with the toxicity of fluoride including the ongoing TSCA lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, being pursued by Food and Water Watch and others (including FAN).”
*Rick North
Portland, OR
Former executive vice president of the Oregon American Cancer Society
Susan Olguin, RD, IBCLC
Saginaw, MI
Registered Dietitian and IBCLC for Saginaw County Health Department, WIC
“ I have followed the water fluoridation debate for over 10 years.”
*Bill Osmunson, DDS, MPH
Issaquah, WA
Comprehensive Cosmetic Dentist
Former Director, Fluoride Action Network
Ian E. Packington, MA(Oxon) Cert Tox (Barts)
York, UK
Science Adviser/Vice Chair UK National Pure Water Association.
“I have followed the research into fetal/neonatal morbidity and mortality in context of fluoridation practice.”
*Gilles Parent, NDA
Danville, Quebec
Co-Author of La fluoration: autopsie d’une erreur scientifique (Edition Berger, 2006)
Fluoridation:autopsy of a scientific error (Edition Berger, 2010)
Andrew Parry
Perth, Australia
Founder and President of Fluoride Free Australia Inc and former President of Fluoride Free Western Australia.
“I have been following the fluoride debate for about 15 years and have been thoroughly researching and monitoring the science of water fluoridation for the last five years.”
*Professor Stephen Peckham
Canterbury, UK
Director, Centre for Health Services Studies
Kent University
Artin Hassas Peng, MSc
Burlington, Ontario
Senior Structural – Lead Engineer.
“In late 2014, I developed a major health condition that resulted in disability. I was diagnosed with both Skeletal and non-Skeletal Fluorosis including but not limited to symptoms like major joint pain and inflammation, dizziness, Hypothyroidism, Brain fog, IBS and Fatigue. I was not able to perform daily tasks. After diagnosis, by avoiding city Fluoridated tab water and fluoridated dental products, my symptoms started to improve and after a few months of avoiding these sources I came out of disability. However, to this date, drinking a glass of fluoridated tap water or taking one shower with fluoridated tap water (at 0.7ppm) will trigger all the above-mentioned symptoms. Avoiding fluoride is extremely challenging. I cannot enjoy swimming in the community pool, going to a restaurant or dining at a friend’s house.”
Douglas H. Piltingsrud, PhD (Inorganic Chemistry)
Eyota, MN
Soil Consultant/Agronomist and researcher on Light Straw Clay insulation.
“I’ve followed the Fluoride controversy for 20 years. As an inorganic chemist aware of health issues when working with chemicals it makes no sense that fluoride is dangerous in the lab for personnel but we should put it in our drinking water at the levels approved.”
Juan-Carlos Portillo, DC
San Jose, Ca.
30 plus years of clinical practice.
“I have challenged our local water company to stop adding fluoride chemicals to our drinking water for years. Hopefully things will change with all the accumulating health data.”
*Professor W. T. Potter
Tulsa, OK
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Tulsa
Neuroscience Researcher Associate with The Laureate Institute of Brain Research (LIBR)
James W. Reeves, PhD, PE
Lafayette, LA
Retired Professor and 20 years as Dean of Engineering
“I have been Involved for 32 years following the scientific research on the dangers of fluoridation.”
Gertraud Renner, BSN
Loveland, CO
Retired Critical Care RN and community activist against the addition of Fluoride into community water.
Francisco Rivera, Dip.Ac.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Acupuncturist.
*Philip Robertson, BHSc
Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Currently Clinical Health Consultant, formerly medical committee member Analytical Ref. Labs. Melbourne and Alcoa Pt. Henry Community Advisory Board
Troy Ross, MD, MPH
Reno, NV
Public Health Officer
“As a board certified Preventive and Environmental Medicine physician, I have worked to stay current on the science behind the health effects of fluoride in the human body. It is clear to me that fluoride is a toxic agent with no clear therapeutic applications that outweigh harms to health.”
Robert D. Rousseau, DDS, AIAOMT
Bloomfield Hills, MI
“I have solo dental practice and have followed the fluoride controversy for over 30 years. I have done only a few fluoride treatments in that time and only on radiation treatment patients. My office and home have RO water systems to avoid fluoride intake from the tap water.”
Jan F. Sallstrom, PhD
Uppsala, Sweden
Assoc.- professor of Experimental Pathology, Molecular Pathologist
Head of the Molecular Pathology Laboratory at the University of Uppsala, Sweden
Professional experience: Molecular diagnostics and scientific research concerning oncogenes etc.
“From 1977-1982, I was involved in advising a committee investigating a proposition to introduce water fluoridation into Sweden. I authored several papers on fluoride submitted to governmental agencies and politicians. I worked together with, among others, two Nobel laureates: professor of biochemistry Hugo Theorell and professor of pharmacology Arvid Carlsson. Theorell was very familiar with fluoride’s inhibiting action of many enzymes in the human body. Carlsson pointed out the fundamentally erroneous method of distribution of a pharmacologically active substance without having control of the dose to individuals. In 1982, addition of fluoride to water, other beverages or any kind of food was declared unlawful in Sweden.
“I also advised opponents to an old ongoing fluoridation study in Finland, where two cities with equal socioeconomic levels were compared: Kuopio with artificial fluoridation and Jyvaskylla, which had very low levels of fluoride in its drinking water. This action finally led to a stop of fluoridation in Finland. Interestingly, a study performed afterwards comparing the dental status in Kuopio and the control city Jyvaskylla showed that after 33 years of public water fluoridation in Kuopio, the only difference in caries status was the presence of more filled first molars in the fluoridated Kuopio! Reference: Seppä L et al. (2002) Caries occurrence in a fluoridated and a nonfluoridated town in Finland: a retrospective study using longitudinal data from public dental records. Caries Res 36(5):308-314.”
Jay Sanders
Co-founder, Clean Water California
Education and Outreach Director, Fluoride Action Network
“I have been researching fluoride’s toxicity for 15 years. The best available evidence shows fluoridation to be harmful, unethical, and unnecessary.”
Holly Satvika, FNP-BC, BA, BSN, MSN
Asheville, NC
Family Nurse Practitioner
“I have been following the science of fluoride’s toxicity and the debate on fluoridation for at least 10 years.”
Ted Schettler, MD, MPH
Bolinas, CA
Science Director, Science and Environmental Health Network
Co-author. Protecting Public Health and the Environment: Implementing the Precautionary Principle by Carolyn Raffensperger et al. (Island Press, 1999)
Joan L. Sefcik, DDS, F-IABDM
Austin, Texas
Biological Dentist
“I have been educating my patients about the dangers of fluoride for 23 years.”
Nakao Shimizu, DDS
Shizuoka prefecture, Japan
Amanda Sleeper, PhD (Pharmacology/Neurobiology)
Landenberg, PA
Wellness Coach specializing in brain health
“I have a personal diagnosis of fluoride hypersensitivity. My health improved significantly after avoiding fluoride consumption, especially fluoridated tap water. I am deeply concerned about the threat fluoride poses to both the fetal and infant brain. I explain my symptoms in this short video, http://fluoridealert.org/fan-tv/dr-amanda-sleeper-on-fluoride-sensitivity/ “
Karen Spencer, MA
Gloucester, MA
Victim, Activist, Analyst and Co-author of: “Blood is Thicker Than Water: Flaws in a National Toxicology Program Study” by KF Spencer, H Limeback in Medical Hypotheses. Volume 121, December 2018.
“My decades of illness began during my second pregnancy in 1981. My doctor told me that some pregnancies are just more difficult than others. I almost lost my child, more than once. It took me the better part of two years to figure out that the stomach troubles, rashes, and other symptoms that plagued me and my children were connected to city water. It took me another 32 years to figure out that my arthritis, kidney pain, liver problems, and daily dizzy spells were because my high-quality water filter wasn’t sufficient to remove enough fluoride. The PHS knew in 1956 that the ‘allergic’ population were highly vulnerable to these effects (Feldman 1956; Feldman & Kosel 1961) but endorsed fluoridation policy anyway. My city began fluoridation on July 1, 1981 during my pregnancy. My son who has an IQ of 130 dropped out of high school because of frustration over his learning disabilities, disabilities consistent with those reported in NIH sponsored studies on the neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal exposure to fluoride. My doctor back then refused to examine the hives my children and I had, and yelled me out of his office when I asked him if something in the water could have been making us ill, shouting, “Who put you up to this? I’m sick and tired of people telling me there is something wrong with the water!” He was the chair of the Board of Health who ordered the fluoride into the water. He knew, I didn’t – not then, but he knew. It’s been 40 years this summer since my city began poisoning my family. It’s been 65 years since HHS knowingly began poisoning families like mine. Now you know. Stop it!”
*Bruce Spittle MB ChB (with distinction), DPM (Otago)
Dunedin, NZ
Note: Bruce Spittle signed the May 3 letter and added this narrative on May 11
“I became a Member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1985 and have taken an interest in the toxicity of fluoride since 1988 after reading Fluoride: the freedom fight by Dr. Hans Moolenburgh (Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing; 1987). In about 1991 at a conference of the New Zealand Branch of the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, I presented a paper on one of my patients who suffered a psychotic illness after exposure, in a commercial glass house, to a fluoride-containing glass cleaning spray. I subsequently wrote a review of the psychopharmacology of fluoride which was published in International Clinical Psychopharmacology in 1994 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8056997/.
“For some time, I have supported the publication of peer-reviewed scientific papers on fluoride by becoming, in 1994, a co-editor of Fluoride: Quarterly Journal of the International Society for Fluoride Research, and, in 2013, after the death of Professor Albert Burgstahler, the editor-in-chief. In 2008, I authored a book describing fluoride toxicity (Fluoride fatigue. Fluoride poisoning: Is fluoride in your drinking water—and from other sources—making you sick? Dunedin, New Zealand: Paua Press; 2008. Available from: untitled (fluorideresearch.org)). The International Society for Fluoride Research is a non-political organization which does not take a position on water fluoridation and publishes research on all aspects of fluoride based on scientific merit and my support for this letter reflects my personal view that the fluoridation of community water supplies, to achieve drinking water fluoride levels of approximately 0.7 mg/L, is detrimental to the developing brain. The results from two well-designed prospective studies, from Mexico (Early Life Exposure in Mexico to Environmental Chemicals, ELEMENT, by Bashash et al.) and Canada (Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals, MIREC, by Green et al.), show that the benchmark concentration level (BMCL) for a benchmark response (BMR) of 1 IQ point for the maternal urinary fluoride level is about 0.2 mg/L. Preventing fluoride-induced developmental neurotoxicity in children by lowering the dietary fluoride intake to the estimated safe level for pregnant women and children may not be easily achievable but a start could be made by relatively simple measures such as avoiding fluoridated water (See: untitled (fluorideresearch.online).”
Allan N. Spreen, MD (BE, MBA)
Jacksonville, FL
Retired GP
“So many of my past patients have had dental fluorosis that I’ve lost count. Anyone who says that fluoride (and especially hydrofluorosilicic acid) isn’t toxic, even in low doses, is either ignorant, or lying.”
Diane Sprules, BSc (Hons Biology and Chemistry), MSc
Oakville, Ontario
“I have followed this debate for over 60 years. My father was a
chemist who was opposed to adding fluoride from the very beginning.”
Gary Sprules, BSc (Hons), MA, PhD
Oakville, Ontario
Professor Emeritus Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga
I have attended Fluoride Conferences, hosted one of them at my campus, and co-authored a paper critiquing one of Leslie McLaren’s studies.”
Claire Stagg, DDS, MS, FAACP
Indian Harbour Beach, FL
Author of Captain IFBI and Founder of Health Connections Dentistry™
*Susan Stantejsky, MS, BS, RDH
Denver, CO
Retired Biostatistician with over 20 years experience designing and analyzing studies, including randomized clinical trials and advising health policy. Former Registered Dental Hygienist
*Brenda Staudenmaier
Green Bay, WI
Wastewater Operator, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wisconsin
Gerald Steel, PE, RCE, BS and MS in engineering
Olympia, WA
“I am a retired attorney who has challenged fluoridation in multiple legal actions over 20 years. I am also past president of three water and sewer districts.”
Lindsey Stewart, DO, Osteopathy (UK)
Lossiemouth, Scotland
Retired
“I have followed the fluoridation debate for over 20 years. Fortunately, I live in Scotland which is not fluoridated.”
Ikunori Sugita, DDS
Aichi prefecture, Japan.
Kelly Sutton, MD
North Providence, RI
Raphael Medicine and Therapies PC
“I have followed the fluoride issue for at least ten years. I have a great concern about the damage it may be doing, especially to the young. We should not be limiting our children’s ability to achieve their full human potential.”
Nancy T. Sutera, DDS
Katonah, NY
“I have followed the research and feel compelled to respect the scientific evidence that water fluoridation is harmful to our children and entire population. Thank you for reviewing the facts.”
Maggie Tallerman, PhD
Newcastle, UK
Emerita Professor of Linguistics.
“I have been campaigning against fluoridation since the 1980s, when the measure was first proposed in my home town of Hull, Yorkshire. I oppose fluoridation on the grounds that it is linked to a growing number of serious health conditions; that it is compulsory medication without consent; that it pollutes water systems and damages natural ecosystems; and that it is neither necessary nor cost-effective in preventing dental caries.”
Colin Varian, B. Eng (Civil)
Brisbane, Australia
Member of Fluoride Free Australia Fluoride Free Australia
“After researching water fluoridation for many years, I have concluded that water fluoridation can be harmful to the human body, public water infrastructure and to domestic plumbing.” systems.
Joy Warren, BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science
Coventry, UK
“I worked at the University of Warwick (UK) as Environmental Program(me)s Coordinator between 2006-2009. This was immediately before I took retirement. I have actively researched Water Fluoridation since 2003. I have helped communities in Bedford, Cumbria, Hull and Wakefield grapple with this issue. I am currently involved in coordinating a national group in the UK opposed to fluoridation.”
Robin Warwick, BSc, AuD (Doctor of Audiology)
NY, NY
Full time Clinical Audiologist at a NYC hospital.
“I supported fluoridation practices for many years believing the dental community’s claim that fluoride was a natural “nutrient,” that the appropriate studies had been completed and that there were no known adverse side-effects. Having completed an undergraduate degree in toxicology and a clinical doctoral degree I had the opportunity to undertake my own review of the scientific literature on fluoride. To do this I had to get passed my knee jerk resistance to question what I have since found out to be just dogma. The current and even passed scientific research shows without question that fluoride is toxic to brain cells and to the endocrine system. To continue supporting this outdated practice of water fluoridation is simply unjustifiable in light of our current science-based understanding of the toxic effects of fluoride ingestion.”
*Declan Waugh BSc, CEnv, MCIWEM, MIEMA
West Cork, Ireland
Environmental consultant with several publications on fluoride
Carol Wells
Hamilton, Ontario
Registered dental hygienist
“I have been a Dental Hygienist for 47 years. I was taught at school that water fluoridation is very beneficial for the public. I have since learned that fluoride is actually “hexafluorosilicic acid,” which is a toxic waste bi-product of the phosphate fertilizer industry. We were not taught the science about artificial water fluoridation. We were not taught that fluoride is a neurotoxin and no amount is safe. I do NOT want my children/grandchildren to be continually exposed to water fluoridation knowing that it can and will affect their minds and bodies.”
David R Wurzel, PE, MAc, Lac, MS Biomedical Engineering,
Ellicott City, MD
Professional Engineer and Acupuncturist
“I learned about the hazards of fluoride while in acupuncture school, in approximately 1998. I have followed the science closely and recommend to all my patients to get a water distiller and use fluoride-free toothpaste.”
Sandra Young, MD
London, AR
Retired Family Practice physician
“I have been researching fluoride since 2010. I wrote a letter in the past to the NIH which was forwarded to the CDC. My research has revealed that fluoride is a neurotoxic substance and is responsible for many of our chronic diseases. Water fluoridation must be stopped.”
Dr. John T Zimmerman, PhD (Neuroscience)
Retired.
“I have followed this issue since 2005.”
112 signers as of May 13, 2021
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