Dr. Stephen C. L'Hommedieu
Fluoridation battle engulfs Wichita, Kansas, Part 2
Is naturally occurring fluoride and water fluoridation the same?
By Dr. Stephen C. L'Hommedieu
Advocates for water fluoridation claim: "Fluoride occurs naturally in water, though rarely at optimal levels to protect teeth. That's our goal: getting just enough to help all of us keep our teeth longer... Fluoride is a safe and natural way to prevent tooth decay." — fluoridefreekansas.COM spoof site.
Think About This: Fluoride does occur naturally in the water in simple ionic form as calcium fluoride. Due to its low solubility, calcium fluoride is normally present at very low concentrations. It's considered relatively harmless in the low concentrations present in Wichita's water at 0.3 parts per million (ppm). Even naturally occurring calcium fluoride, however, is capable of exhibiting toxic effects of fluorosis in human populations with fluoride concentrations of 1 ppm and even less.
Sodium fluoride is another simple ionic form, although it's far more water soluble and, therefore, far more toxic than calcium fluoride. Naturally occurring sodium fluoride is fairly rare in nature. All sodium fluoride used for water fluoridation purposes is an industrial grade hazardous waste. However, relatively few cities still use this compound for water fluoridation purposes today.
Sodium fluoride is also manufactured in tablet form under strict Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The resulting compound is 99.97% pure sodium fluoride. This is the pharmaceutical grade version of the hazardous waste that fluoride advocates give their children. The FDA classifies sodium fluoride for ingestion as an unapproved new drug. There are no double blind studies that have demonstrated either the safety or effectiveness of ingesting sodium fluoride to prevent tooth decay.
In sharp contrast to these simple ionic forms, the synthetic fluoride chemicals used for water fluoridation are sodium hexafluorosilicate and hydrofluorosilicic acid, collectively called hexafluorosilicates or, the more general term, fluorosilicates (and sometimes silicofluorides). Although fluoridation advocates will tell you it's the "safe and natural way to prevent tooth decay," there's nothing safe and natural about them. These hexafluorosilicates used in water fluoridation are highly toxic and are listed as hazardous wastes by many environmental protection administrations. Hexafluorosilicates are not identical to or chemically interchangeable with the form of fluoride naturally occurring in our water. In fact, there's no known chemical compound present in nature similar in structure to hexafluorosilicates.
The main source of this "fluoride" is derived as an industrial waste by-product through the phosphate fertilizer industry called fluorosilicic acid. This highly corrosive industrial waste is produced by treating phosphate rock with sulfuric acid. Sodium hexafluorosilicate is produced by treating fluorosilicic acid with a highly caustic metallic base sodium hydroxide (lye), sodium carbonate or sodium chloride. Both hydrofluorosilicic acid (25% solution) and sodium hexafluorosilicate are the major chemicals utilized for water fluoridation programs.
There are other chemical by-products present in these industrial grade fluorosilicates. The list includes unevaluated levels of chlorides, amines (derivatives of ammonia), diesel fuel, kerosene, sulfides (aggressive corrosives), reagent compounds such as lye (used for inducing chemical reactions), phosphorus, oil-based defoamers with possible dioxin containing contaminants, polymers, petroleum products, naphthalene, and Synspar, the multi-function synthetic coolant used in phosphate rock processing operations. [1]
Fluorosilicic acid is evaluated to contain a minimum of 18.22% fluorine and 0.02% heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury, along with trace amounts of uranium 238 and the highly radioactive radium, which are all known carcinogens (cancer causing). [2]
In addition, there are two uranium decay by-products, radon-222 and polonium-210, which are even more carcinogenic. Polonium-210 emits 5000 times more alpha radiation than radium. As little as 6.8 trillionths of a gram can be carcinogenic when consumed internally. Radionuclides can lay dormant in your body to eventually decay into one of these highly carcinogenic forms. [3]
Fluorosilicate compounds used for water fluoridation are misleadingly promoted as simply providing more "fluoride" to what is already naturally present in the water. Interestingly, the use of fluorosilicate compounds has still not been acknowledged by our city officials for the proposed fluoridation program. The public doesn't understand that the toxicity of fluoride will vary significantly with different compounds. The simple calcium fluoride present naturally in our water is far removed from the chemical properties of hexafluorosilicate compounds.
Since the vast majority of fluoride research pertains to sodium fluoride within controlled laboratory environments using pure distilled water, concerns regarding the toxicity of fluorosilicate compounds should be an important issue. But according to environmental expert Declan Waugh, BSc, C.Env, MCIWEM, MIEMA, MCIWM, "No toxicological studies have been done to determine the toxicity of fluorosilicates on human health." [4]
The concern of many scientists is the potential for harm associated with the special chemical properties of fluorosilicates: Dissociation, bioavailability and possible toxicities of fluorosilicates vary with the pH of its environment. All test results on fluorosilicates have been at city water pH levels. No consideration has been given to the extremes in pH environments the water will be exposed to through cooking processes and ingestion. Consider that 50% of the fluoride in your stomach at pH 3 (the pH range of stomach acid is 2 to 3) is in the form hydrofluoric acid. Hydrofluoric acid is highly corrosive and can penetrate tissues more rapidly than other mineral acids. [5]
Hexafluorosilicate is stabilized at a pH of 2.6. It's now believed that incomplete dissociated fluorosilicate residues can reassociate in the stomach and during food preparation to produce exposures to a variety of toxic forms including silicon tetrafluoride — a known hazardous substance. [6]
Differentiating fluorosilicate compounds from sodium fluoride, and certainly from calcium fluoride, is absorption and processing within the body. This was known even before the U.S. Public Health Service endorsed sodium hexafluorosilicate in 1950 as a cheaper alternative to sodium fluoride with a biological equivalence in absorption. However, in strong contrast to this endorsement were the results of earlier animal studies. When equivalent amounts of these fluorides were ingested, more of the fluoride from sodium fluoride was eliminated through the feces, whereas there was a three-fold increase of the amount of fluoride from hexafluorosilicate eliminated through the kidneys. The higher blood levels of fluoride suggest hexafluorosilicate is processed differently by the body and/or absorption is greater. [7]
Help Keep Water Fluoridation Out of Wichita, Kansas
Protecting our water quality, public health, environment and the personal freedom of all citizens should be the priority of our city leaders. Although some believe water fluoridation is in the best interests of our children, informed citizens of Wichita, KS need your support to prevent this polluting of our city water that will endanger public health and the environment.
The Kansas Health Foundation and other private and corporate special-interests have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars for the promotional advertising, media coverage, advertising agency, law firm and hired help to promote water fluoridation in Wichita. If Wichitans knew the truth about water fluoridation they would be outraged by this science that only money can buy.
The Fluoride Free Kansas (FFK) website is developed and operated by co-founder Travis Crank. You can visit FluorideFreeKansas.org for the latest fluoride information and details about future meetings and support activities. [8]
Donations are needed to support the costs of important electronic efforts to reach the masses, website upgrades and other campaign expenses. If you believe it's important to prevent the polluting of our drinking water with a hazardous industrial waste, please show your support by donating to Fluoride Free Kansas. [9] Achieving success in Wichita will send a clear message across Kansas and to other cities in the country: A corporate-driven science that promotes the dumping of hazardous waste into our drinking water is not welcome!
Don Landis (not directly affiliated with FFK) is the spokesperson and action coordinator between FFK and a number of private and group efforts being organized to reach the public with the facts being withheld by the dental and medical communities and media. If you have a talent, Don can use your help! Donations of your time and talent to support this community effort would be greatly appreciated.
You may contact Don directly by e-mail at dlandis1@cox.net or call 316.990.1471. It's important to educate the Wichita community since the surrounding communities that will be affected won't be able to vote on this referendum on November 6th.
If you would like a speaker to attend a group meeting or an event in this area, please contact Don Landis or Fluoride Free Kansas to inquire about possible arrangements.
For those who live in Kansas, take a quick moment to sign the petition. [10] When you do, please include ALL information so signatures are verifiable, otherwise they will not be counted.
Spread the word: Say no to fluoridation on November 6th!
NOTES:
© Dr. Stephen C. L'Hommedieu
September 7, 2012
Advocates for water fluoridation claim: "Fluoride occurs naturally in water, though rarely at optimal levels to protect teeth. That's our goal: getting just enough to help all of us keep our teeth longer... Fluoride is a safe and natural way to prevent tooth decay." — fluoridefreekansas.COM spoof site.
Think About This: Fluoride does occur naturally in the water in simple ionic form as calcium fluoride. Due to its low solubility, calcium fluoride is normally present at very low concentrations. It's considered relatively harmless in the low concentrations present in Wichita's water at 0.3 parts per million (ppm). Even naturally occurring calcium fluoride, however, is capable of exhibiting toxic effects of fluorosis in human populations with fluoride concentrations of 1 ppm and even less.
Sodium fluoride is another simple ionic form, although it's far more water soluble and, therefore, far more toxic than calcium fluoride. Naturally occurring sodium fluoride is fairly rare in nature. All sodium fluoride used for water fluoridation purposes is an industrial grade hazardous waste. However, relatively few cities still use this compound for water fluoridation purposes today.
Sodium fluoride is also manufactured in tablet form under strict Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The resulting compound is 99.97% pure sodium fluoride. This is the pharmaceutical grade version of the hazardous waste that fluoride advocates give their children. The FDA classifies sodium fluoride for ingestion as an unapproved new drug. There are no double blind studies that have demonstrated either the safety or effectiveness of ingesting sodium fluoride to prevent tooth decay.
In sharp contrast to these simple ionic forms, the synthetic fluoride chemicals used for water fluoridation are sodium hexafluorosilicate and hydrofluorosilicic acid, collectively called hexafluorosilicates or, the more general term, fluorosilicates (and sometimes silicofluorides). Although fluoridation advocates will tell you it's the "safe and natural way to prevent tooth decay," there's nothing safe and natural about them. These hexafluorosilicates used in water fluoridation are highly toxic and are listed as hazardous wastes by many environmental protection administrations. Hexafluorosilicates are not identical to or chemically interchangeable with the form of fluoride naturally occurring in our water. In fact, there's no known chemical compound present in nature similar in structure to hexafluorosilicates.
The main source of this "fluoride" is derived as an industrial waste by-product through the phosphate fertilizer industry called fluorosilicic acid. This highly corrosive industrial waste is produced by treating phosphate rock with sulfuric acid. Sodium hexafluorosilicate is produced by treating fluorosilicic acid with a highly caustic metallic base sodium hydroxide (lye), sodium carbonate or sodium chloride. Both hydrofluorosilicic acid (25% solution) and sodium hexafluorosilicate are the major chemicals utilized for water fluoridation programs.
There are other chemical by-products present in these industrial grade fluorosilicates. The list includes unevaluated levels of chlorides, amines (derivatives of ammonia), diesel fuel, kerosene, sulfides (aggressive corrosives), reagent compounds such as lye (used for inducing chemical reactions), phosphorus, oil-based defoamers with possible dioxin containing contaminants, polymers, petroleum products, naphthalene, and Synspar, the multi-function synthetic coolant used in phosphate rock processing operations. [1]
Fluorosilicic acid is evaluated to contain a minimum of 18.22% fluorine and 0.02% heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury, along with trace amounts of uranium 238 and the highly radioactive radium, which are all known carcinogens (cancer causing). [2]
In addition, there are two uranium decay by-products, radon-222 and polonium-210, which are even more carcinogenic. Polonium-210 emits 5000 times more alpha radiation than radium. As little as 6.8 trillionths of a gram can be carcinogenic when consumed internally. Radionuclides can lay dormant in your body to eventually decay into one of these highly carcinogenic forms. [3]
Fluorosilicate compounds used for water fluoridation are misleadingly promoted as simply providing more "fluoride" to what is already naturally present in the water. Interestingly, the use of fluorosilicate compounds has still not been acknowledged by our city officials for the proposed fluoridation program. The public doesn't understand that the toxicity of fluoride will vary significantly with different compounds. The simple calcium fluoride present naturally in our water is far removed from the chemical properties of hexafluorosilicate compounds.
Since the vast majority of fluoride research pertains to sodium fluoride within controlled laboratory environments using pure distilled water, concerns regarding the toxicity of fluorosilicate compounds should be an important issue. But according to environmental expert Declan Waugh, BSc, C.Env, MCIWEM, MIEMA, MCIWM, "No toxicological studies have been done to determine the toxicity of fluorosilicates on human health." [4]
The concern of many scientists is the potential for harm associated with the special chemical properties of fluorosilicates: Dissociation, bioavailability and possible toxicities of fluorosilicates vary with the pH of its environment. All test results on fluorosilicates have been at city water pH levels. No consideration has been given to the extremes in pH environments the water will be exposed to through cooking processes and ingestion. Consider that 50% of the fluoride in your stomach at pH 3 (the pH range of stomach acid is 2 to 3) is in the form hydrofluoric acid. Hydrofluoric acid is highly corrosive and can penetrate tissues more rapidly than other mineral acids. [5]
Hexafluorosilicate is stabilized at a pH of 2.6. It's now believed that incomplete dissociated fluorosilicate residues can reassociate in the stomach and during food preparation to produce exposures to a variety of toxic forms including silicon tetrafluoride — a known hazardous substance. [6]
Differentiating fluorosilicate compounds from sodium fluoride, and certainly from calcium fluoride, is absorption and processing within the body. This was known even before the U.S. Public Health Service endorsed sodium hexafluorosilicate in 1950 as a cheaper alternative to sodium fluoride with a biological equivalence in absorption. However, in strong contrast to this endorsement were the results of earlier animal studies. When equivalent amounts of these fluorides were ingested, more of the fluoride from sodium fluoride was eliminated through the feces, whereas there was a three-fold increase of the amount of fluoride from hexafluorosilicate eliminated through the kidneys. The higher blood levels of fluoride suggest hexafluorosilicate is processed differently by the body and/or absorption is greater. [7]
Help Keep Water Fluoridation Out of Wichita, Kansas
Protecting our water quality, public health, environment and the personal freedom of all citizens should be the priority of our city leaders. Although some believe water fluoridation is in the best interests of our children, informed citizens of Wichita, KS need your support to prevent this polluting of our city water that will endanger public health and the environment.
The Kansas Health Foundation and other private and corporate special-interests have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars for the promotional advertising, media coverage, advertising agency, law firm and hired help to promote water fluoridation in Wichita. If Wichitans knew the truth about water fluoridation they would be outraged by this science that only money can buy.
The Fluoride Free Kansas (FFK) website is developed and operated by co-founder Travis Crank. You can visit FluorideFreeKansas.org for the latest fluoride information and details about future meetings and support activities. [8]
Donations are needed to support the costs of important electronic efforts to reach the masses, website upgrades and other campaign expenses. If you believe it's important to prevent the polluting of our drinking water with a hazardous industrial waste, please show your support by donating to Fluoride Free Kansas. [9] Achieving success in Wichita will send a clear message across Kansas and to other cities in the country: A corporate-driven science that promotes the dumping of hazardous waste into our drinking water is not welcome!
Don Landis (not directly affiliated with FFK) is the spokesperson and action coordinator between FFK and a number of private and group efforts being organized to reach the public with the facts being withheld by the dental and medical communities and media. If you have a talent, Don can use your help! Donations of your time and talent to support this community effort would be greatly appreciated.
You may contact Don directly by e-mail at dlandis1@cox.net or call 316.990.1471. It's important to educate the Wichita community since the surrounding communities that will be affected won't be able to vote on this referendum on November 6th.
If you would like a speaker to attend a group meeting or an event in this area, please contact Don Landis or Fluoride Free Kansas to inquire about possible arrangements.
For those who live in Kansas, take a quick moment to sign the petition. [10] When you do, please include ALL information so signatures are verifiable, otherwise they will not be counted.
Spread the word: Say no to fluoridation on November 6th!
NOTES:
[1] Over-Exposed to Fluoride. Presented by Emily Kalweit, Director of Washington Action For Safe Water. http://www.greenfrogcreative.com/presentation.pdf
[2] Sodium Hexafluorosilicate and Fluorosilicic Acid: A Review of Toxicological Literature (Oct. 2001).
[3] Fluoride and the Phosphate Connection, by George Glasser; The Pure Water Gazette.
[4] Declan Waugh, B.Sc. C.Env. MCIWEM. MIEMA. MCIWM. Misrepresentation of Scientific Facts and Current Scientific Knowledge on Silicofluorides and Fluoride by the Irish Expert Body on Fluoride and Health (June 2012).
[5] Ciavatta L, et al. Fluorosilicate Equilibria in Acid Solution: Polyhedron Vol 7 (18);1773-79; 1988
[6] Ricks GM et al. The Possible Formation of Hydrogen Fluoride from the Reaction of Silicon Tetrafluoride with Humid Air: Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. (54); 272-276; 1993.
[7] Kick CH et al. Fluorine in Animal Nutrition: Bulletin 558, Ohio State Agricultural Experiment Station, Wooster OH (Nov. 1935).
[10] Fluoride Free Kansas Petition: http://fluoridefreekansas.org/activities/petition-against-fluoride/
© Dr. Stephen C. L'Hommedieu
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