2. Significant new scientific evidence shows that the health risks of fluoridation are substantial
As is true for many chemicals once declared “safe,” there is a fast-growing body of scientific literature supporting that there are real risks related to consuming fluoridation chemicals in drinking water.
Last year, for example, the federal government reduced the maximum allowable fluoride concentrations in drinking water by 40%, its first change in 50 years.[i]
The reduction came after an extensive study, Fluoride in Drinking Water, published by an expert panel of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (NRC Study) and data showing 41% of U.S. children were receiving too much fluoride and had visible signs of excessive fluoride intake – ie. “fluorosis.” [ii], [iii]
The NRC Study also reviewed a substantial body of scientific evidence raising significant questions about the link between fluoride exposure and potential health effects ranging from neurologic impacts and thyroid damage to risks that fluoride exposure increases the risk of bone cancer as discussed further below.[iv]
View key excerpts from the National Academy of Sciences panel report.
In 2014, top neurological researchers from Harvard named fluoride as one of the top developmental neurotoxins impacting children’s brain development in prestigious medical journal The Lancet.[v]
The report followed another large-scale meta-study showing that elevated fluoride levels in drinking water were correlated with decreased childhood IQ.[vi]
In 2006, another Harvard researcher published a study in Harvard’s Cancer Causes Journal, finding that boys who drank fluoridated water had more than a 500% increased risk of bone cancer.
These and other studies have led a significant number of water quality experts, such as U.S. EPA Scientists’ Union[vii] and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Employee Union[viii], to formally oppose the practice of water fluoridation.
We are currently preparing a comprehensive review of the main scientific studies regarding the risks of water fluoridation, but in the meantime we recommend visiting FluorideAlert.org.
[i] Douglas Main, Government Recommends Lower Level of Fluoride in Water, Newsweek, April, 27, 2015, Online at: http://www.newsweek.com/us-government-recommends-lower-level-fluoride-water-325760; See also U.S. Public Health Service Recommendation for Fluoride Concentration in Drinking Water for the Prevention of Dental Caries, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Federal Panel on Community Water Fluoridation, Public Health Reports, Vol. 130, July–August 2015.
[ii] Committee on Fluoride in Drinking Water, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies (2006). Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards. The National Academies Press, Wash. D.C. Available on-line: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11571/fluoride-in-drinking-water-a-scientific-review-of-epas-standards
[iii] Beltrán-Aguilar ED, Barker L, Dye BA. Prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis in the United States, 1999–2004. NCHS Data Brief No. 53. Hyattsville (MD): National Center for Health Statistics (US); 2010
[iv] See footnote 2.
[v] Grandjean P, Landrigan PJ. 2014. Neurobehavioural Effects of Developmental Toxicity. Lancet Neurol. 13(3):330-8 On-line: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422%2813%2970278-3/abstract
[vi] Choi L., Sun G, Zhang Y, and Grandjean P. 2012. Developmental Fluoride Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis; Environmental Health Perspectives Vol. 120(10).
[vii] http://www.fluoridation.com/epa2.htm