It has been quite some time since the Fluoride Free Windsor-Essex gang updated this website. However, current fluoridation related news and happenings have consistently been posted to our Facebook page.
A lot has been happening and here is a recap of the latest:
Calgary
Calgary council has recently voted to put the question: Are you in favour of reintroducing fluoridaiton of the municipal water supply? to a public vote at the upcoming municipal election to be held October 18, 2021.
Calgary has a history of putting the fluoridation question to the public. Their first vote was in 1957 with the majority rejecting fluoridation. Four years later, in 1961, they voted and the public again rejected fluoridation. In these two early votes the rules required two-thirds support in order for it to pass but in 1966 the rules changed to needing a simple majority. Opposition only grew and fluoridation was again rejected by the public. The fluoride-lobby didn’t give up. Another vote in 1971 saw the majority again vote NO to fluoridation. In 1989, with an aggressive pro-fluoride campaign, the public narrowly voted in favour of fluoridation and Calgary got its first taste of fluoridation chemicals in 1991. In 1998 a small majority of the public voted again to continue fluoridation. In 2011, Calgary council voted to stop fluoridation and now in 2021 the issue will be back in the hands of the public to decide.
Windsor
Windsor’s present council (elected 2018) voted to reinstate fluoridation at its very first meeting without any public input; reversing the previous council’s 2013 decision to end fluoridation. The decision to end fluoridation in 2013 was the result of following the recommendation from the Windsor Utilities Commission and came after extensive public consultation by WUC that included experts from both sides of the debate. The previous council decided to err on the side of caution, recognizing that consuming fluoride is a personal choice and using the water supply to medicate is a morale issue.
Windsor Utilities Commission, having received the newly elected city council’s instruction to reintroduce fluoridation chemicals to the drinking water supply, has undertaken to conduct testing “in order to ensure that the introduction of fluoride would not impact WUC’s ability to meet or exceed provincial regulations and federal drinking water guidelines for lead content.” WUC already adds phosphoric acid to control corrosion.
Thunder Bay conducted a study in 2009 on three different fluoridation chemicals. All three caused lead to leach with the conclusion that if Thunder Bay was to begin a fluoridation scheme additional corrosion mitigation chemicals would be needed. Thunder Bay council went on to reject fluoridation. We don’t have to look far to see the effects of ignoring lead in the drinking water supply. The health and economic harm from the Flint MI lead- in-water crisis is still felt today with a lawsuit settlement amounting to well over $600 million.
This can be problematic for would-be fluoridation schemes because Health Canada set new guidelines in 2019 for lead in drinking water, reducing the previous allowable limit by half to 0.005 mg/L. According to Health Canada, “Lead is usually found in drinking water after leaching from distribution and plumbing system parts.” Lead has been widely understood to be harmful and there is no safe consumption limit for lead.
Windsor awaits the outcome of WUC’s testing.
Fluoride Science – the latest
The newest systematic review of the science of fluoride exposure and neurodevelopmental effects has been conducted by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) in 2019. The NTP, a branch of the National Institute of Health (NIH), is the US government’s premier agency for evaluating the neuro-toxicity of chemicals. NTP has a rigorous process of finding and rating studies. They then come to a conclusion as to how strong the evidence is that fluoride causes developmental neuro-toxicity in children. NTP concluded fluoride is a ‘presumed hazard’ which is the highest level of confidence available in the study of fluoride toxicity.
However, the agency (that answers to the fluoridation promoting Department of Health and Human Services) went on to claim that the evidence below 1.5ppm lacks consistency. It is a curious caveat to their overall conclusion that fluoride is indeed a neuro-toxin. Their analysis shows consistency with the majority of studies they reviewed dealing with levels at 1.5ppm or lower. The Bashash (2017) study was rated by NTP as a high quality study; this study found a loss of more than three IQ points at 0.5ppm. A breakdown of the NTP analysis is demonstrated in this video by the Fluoride Action Network.
If only fluoridation efficacy claims were held to such high standards!
Fluoride Lawsuit
The fluoride lawsuit is an important part of the current fluoridation saga and its the first of its kind in North America. The Fluoride Action Network and others have launched a suit against the EPA for “its ongoing failure to protect the public from the neurologic risks posed by the fluoridation chemicals added to public drinking water.” An excellent backgrounder for the trial: Everything You Wanted to Know About the Fluoride Lawsuit.
Expert witnesses for the plaintiffs include renowned scientists, leaders in their fields:
Fluoride Free Windsor-Essex 