The following is an open letter to Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California announced that they are going to fluoridate our drinking water starting Oct. 7.
To date, no manufacturer of the actual hydrofluosilicic acid to be used has stated that their specific product is effective at reducing tooth decay when swallowed, or safe for all infants, children and the elderly.
All water suppliers in the chain of delivery have a duty to perform due diligence and to act to correct all misrepresentations, omissions and unlawful practices.
Regardless of your support of the public policy of fluoridation, it is your duty as L.A. County Board Member on the Board of Directors of District 29 to require compliance with all laws to assure safety of the substance to be added to our water supply.
Thus we are demanding that you deliver, for the public to view, the actual dated product-review documents submitted by the manufacturer of the hydrofluosilicic acid to earn certification as California law requires.
Fluoridation is intended to medicate humans, not to treat water for bacteria as chlorination does. The process of adding hydrofluosilicic acid carries contaminants such as arsenic, lead, and other carcinogenic and mutagenic substances to our water supply. We don’t think any substance should be added to our drinking water for the purpose of treating us without our permission unless the substance has been approved by competent authority for claims of safety and effectiveness.
With many substantive studies supporting the ineffectiveness and dangers of fluoridation, it places even more stress on our local water districts, as they must assume liability because MWD has indemnified Public Health and fluoride promoters against all health claims.
It may interest you to know that the American Dental Association has denied in court that they are accountable for representations of safety, and omissions of material fact, for information they provide to the public. Yet, they wish us to heed their endorsement. In the Congressional investigation on fluoride from 1998 to 2000, the U.S. EPA reported that ten years earlier it had given up all oversight responsibility for water additives in favor of quote, “industry self-regulation.”
The public deserves more than rhetoric. Where is the study on long-term effects of the actual hydrofluosilicic acid substance added to our water?
Given the controversy, this requested documentation should be readily available. Until proof can be provided, we are demanding a halt to the addition of hydrofluosilicic acid to our water supply.
Roger Pugliese,
Chair Topanga Association for a Scenic Community
Ben Allanoff,
Chair Topanga Creek Watershed Committee
Rabyn Blake,
Founder Santa Monica Mountains Coalition for Alternatives to Toxics SCAT
Valerie Sklarevsky,
Women of The World
Andrew Beath,
Executive Dir.
Earthways Foundation
Craig Houx
Citizens For Safe
Drinking Water
Mary Wright,
Wright Way Organic Resource Center
Julie Levine
Topanga Peace Alliance