Should Natick, Mass. Artificially Fluoridate their Water Supply? (1997)

Should Natick, Mass. Artificially Fluoridate their Water Supply?

This was a question the City of Natick Massachusetts recently asked in 1997. With so much apparently conflicting data, often from the same medical organizations, they commissioned a respected team of top scientists to analyze the data and make a recommendation. The following are their conclusions and specific recommendations.

Findings, Conclusion, and Recommendations
of the
Natick Fluoridation Study Committee

27 September, 1997

A Report to the Town and the Board of Selectmen
Prepared by the Natick Fluoridation Study Committee
13 E. Central Street
Natick, Massachusetts

by
Dr. B. J. Gallo, Research Microbiologist, U.S. Army Research
J. Kupperschmidt, Environmental Chemist
Dr. Norman R. Mancuso, former Apollo Program Project Scientist
A. Murray, former U.S. Army Natick Research Labs
Dr. Strauss, Molecular Biologist

Introduction
This statement of Findings, Conclusion and Recommendation specifically addresses the following question of the Board of Selectmen:

On the basis of the documentation provided to you by the proponents and opponents, do you believe that the potential side effects associated with fluoridating Natick's public water supply outweigh the potential benefits?

Findings
The Natick Fluoridation Study Committee conducted a thorough review of the scientific literature and made the following findings regarding the benefits and risks of water fluoridation.

Recent studies of the incidence of cavities in children show little to no difference between fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities.
Ten to thirty percent (10-30%) of Natick's children will have very mild to mild dental fluorosis if Natick fluoridates its water (up from probably 6% now). Approximately 1% of Natick's children will have moderate or severe dental fluorosis.
Dental fluorosis can cause great concern for the affected family and may result in additional dental bills. It should not be dismissed as a "cosmetic" effect.
Fluoride adversely effects the central nervous system, causing behavioral changes and cognitive deficits. These effects are observed at fluoride doses that some people in the US actually receive.
There is good evidence that fluoride is a developmental neurotoxicant, meaning that fluoride effects the nervous system of the developing fetus at doses that are not toxic to the mother. The evelopmental neurotoxicity would be manifest as lower IQ and behavioral changes.
Water fluoridation shows a positive correlation with increased hip fracture rates in persons 65 years of age and older, based on two recent epidemiology studies.
Some adults are hypersensitive to even small quantities of fluoride, including that contained in fluoridated water. At least one such person is a Natick resident.
The impact of fluoride on human reproduction at the levels received from environmental exposures is a serious concern. A recent epidemiology study shows a correlation between decreasing annual fertility rate in humans and increasing levels of fluoride in drinking water.
Animal bioassays suggest that fluoride is a carcinogen, especially for tissues such as bone (osteosarcoma) and liver. The potential for carcinogenicity is supported by fluoride's genotoxicity and pharmacokinetic properties. Human epidemiology studies to date are inconclusive, but no appropriate major study has been conducted.
Fluoride inhibits or otherwise alters the actions of a long list of enzymes important to metabolism, growth, and cell regulation.
Sodium fluorosilicate and fluorosilicic acid, the two chemicals Natick intends to use to fluoridate the water supply, have been associated with increased concentrations of lead in tap water and increased blood lead levels in children, based on case reports and a new, as-yet-unpublished study.
If Natick fluoridates its water supply at the proposed level, most children under the age of three will daily receive more fluoride than is recommended for them.

The scientific literature supporting these findings is summarized in the full report which also discusses a variety of non-health related concerns that have been raised about water fluoridation

Conclusion
The Committee reached the firm conclusion that the risks of overexposure to fluoride far outweigh any current benefit of water fluoridation.

Recommendations
1. The Natick Fluoridation Study Committee unanimously and emphatically recommends that the town of Natick NOT fluoridate the town water supply.

2. The Natick Fluoridation Study Committee unanimously and emphatically recommends that the Board of Selectmen take appropriate action to ensure that fluoridation of the town water supply does not take place.

Download the entire 91 page report, Natick Report [400k .pdf file]