February 26, 2019
Fluoridation
related accidents, malfunctions, overfeeds, and worker errors have
shockingly been commonplace since the start of the practice. The most
recent example is the current
fluoridation crisis and negligent actions of elected officials
occurring in Sandy, Utah over the past two weeks.
A power outage during a snowstorm in Sandy on Wednesday, February 6th caused
a pump to flood parts of the town’s drinking water system with
dangerously high levels of fluoridation
chemicals, which then corroded the pipes allowing high levels of copper
and lead to enter the system for nearly 2,200 homes, schools, and
businesses. The Utilities Director claims that water treatment staff
didn’t know the excess fluoride had entered the
water system after the pump failure, and therefore didn’t immediately
warn residents.
Suspiciously,
local and state officials have yet to publicly report what level of
fluoride they found in the system. One TV news reporter said it could
be
upwards of 150 times the normal amount, but all officials have made
public is that it was over 10 milligrams per liter. Numerous residents
reported headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and other
gastrointestinal pains and issues. Among those reported to
have become ill included a 3-month old baby and area pets.
Residents
and the local media have also reported that the city failed to quickly
notify the state of Utah or its residents about the dangerous
contamination.
Many residents stated that they weren’t actually made aware of the
contamination until the city sent out its first news release alert over a
week later on the 15th.
Possibly
the most damning act of negligence committed was the removal of “Do Not
Ingest” from the initial warning to residents. The Utilities Director removed
the words intentionally, but has yet to explain even to the Mayor why he did so. The Mayor eventually put the Utilities Director, Tom Ward, on paid
administrative leave to “restore the public’s confidence,” in the water sytem.
In addition, local and state officials have done a poor job of explaining the potential harm to citizens, particularly pregnant
women and parents of small
children, instead choosing to ignore fluoride and focus their health advice on overexposure to lead and copper.
The
city was ultimately cited by the State Division of Drinking Water for
failing to notify the public adequately and for exceeding safe fluoride
levels.
Two
public meetings have been held so far to discuss the event and future
action. At the most recent, over 100 angry residents questioned and
criticized
the Mayor and Utilities Director for negligence, delayed warnings, and
for adding fluoridation chemicals to their drinking water in the first
place. Many residents called for and applauded ending the practice
altogether.
So
far the public pressure has caused the Mayor to announce that the town
will hold a forum on whether to remove fluoridation chemicals from the
drinking
water. The City Council has also voted
to open an independent investigation into how the malfunction occurred and how the city responded. The investigation will be led a three member team of "technical
experts", and may be assisted by a citizen advisory council.
Both county and state
legislators are now calling for an investigation of fluoridation in Salt Lake and Davis counties, as well as a moratorium
on the practice throughout
Utah. The Mayor of Salt Lake City stated that unless state legislators
ban the practice, by law Salt Lake area voters must make
the decision with a question on the ballot.
In the latest update, the State Health Department has announced that they will now be conducting
free blood tests on
impacted residents on a first come, first serve basis. I suspect this
data will be made available to the public, either voluntarily or
through a Right to Know / Freedom of Information Act request.
Fluoridation Accidents Are Common
Pro-fluoridation
officials have responded by claiming that accidents like this are very
rare. As usual, their claim is factually incorrect.
Fluoridation-related
accidents happen on a regular basis, endangering millions of residents.
FAN has put together a list of accidents that have occurred primarily
since 2000 and have been reported by media outlets. These even include
two accidents in the Salt Lake City area
that hospitalized a water worker, contaminated a local stream, and
killed wild animals.
As
you view our accident list, keep in mind that many go unreported. I
suspect this list could easily be doubled or even tripled with
additional research
into Department of Transportation rail and trucking accident records,
OSHA records, and State Groundwater records. In 2016, a FAN
investigation by
Doug Cragoe uncovered a widespread failure by local and state officials
in Texas to warn water customers about the presence of toxic levels
of fluoride. I suspect similar negligence could be found in most, if
not all states.
If
you would like to help FAN improve our database of fluoridation-related
accidents, please first review our list above, and if you are able to
find and
confirm an accident not currently listed, please email your findings
to: stuart@fluoridealert.org
Fluoridation Leaches Metals Even When “Optimal”
A
fluoridation accident or overfeed doesn’t have to occur to cause
leaching of heavy metals from the drinking water infrastructure. It
happens with the so-called
“optimal” level of fluoridation additives as well.
Stay Up-To-Date
FAN
has created a webpage where you can follow the media coverage, public
hearings, and stay up to date on the massive fluoridation overfeed in
Utah. We
will continue to update this page as the crisis and ensuing
investigation continues:
Sincerely,
Stuart Cooper
Campaign Director
Fluoride Action Network
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