Councilor Amy Valentine's Fluoride Removal Resolution

November 2009


RESOLVED: In accordance with the request therefore the Common Council approves request from Councilor Valentine to approve the immediate cessation of fluoridation of the city’s water supply. (Resolution as printed below).


RESOLUTION TO REMOVE HYDROFLUOROSILICIC ACID (FLUORIDE) FROM THE CITY OF PLATTSBURGH’S MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY


WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now acknowledged the findings of many leading dental researchers, that the mechanism of fluoride's benefits are mainly topical not systemic, and


WHEREAS, despite being prescribed by doctors for over 50 years, the US Food and Drug Administration has never approved any fluoride product designed for ingestion as safe or effective, and


WHEREAS, fluoride is a cumulative poison, on average, only 50% of the fluoride we ingest each day is excreted through the kidneys. The remainder accumulates in our bones, pineal gland, and other tissues. If the kidney is damaged, fluoride accumulation will increase, and with it, the likelihood of harm, and


WHEREAS, once fluoride is put in the water it is impossible to control the dose each individual receives. This is because 1) some people (e.g.; manual laborers, athletes, diabetics, and people with kidney disease) drink more water than others, and 2) we receive fluoride from sources other than the water supply. (Other sources of fluoride include food and beverages processed with fluoridated water, fluoridated dental products, mechanically deboned meat, teas, and pesticide residues on food), and


WHEREAS, dental decay is most concentrated in poor communities, we should be spending our efforts trying to increase the access to dental care for poor families. The real "Oral Health Crisis" that exists today in the United States, is not a lack of fluoride but poverty and lack of dental insurance. The Surgeon General has estimated that 80% of dentists in the US do not treat children on Medicaid, and


WHEREAS, the chemicals used to fluoridate water in the US are not pharmaceutical grade. Instead, they come from the wet scrubbing systems of the super-phosphate fertilizer industry. These chemicals (90% of which are sodium fluorosilicate and fluorosilicic acid), are classified hazardous wastes contaminated with various impurities. Recent testing by the National Sanitation Foundation suggest that the levels of arsenic in these chemicals are relatively high (up to 1.6 ppb after dilution into public water and of potential concern), and


WHEREAS, some of the earliest opponents of fluoridation were biochemists and at least 14 Nobel Prize winners are among numerous scientists who have expressed their reservations about the practice of fluoridation, and


WHEREAS, because of the risk for dental fluorosis, and the lack of demonstrable benefit from ingesting fluoride before teeth erupt, the American Dental Association- and a growing number of dental researchers recommend that *children under 12 months of age should not consume fluoridated water* while babies under 6 months of age should not receive any fluoride drops or pills, and


WHEREAS, fluoridation is unethical because individuals are not being asked for their informed consent prior to medication; this is standard practice for all medication, therefore


BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Plattsburgh, in its continuing effort to promote the health, safety and welfare of all, orders the immediate cessation of forced prophylactic medication of the public for the non-contagious disease, dental caries, as such disease is treatable by reasonable and less intrusive means.





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