Print New York,  March 2007 -- Trace amounts of arsenic are found in
fluoride chemicals added to drinking water supplies, reports the U.S.
Centers for Disease Controls (CDC) website. (1)

Fluoridation is a controversial attempt to reduce tooth decay in tap-water consumers.

Fluoridation chemicals - sodium fluoride, sodium fluorosilicate, and
fluorosilicic acid (FSA) " are all derived from the manufacture of
phosphate fertilizer, reports the CDC. Trace amounts of unwanted
contaminants, such as antimony, barium, beryllium, arsenic and
others, are allowed to remain in fluoridation chemicals before
flowing through America's faucets (2)

The CDC reports, tests by National Sanitation Foundation (NSF)
revealed arsenic was present in sample batches of FSA. When trace
amounts were present, the treated water had an average of 0.43 parts
per billion (ppb) of arsenic, with a high of 1.66 ppb attributable to
the fluoride additive. (2)

The NSF sets the allowable level of arsenic in fluoridation chemicals
at 2.5 ppb. The maximum contaminant level (MCL) of arsenic in treated
water is 10 ppb, set by the Environmental Protection Agency. But the
maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) of arsenic in drinking water is
zero (5) and is based on health risks; however, the actual level
permitted (MCL) is above 0, to account for difficulty in removing it
or in measuring it. (6)

"No water company should purposely be adding arsenic to water
supplies, even when it's attached to a chemical perceived to be
beneficial," says Beeber.

Trace levels of arsenic in drinking water increase a person's risk of
developing cancer, according to a report from the prestigious US
National Academy of Sciences. "People drinking water containing just
one part per billion of arsenic have an increased risk of developing
bladder or lung cancer of one in 1,000," reports New Scientist
magazine. (3)

In an analysis of 25 states, the National Resources Defense Council
found about 8,000 U.S. water systems, serving 57,000,000 people,
contained arsenic levels at 1 ppb or higher.(4)

"Fluoridation has proven useless in fighting tooth decay in America's
low-income population as the recent unfortunate 'tooth-decay' death of
a 12-year-old Maryland boy living in a fluoridated area has proven,"
says lawyer Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed
to Fluoridation. "No child is or ever was fluoride-deficient. But
many are dentist-deficient," says Beeber.

"Besides, modern science establishes that fluoridation is ineffective
at reducing tooth decay, harmful to health and a waste of taxpayer
money," says Beeber.

References: http://tinyurl.com/6kqtu