 Public
Inquiries
(404) 639-3534
(800) 311-3435
Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd.
Atlanta,
GA 30333
U.S.A
(404) 639-3311
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| Requestor Information
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REQUEST ID NUMBER:
35
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CURRENT STATUS:
Complete
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Last Name:
Sherrell
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First Name:
Diane
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Organizational Affiliation:
Private Citizen
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Best Way to Contact Requestor:
E-Mail
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E-Mail Address:
darlene@caribsurf.com
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Daytime Phone Number:
473-443-3713
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Address:
Woburn Post Office, St.George's GRENADA
West Indies
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Type of Disseminated Information:
Website
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| Request for
Correction Information
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Description of Information:
"Extensive research conducted over the past 50 years has
shown that fluoridation of public water supplies is a safe
and effective way to reduce tooth decay for all community
residents." [See: Frequently Asked Questions - Community
Water Fluoridation
URL: (http://www.cdc.gov/nohss/guidefl.htm)]
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Specific Reason(s) why Information Does Not Comply with OMB, HHS or CDC Guidelines:
According to the CDC Guidelines for Ensuring the Quality of
Information Disseminated to the Public, "For quantitative
risk assessments in support of the dissemination of
influential information, CDC intends to apply the following
principles:
1. The agency will use
a. the best available science and supporting studies
conducted in accordance with sound and objective scientific
practices, including peer- reviewed science and supporting
studies when available.
b. data collected by accepted methods (if reliability of
the method and the nature of the decision justifies use of
the data).
2. In the dissemination of public information about health
risks, the agency shall ensure that the presentation of
information is comprehensive, informative, and
understandable, within the context of its intended
purpose."
This has not been done.
Supporting Documentation:
There has been no scientific method available in the United
States which is capable of detecting the pre-crippling
phases of chronic fluoride poisoning.
According to the U.S. Public Health Service the symptoms of
skeletal fluorosis include "stiffness of joints; sporadic
pain; chronic joint pain; arthritic symptoms; slight
calcification of ligaments." [See: Public Health Service
Committee to Coordinate Environmental Health and Related
Programs. Review of fluoride: benefits and risks.
Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services,
Public Health Service, 1991.]
Obviously, no reliable conclusions can be drawn regarding
the safety of fluoridation or the probable existence of
millions of cases of chronic fluoride poisoning
misdiagnosed as arthritis. There is no reliable method to
detect the difference between a case of arthritis caused by
excess fluoride and a case of arthritis caused by something
else.
As noted above "reliability of the method" is crucial.
Similarly, there can be no legitmate statistical evaluation
of epidemiological data when the data is nonexistent.
Legitimate fluoridation safety studies which encompass the
full spectrum of chronic fluoride poisoning simply do not
exist, despite repeated claims to the contrary.
The publications of the CDC create the impression that
hundreds – if not thousands – of studies support
recommendations to fluoridate public water supplies. If
fact, there is no epidemiological data on arthritis and no
control group. Virtually everyone consumes unknown
quantities of fluoride on a daily basis throughout their
lifetime; and sooner or later, virtually everyone complains
of arthritic symptoms.
We simply do not know how many cases of chronic fluoride
poisoning have been diagnosed and treated as arthritis.
Prior to 1950 the total daily fluoride intake for adults
living in a 1 ppm fluoridated area was about 0.02
mg/kg/day. Today the figure is reported to be 0.05 mg/kg/
day. [See: The problem of providing optimum fluoride intake
for prevention of dental caries, Food and Nutrition Board,
Division of Biology and Agriculture, National Academy of
Sciences, National Research Council, Pub. #294, November
1953. ... and ... Institute of Medicine. Fluoride. In:
Dietary reference intakes for calcium, phosphorus,
magnesium, vitamin D, and fluoride. Washington, DC:
National Academy Press, 1997:288--313.
URL: http://books.nap.edu/books/0309063507/html/index.html]
In 1977 the following statement appeared in Drinking Water
and Health:
"... Recent studies indicate that the total intake of
fluoride is as high as 3 mg/day rather than the earlier
figure of 1.5 mg/day, primarily because of increases in the
estimated levels of fluoride in food. (1970) Balance data
presented by Spencer also suggest a higher retention by
bone, nearly 2 mg/day rather than the 0.2 mg/day indicated
earlier. ... These findings are important . . . a retention
of 2 mg/day would mean that an average individual would
experience skeletal fluorosis after 40 yr, based on an
accumulation of 10,000 ppm fluoride in bone ash." [Safe
Drinking Water Committee, National Academy of Sciences,
NAS/NRC, 1977 p. 371- 372]
According to the CDC's MMWR Weekly Report for October 25,
2002;
"The findings in this report provide the first direct
measurements of arthritis/CJS prevalence for all states.
Self-reports are required to estimate prevalence in the
population because many persons with arthritis/ CJS do not
see a clinician for their symptoms, and their conditions
remain undiagnosed (5)." Prevalence of Self-Reported
Arthritis or Chronic Joint Symptoms Among Adults --- United
States, 2001 MMWR 51(42);948-950
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How Were You (the requestor) Affected by the information?
The myth of hundreds of legitimate safety studies has
denied me access to effective health care services because
the vast majority of health care providers have been taught
that no harm can come from typical daily doses of fluoride
taken over a lifetime, and no methods have been developed
which are capable of identifying fluoride as the cause of a
typical case of arthritis.
Physicians are not trained to recognize cases of arthritis
caused by excess fluoride, and therefore, not equipped to
offer reliable advice to their patients. From 1948 to 1965
I was treated by numerous physicians for arthritis.
Avoidance of fluoride since that time has resulted in a 32- year 'remission,' broken only briefly following a few
accidental exposures to fluoride in foods, beverages, and
air pollution. None of the physicians who prescribed drugs
or other treatments for my 'arthritis' were able to order
lab tests or X-Rays to determine the cause of my chronic
joint and muscle pain or stiffness. The CDC's influence on
public policy has assisted special interests in obtaining
legislation to mandate fluoridation in many states without
monitoring health effects, without disclosure of the side
effects, and without recourse for harmful effects suffered
by members of the population.
No one can prove their arthritis was caused by fluoride
because there is no method available to do so. This means
there is no method available to researchers who are
supposedly looking for adverse health effects associated
with water fluoridation.
The claim for safety is bogus.
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Requestor's Recommendation for Correction:
Documents published by the CDC which make claims for the
safety of fluoridation based on safety studies should be
modified to indicate that a) the methods used were not
capable of detecting the arthritic pre-crippling phases of
skeletal fluorosis, and b) there is no data available
regarding the prevalence of fluoride-induced arthritis, and
no laboratory tests available to physicians who may suspect
a patient is experiencing fluoride-induced arthritic
symptoms.
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| CDC Response
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Response:
Thank you for responding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Information Quality Website. Your request was received and referred to the appropriate professional concerning fluoridation. The CDC statement that "Extensive research conducted over the past 50 years has shown that fluoridation of public water supplies is a safe and effective way to reduce tooth decay for all community residents” is supported by extensive peer-reviewed scientific research. We believe that the presentation of the fluoride information is comprehensive, informative, and understandable within the context of its intended purpose. Further detail and references regarding this topic can be found in the following articles: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 1991, Review of Fluoride: Benefits and Risks; MMWR 2001 Recommendations for Using Fluoride to Prevent and Control Dental Caries in the United States, Vol. 50, No. RR-14, and the Institute of Medicine, 1997, Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Vitamin D, and Fluoride.
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| Appeal Information
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Appeal Reason:
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