Nexus - 0205 - New Times Magazine-pages

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emitted are readily absorbed by vegetaon and are known to cause subs al leaf injuly. Even in concentrations as low as 0.1 pp (parls per billion), fuorides sign}ficantly reduc boh the growth and yield of crops. Livestock have also fllen victim to fluoride poisoning caused primarily by inestin contaminated vegetation..2 It is report- ed that the Alurninium Cotporation of Amenca (ALCOA) was con- fronted by annual clims for mllions o compensate for the havoc Cox, ALCOA and fluoridaion but somewhat more cynically. He wlites: “Dr. Cox then proposed artilCial water fluoridaon as a means of reducmg tooth dcay. What beUer way to solve the hue and cosdy problem of disposing of toic waste fom Auminium manufachlrers than geing paid to put it in e drinking waler? What an incredible coincidene - ALCOA and the onginal fluoridation prop.” Nor do the chan of seeming coincidences end here. Caldwell refers to e vely interesng testimony of Miss logenoe Bingham on My 25. 26, 27th 19S4, efore the Commitee on Interstate and Foreign Commercet which hd oganiged a senes of hearings on the fluoridation issue. As Plesident of the MassachuseUs IVomenls Political Club, Miss Birrningham was on the occasion representing some 50.000 women. She is recorded as Nor do the chan of seeming coincidences end here. Caldwell refers to e vely interesng testimony of Miss logenoe ‘ at he : : wes the Aluminium Bingham on My 25. 26, 27th 19S4, efore the Commitee on Interstate and Foreign Commercet which hd oganiged a senes of 4 4 hearings on the fluoridation issue. As Plesident of the Corporation of America MassachuseUs IVomenls Political Club, Miss Birrningham was on (ALCOA) was confronted swine ion representing some 50.000 women. She is recorded as . ath “In 1944 Oscar wmg was put on the payroll of the Aluminium by an n ual clai ms for mi | | I ons Company of America [ALCOA], as atomey; at an annual saJary of 750,000. This fact was estabished al a Senate hearing and became of dol lars to compensate for part of the Congressional Record. Since the Aluminium Company . had no big ligation pending at the time, the uestion might logically the havoc wreaked by their be asked, why such a large fee’ A few months later Mr. Ewing was , mde Feral Security Administrator with the announcement lhat he i was taking a big salary ut in order o serve his country. As head of fluorine wastes. the Federal Secunty Agncy (now the Dpanent of Heal Education and VUelfare), he immediately sarted the ball rolling to sell ‘rat poison’ by the ton ;nstead of in dime packages ... sodium fluoride wreaked by their fluonne wastes. It was in 1g33 that the United was dangerous waste product of the aluminium company. They were States Public Heh Serice (PHS) becme particularly concerned aout not permitted lo durnp it into nvers or lelds where it would poison the poisoning effect of fluonde on teeth, determining at dental fluo- Ish, cate, etc. Apparently someone conceived the brilliant dea of rosis (eth motded with yellow, brown and even black stains) — talng advanage of the errneous conclusions drawn from Deaf Smith occurred amvngst 2S-30 percent of children when just over lppm of — County, Texas.* The Aluminium Company of America then be,gan fluoride was present in drinking wae. 3 By 1942 the PHS, largely _ selling sodium fluoiide tablets lo put in the drinng wter.” under the guidance of Dr. H. Trendley I)ean, legislated that drink- In a footnoe Caldwell comments on this point. ing water containing up to lppm of fluonde was accepale. The PHS “This refers to a widely circulated report pubished in a popular was not at tls stage inoducin fluondation - it was oncerned mainly magazine in the early foriies, in which Dr. George Heard, a denst to define the maximum Ilowable limil eyond which fluoride con- _ in )eaf Smith Coun, claimed he had no business because of the nat - centons should be garded s contaminating public waer supplies. ural fluoride in the water. Later, when D. Heard found mottled teeh Dean’s researh investgahons also indicated that although lppm flu- _too britle to fill and a rushing business after supenarkets moved in oride concentraon caused enamel fluorosis or mottling ina small — with processed foods, he in Yain to set the record stra-ght. e could percentge of children (up to 1090), it also served to provide partial Ind no publishe for his new information. His original arti e ws protection against dental decay. entilled “The Town Ithout A Toothache.” The series of events wh;ch heeafter led to the apparently HOW IT ALL STARTED inevitable implementation of fluoridation deseve also to be reviewed. n 1945 Grand Rapids, Micbigan, USA ws seleted as the Dean was also well aware that fluoride concenations of as little s__ site of the first major longitudina study of the effects of fluoridation 2 ppm could constilute a public health concern, causing severe den- _ on the public at large. Compnsons wee to be made with the city of tal fluorosis. Coincidentally] the U.S. - PIS was at the time spon- Muskegon, Michigan which remained unfluoridated so that it could sored under he Department of the Treasury, the chief oflcer of be used as a conol9 Although the experiment was spposed to be which was Andrew qellon, owner of ALCOA. In 1939 The Mellon undertaken over the course of en yeas to detennine any cumulative Institute (established and controlled by the family of Andrew side-effects which might result from the fluoridat}on of muniipal Melon)t employed a scientist, Dr. Gerald Cox, 0 finda viable mar- _ water, Ewing interened fter only Flve years to declare the success ket for the industrial fluolide wastes associated with the prducon of _ of e study in showing fluoridtion to be sae. As WaLcer puts it: aluminium. Of is iniguing series of connections between the inter- “...n June 1950 half-way llough the experiment, e U.S. P.H.S. ests of ALCOA and the sory of fluoridation WaLcer writes: under its Chief, Oscr Ewing, “endosed” the safety and efectiveness “In 1939, Gerald Cox, a biochemist employe by the University of — of anificial fluondlatlon; and encowaged its immediate adoption Pitsurgh, was undertaking contJact wk for the 4ellon Instie. through the -ttO ., la.es.” At a meeting of water engineers at Johnstown, Pennsylvani, he One year later Ewing was ale 0 convince the American Congress first put forward his idea | add fluonde to public water supplies. that fluondaon ws a necessi, and a total of tw million US dollars (an By 1940, Cox hd become a memer of the Food and Nuition Board — enormous sum of money in those dys) was immediately directed 0 of the National Research Council, and he prepred for this illustrioas _ promote e fluoridaiion program throughout Ihe USA. II ody a series of submissions strongly promoting the idea of artiflcil While the circums ances smTounding Ewing’s achievement were nuo tion.5” revealing, an even more intriguing set of interconnections was yet Dennis tevenson also ommens aut this connetion between Dr. _ to be revealed. Miss Bir ningham’s testimony had included a state- Corporation of America by annual claims for millions of dollars to compensate for the havoc wreaked by their wreaked by their fluonne wastes. It was in 1g33 that the United States Public Heh Serice (PHS) becme particularly concerned aout the poisoning effect of fluonde on teeth, determining at dental fluo- rosis (eth motded with yellow, brown and even black stains) occurred amvngst 2S-30 percent of children when just over lppm of fluoride was present in drinking wae. 3 By 1942 the PHS, largely under the guidance of Dr. H. Trendley I)ean, legislated that drink- ing water containing up to lppm of fluonde was accepale. The PHS was not at tls stage inoducin fluondation - it was oncerned mainly to define the maximum Ilowable limil eyond which fluoride con- centons should be garded s contaminating public waer supplies. Dean’s researh investgahons also indicated that although lppm flu- oride concentraon caused enamel fluorosis or mottling in a small percentge of children (up to 1090), it also served to provide partial protection against dental decay. NEXUS - 14 “_.. the Aluminium (ALCOA) was confronted fluorine wastes.” HOW IT ALL STARTED YEAR BOOK + OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1991