by Stuart Cooper, FAN, Feb. 6, 2017 Some children may be consuming enough fluoridated water in the USA to reach doses of fluoride that have the potential to lower their IQ, according to a research team headed by William Hirzy, PhD, a former US EPA senior scientist who specialized in risk assessment and published in the journal Fluoride (October-December 2016)(http://www.fluorideresearch.org/494Pt1/files/FJ2016_v49_n4Pt1_p379-400_pq.pdf), reports the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). Current federal guidelines encourage the addition of fluoride chemicals into water supplies to reach 0.7 milligrams per liter.Hirzy followed EPA risk assessment guidelines to report: “The effect of fluoride on IQ is quite large, with a predicted mean 5 IQ point loss when going from a dose of 0.5 mg/F/day to 2.0 mg F/day.” Many children in the U.S. commonly consume these levels of fluoride within this range from all sources (i.e. water, food, dental products, medicines, air pollution). Dr. Hirzy explains the significance of this study: "The significance of this peer reviewed risk analysis is that it indicates there may be no actual safe level of exposure to fluoride. Groups of children with lower exposures to fluoride were compared with groups having higher exposures. Those with higher exposures performed more poorly on IQ tests than those with lower exposures. One well-conducted Chinese study indicated that children exposed to 1.4 mg/day had their IQ lowered by 5 IQ points. Current average mean daily intakes among children in the United States are estimated by EPA to range from about 0.80 mg/day to 1.65 mg/day. Applying two different, standard risk analysis techniques used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to published data on the impact of fluoride exposure in children shows that daily intakes in excess of about 0.05 mg of fluoride may result in depressed intellectual capability. This calculation involved using safety factors designed to protect the most vulnerable child. One well-conducted Chinese study indicated that children exposed to 1.4 mg/day had their IQ lowered by 5 IQ points. Current average mean daily intakes among children in the United States are estimated by EPA to range from about 0.80 mg/day to 1.65 mg/day. Fluoride may be similar to lead and mercury in having no threshold below which exposures may be considered safe." Bill Osmunson, DDS, FAN's Interim Director noted that this study adds further weight to the Petition submitted to the US EPA by FAN and other groups in November to ban the addition of fluoride chemicals to the drinking water under provisions in the Toxic Substances Control Act. The EPA has until Feb 20 to rule on this Petition. New FDA Warning Label on Fluoride Anesthetics The FDA just released a safety announcement warning “that repeated or lengthy use of general anesthetic and sedation drugs during surgeries or procedures in children younger than 3 years or in pregnant women during their third trimester may affect the development of children’s brains.” As a result, the FDA will now require warning labels be added to certain general anesthetics and sedation drugs, and is advising caution in the use of these drugs by healthcare professionals. While the FDA announcement does not mention fluoride as the cause of neurological harm, several of the listed anesthetics are known to release fluoride in large amounts and cause other types of adverse effects due to the fluoride exposure. It is a possibility, based on the many studies that have shown fluoride to be a developmental neurotoxin (neurotoxic to fetuses and children), that fluoride is contributing to this negative health outcome.: http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/ucm532356.htm Latest Fluoride News: -State Sanctions Three More Dialysis Centers Due to Fluoride (India) -Buda Postpones Fluoridation to Hold Public Hearing (Texas) -Two Meetings to Precede Meadville Fluoridation Vote (Pennsylvania) -Proctor’s Chance to End Fluoridation (Vermont) -Durango City Council Could Put Fluoride on February Ballot (Colorado) -Dentist: “Fluoridation has no positive outcomes” (Colorado) -Yorktown Received Grant to Study Fluoridation (New York) -Anchorage Group Collecting Signatures for Fluoridation Ballot Question (Alaska) -Elliot Lake Council Debates Future Use of Fluoride in Water (Ontario) -Fluoridation in Cumbria Put on Hold Until Study Completed (U.K.) -Moncton to Debate Return of Fluoride in Drinking Water (New Brunswick) -Hixson Utility District Weighing Reasons to End Fluoridation (Tennessee) -Rogersville Begins Process of Removing Fluoride from Water (Tennessee) -Jonesborough BMA Looking to Vote on Fluoride at Next Meeting (Tennessee) For more fluoride related media, please visit FAN’s News Archive: http://fluoridealert.org/news/ Stuart Cooper Campaign Director Fluoride Action Network See all FAN bulletins online: http://fluoridealert.org/about/archive-of-fan-bulletins/ One section on news in Australia has been removed from this article for length purposes. Read the complete article on fluoridealert.org (http://fluoridealert.org). For more fluoride related media, please visit FAN’s News Archive.