Bulletin #641
August 2, 2006
Dear All,
At 6:46 pm (EST) today the number of FAN ONLINE letters which have been sent to Stephen Johnson, Adminstrater of the US EPA reached 4000. Congratulations to Ashley Skoussen of Hawaii for sending letter # 4000. Sending the ONLINE letter is simple, quick and important. Please go to http://actionstudio.org/?go=2367 .
To our 4000 letters we have to add the exciting news that today EWG hand delivered to the EPA a letter on the same issue distributed by EWG President Ken Cook, which has been signed by 3517 EWG supporters. A copy of the EWG letter is printed below.
We do not know how many letters and emails have gone to Stephen Johnson as a result of similar appeals by the Organic Consumers Association and the group Beyond Pesticides, but we expect that their combined totals surpass both the FAN and EWG efforts combined. Thus we are looking at a reasonably conservative total of between 15,000 to 20,000 letters sent to Stephen Johnson in a matter of two to three weeks.
The message I would like to convey to Stephen Johnson is that the number of letters being sent to him is merely a function of how many people can be reached by the various appeals by FAN, EWG, OCA and Beyond Pesticides. There is little reluctance to tell the EPA that as far as fluoride is concerned, enough is enough!. Regardless of how people feel about fluoride in their water, they do not want any more in their food. And they certainly don’t want any more fluoride in their food, if it is being put there in the interest of Dow making more money.
Without wishing to feed ammunition to those who would be delighted to rid us of the environmental health oversight of the EPA, one is forced to ask, “If the EPA cannot protect us from something as blatantly bad as jacking up fluoride tolerances on our food, what can they protect us from?”
Back to FAN’s efforts on this. In my dizzy state after the FAN conference I got muddled up on what date it was in my first bulletin today. We actually have two more whole days plus several hours to get more ONLINE letters into the EPA. At our present rate it is quite conceivable - but it would be still rather remarkable - that we could reach a total of 5000.
If you want to be part of this “impossible dream” please resend our appeal for ONLINE letters to the EPA to everyone on your email list(s) in the hope that some may have been on holiday, or otherwise engaged, during your last approach and are ready to sign now.
To send the ONLINE letter (copy below) is simple, quick and important. Please go to http://actionstudio.org/?go=2367 and do so (see copy of the letter below) by midnight August 4 - that’s Friday!
Many thanks.
Paul Connett
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1) Here is the ONLINE letter, organized by EWG.
3157 signatories of this letter were hand delivered to the EPA today.
Dear EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson:
I am deeply concerned about the high levels of fluoride in food and drinking water. Already, the National Academy of Sciences has said that the current levels of fluoride in tap water are unsafe. We should not be subjected to even more fluoride in our food as a result of fluoride-based pesticides.
The health risks from overexposure to fluoride are enormous, including impaired brain functioning, tooth and bone damage, thyroid and pineal gland disorders and worsened diabetes. Scientists are still researching other serious health consequences, including cancer, lowered IQs and immune system dysfunction.
Please oppose any pesticide regulations that would lead to more fluoride in the nation’s food supply. I am especially concerned about the effect of fluoride overexposure on vulnerable populations such as babies, children and adults who drink larger than average amounts of water, such as diabetics.
Thank you for allowing public comment on this serious issue.
Sincerely,
[Name]
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2) The FAN organized ONLINE letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson. As of 9:00 pm (EST) August 2, 2006, 4026 of these - or modified - letters have been sent.
(go to http://actionstudio.org/?go=2367 to add your name to this letter)
Dear EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson:
I am deeply concerned about a new fluoride-based pesticide (sulfuryl fluoride) that EPA is allowing to be sprayed on all processed foods and a broad assortment of raw food. While EPA’s decision may benefit the bottom line of Dow AgroSciences, it does not protect the public health, or the public interest.
The public expects EPA to employ the best science available in its approval of pesticides. However, it is apparent that this did not happen with sulfuryl fluoride. Indeed, the National Academy of Sciences recently concluded that the safety standard used by EPA to approve sulfuryl fluoride is, in fact, not safe at all.
Moreover, as the NAS report makes clear, and as is evident by the growing number of children with dental fluorosis, many Americans are being OVER-exposed to fluoride. There is no safety margin for additional fluoride exposures that will result from sulfuryl fluoride. I am particularly concerned for susceptible subsets of consumers, including children, people with kidney disease, people with excess thirst (e.g. diabetics, athletes, and laborers) and people with nutrient deficiencies.
Finally, as Director of EPA, I would like you to investigate why EPA increased the allowable dosage for infants and children not once, but twice, during its approval process for sulfuryl fluoride. In direct violation of the Food Quality Protection Act, these manipulations have left our children ten times less protected than adults.
For these, and the many other reasons detailed in the petition to EPA, I urge you to revoke all food-based uses of sulfuryl fluoride.
Please add my comments to the docket #: EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0174 and EPA-HQ-OPP-2003-0373.
(Go to http://actionstudio.org/?go=2367 to add your name (and personalized comments) to this letter)
in FAN
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