FAN Bulletin 824

June 30, 2007

Dear All,

About ten years ago I was asked by citizens of Johnstown, NY, to help them fight off their council’s decision to fluoridate their water. They were furious because the council was going ahead with this move without telling them. When the citizens found out all hell broke loose and produced one of the most fascinating public meetings. The promoters invited Dr. Michael Easley to present their case. Citizens found his comments both propagandistic and patronizing. When a local businessman said to Easley, “I don’t think you are treating us with respect.” Easley retorted: “I am treating you with the respect you deserve!” With which the citizens left the meeting en masse! Within weeks the council was forced to abandon the plan.

However, the city had already installed the equipment and ordered the chemicals. What were they going to do with the chemicals? They quickly found out that unless they could persuade another community to take the barrels of hexafluorosilicic acid (fluorosilicic acid) off their hands and use it for water fluoridation, the material would revert to being “hazardous waste” and they would have to pay a huge fee to have it disposed.

Tom Nocera from Florida has just forwarded to us a similar story from California. See the report below.

Thus, if anyone you know has doubts that the material which is dumped into the water supply of about 170 million Americans on a daily basis is hazardous waste, share this article with them. Simply put, if local authorities can’t put it into the water supply (i.e. treat it as a “commercial product”) for any reason, it reverts to its “hazardous waste” classification.

In short, both Johnstown and Pico Rivera have found themselves in the same position that the phosphate fertilizer industry would be in if water fluoridation was not available.

Paul Connett
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WhittierDailyNews.com
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_6161311

City moves to remove waste
By Pam Wight Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/16/2007 11:27:43 PM PDT

PICO RIVERA - Pico Rivera has taken the first steps to remove toxic waste from six water pumping sites, which eventually will bring the city into compliance with orders from county safety officials.

Officials from the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s CalARP unit - California Accidental Release Prevention Program - had given the city two deadlines since March to remove containers of toxic fluorosilicic acid from pumping sites.

During inspections of the sites earlier this year, CalARP officials found five-year-old drums of fluorasilicic acid covered in dust, said CalArp supervisor Victor Nandiego.

The inspectors did not cite the city, but officials were given deadlines and orders to correct the problems and remove the acid, Nandiego said.

“They said they were working on it,” he said. “If they don’t comply, we’ll have to go through a whole process, beginning with an office hearing notice.”

Last week, however, the city officially deemed the acid “hazardous waste,” the first step toward disposing of the material.

Nandiego said taking that step means the city could ultimately avoid further action by his unit. Along with declaring the acid hazardous waste, the city applied for an Environmental Protection Agency number - a 10-day process required before hazardous waste can be disposed of.

Nandiego said the bureaucracy of government could slow the process by weeks or even months.

But city spokesman Bob Spencer said the city now has everything “in line” to remove the acid within a week of hearing back from the EPA.

“The view has been given that nothing’s being done, and it’s not true,” Spencer said. “We’re putting together a water master plan that will address all these kinds of improvements, especially since water systems were identified as a major risk for communities after 9/11.”

The acid drums were purchased in 2002 as part of the city’s plan to add fluoride to its drinking water supplies.

But after finding out that the annual cost of maintaining the fluoridation system would be nearly $100,000, the idea was abandoned, officials have said.

Mayor Ron Beilke blamed the previous council majority for not addressing the problems sooner. “If mistakes have been made, there are a lot of factors we can point to. But one was the lack of stability of the former council,” he said. “But we have no more excuses anymore. Now we have a city manager with a contract and a stable government. We should have the work done by September.”

pam.wight@sgvn.com

(562) 698-0955, Ext. 3029