FAN Bulletin 941
   
March 17, 2008
 
Dear Supporter,

Before getting to today’s news, I wanted to confirm what some of you may have already noticed: the FAN website has been hacked and temporarily taken offline. We don’t know who initiated this “cyber-attack” on the site, but we are doing everything we can to get the site back online. If all goes well, it should be back up and running tomorrow, and Wednesday by the latest.

EPA Unions Blow the Whistle on EPA Management

This past week some positive developments in the fluoride issue. First, the EPA professional Unions which have done so much to raise public awareness about the political manipulation of science at the federal level, made headlines this week for their expose of the shoddy state of affairs at EPA. According to an article in the Washington Post, 19 union leaders - representing 10,000 employees at EPA - sent a letter to EPA management blasting the agency for failing to act in accordance with the agency’s “principles of scientific integrity.”

“EPA boasts of the principles of scientific integrity before the Congress and the public as an example of EPA’s dedication to using only good science in its decision making, but refuses to agree to an adjudication process for resolving disputes arising from alleged violations,” write the EPA union leaders. To read the full Post article, click here.

Shortly after the Washington Post article was published, the prestigious journal Nature chimed in with an editorial supporting the Union’s concerns. The Nature editorial mentioned that fluoride was one of the concerns cited by the Unions, in addition to the the agency’s recent refusal to allow California to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. According to Nature editors: “The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is fast losing the few shreds of credibility it has left.” To read the full editorial, click here.

Calgary Herald: “Time to Sink Teeth into Fluoride Issue”

In addition to the press generated by the unions’ whistle-blowing efforts, this past week also saw the publication of an excellent editorial by the Calgary Herald in Canada. According to the editors: supporting the Union’s concerns. The Nature editorial mentioned that fluoride was one of the concerns cited by the Unions, in addition to the the agency’s recent refusal to allow California to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. According to Nature editors: “The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is fast losing the few shreds of credibility it has left.” To read Nature’s full editorial,
“the public has every reason to wonder — and worry — whether the chemical continues to have a rightful place in our drinking water… The latest studies are compelling, and link fluoride exposure to everything from hyperthyroidism, to lower IQs in children and bone cancer in teen boys. Scientists can’t even say for certain fluoride in the water is responsible for the victory in the fight against tooth decay — half of Canadian children under 11 have no cavities according to some reports. There are those who now think the benefit of fluoride comes more from applying it directly to the teeth — with tooth paste, for instance — than by swallowing it.” Here is the full editorial.

Paul Connett