November 14, 2011

To the Austin City Council Public Health & Human Services Committee:  M. Martinez, L. Morrison & C. Riley

Dear Council Member: 

I'm writing to address several points that were raised during the last 22 minutes of the
Public Health and Human Services Committee's proceedings of October 18^th. 

The remarks of city staff from the Austin-Travis County Health & Human Services Department and the Austin Water Utility may have conveyed an impression that the advisory re infant formula currently on AWUs website at  was placed there following the CDC's downward adjustment, last January, of its recommendation for “optimally” fluoridated water from 0.7-1.25 ppm to 0.7 ppm. That is incorrect.  The notice went up in August or September 2010, months ahead of the CDC's new directive.  It came as a direct consequence of a July 2, 2010 meeting between Fluoride Free Austin representatives and City of Austin personnel.  Present for the city were David Lurie, then-director of the Austin/Travis County Health &  Human Services Department, Dr. Philip Huang, his chief medical officer, and Ms. Jane Burazer of the Water Utility.

With regard to the warning itself:  during your committee’s deliberations of 10/18/11, the suggestion came up that a printed link on the monthly utility bill pointing to the city’s information might suffice.  But that cannot solve the problem since the information itself is deeply flawed.  The city’s warning is supposedly based on one issued in late 2006 by both the CDC and ADA in response to the National Research Council’s ”Fluoride in Drinking Water”  report  of the same year, and summarized in the January 2007 Journal of the American Dental Association.   However, PHHS’ language departs so far from both the wording and spirit of CDC/ADA that it scarcely amounts to a warning at all; indeed, it comes close to a fluoride endorsement.  I’ve attached a copy of the two together so you can judge for yourself whether they carry the same message.

Also on October 18, a question was asked, but not answered, as to whether the city’s annual Drinking Water Quality Report specifically shows that fluoride is added to our water supply.  The answer is yes.  Attached is a copy of the most recent such report, 2010.  In the second-page table, in the Fluoride row under possible sources appears: “natural geology, supplement.”  So the report does inform the public that our fluoride comes from two different sources.  What it omits to mention is that the natural and supplemental fluorides are two very different chemical species, with the additive—fluorosilicic acid—being far more dangerous than the naturally-occurring calcium fluoride, itself a potent toxin. 

The Committee’s discussion can be reviewed here (Item #5, pt. 2 & Item #6 starting at 31:00 minutes).
 

We will continue to press for a meaningful warning regarding the risks of mixing infant formula with fluoridated tap water.  Thank you for your attention. 

Sincerely,

Rae Nadler-Olenick

Fluoride Free Austin

info@fluoridefreeaustin.com

2 Attachments:  CDC/ACC & COA warnings; 2010 Annual Austin Drinking Water Report