The Gary Null Blog

Fluoride (and its various compounds) is toxic all by itself, but its interaction with other toxic metals is of increasing concern. Research published in the December 2000 issue of the journal Neurotoxicology warns that public drinking water treated with sodium silicofluoride or fluosilicic acid, known as silicofluorides (SiFs), is linked to higher uptake of lead in children.168 Less than 10% of fluoridation systems in the US use sodium fluoride, the substance first used to fluoridate public drinking water in 1945. SiFs are now used to treat drinking water for 140 million Americans. Yet the safety of SiFs has never been tested, nor have they been approved by the FDA. The research was conducted by a team led by Roger D. Masters, Dartmouth College research professor; Nelson A. Rockefeller, professor emeritus of government; and Myron J. Coplan, a consulting chemical engineer, formerly vice president of Albany International Corporation. The team has now studied the blood lead levels in over 400,000 children in three different samples. In each case, they found a significant link between SiF-treated water and elevated blood lead levels. The researchers found that the greatest likelihood of children having elevated blood lead levels occurs when they are exposed both to known risk factors, such as old house paint and lead in soil or water, and to SiF-treated drinking water.