Why are our children sick?

[Guest guest]

I am forwarding these articles to shed some light as to how we are more and more

bombarded with toxins, from all directions.

Mike

The silicofluorides, mentioned in the articles below, that are being added to

our drinking water is toxic waste produced as a

byproduct in the manufacture of phosphate fertilizer.

" In the manufacture of super-phosphate fertilizer, phosphate rock is acidulated

with sulfuric acid, and the fluoride content

of the rock evolves as volatile ... Read Moresilicofluorides. In the past, much

of this volatile material was vented to the

atmosphere, contributing heavily to pollution of the air and land surrounding

the manufacturing site. As awareness of the

pollution problem increased, scrubbers were added to strip particulate and

gaseous components from the waste gas... "

http://www.fluoridealert.org/phosphate/overview.htm

D. Masters

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rmasters/

===========================================

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1080/0020723990871121\

5

Toxic metals like lead, manganese, copper and cadmium damage neurons and

deregulate neurotransmitters like serotonin and

dopamine (which are essential to normal impulse control and learning). Earlier

studies show that - controlling for

socio-economic and demographic factors - environmental pollution with lead is a

highly significant risk factor in predicting

higher rates of crime, attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity, and learning

disabilities. Exposure and uptake of lead

has been associated with industrial pollution, leaded paint and plumbing systems

in old housing, lead residues in soil,

dietary habits (such as shortages of calcium and iron), and demographic factors

(such as poverty, stress, and minority

ethnicity). We report here on an additional " risk co-factor " making lead and

other toxic metals in the environment more

dangerous to local residents: the use of silicofluorides as agents in water

treatment. The two chemicals in question -

fluosilicic acid and sodium silicofluoride - are toxins that, despite claims to

the contrary, do not dissociate completely

and change water chemistry when used under normal water treatment practices. As

a result, water treatment with

siliconfluorides apparently functions to increase the cellular uptake of lead.

==================================================

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2001/mar01/flouride.html

Dartmouth researcher warns of chemicals added to drinking water

Posted 03/15/01

In a recent article in the journal NeuroToxicology, a research team led by

D. Masters, Dartmouth College Research

Professor and A. Rockefeller Professor of Government Emeritus, reports

evidence that public drinking water treated

with sodium silicofluoride or fluosilicic acid, known as silicofluorides (SiFs),

is linked to higher uptake of lead in

children.

Sodium fluoride, first added to public drinking water in 1945, is now used in

less than 10% of fluoridation systems

nationwide, according to the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) 1992

Fluoridation Census. Instead, SiF's are now used to

treat drinking water delivered to 140 million people. While sodium fluoride was

tested on animals and approved for human

consumption, the same cannot be said for SiFs.

Masters and his collaborator Myron J. Coplan, a consulting chemical engineer,

formerly Vice President of Albany International

Corporation, led the team that 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.

" We should stop using silicofluorides in our public water supply until we know

what they do, " said Masters. Officials at the

Environmental Protection Agency have told Masters and Coplan that the EPA has no

information on health effects of chronic

ingestion of SiF-treated water.

In their latest study published in a special December 2000 issue of

NeuroToxicology , Masters, Coplan and their team analyzed

data on blood levels from more than 150,000 children ages 0 to 6. These tests

were part of a sample collected by the New York

State Department of Children's Health, mostly from 1994 to 1998 in comparable

non-fluoridated and SiF-treated public drinking

water in communities with populations of similar size. Socio-economic and

demographic risk factors for high blood lead were

also considered using information from the 1990 U.S. Census. 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.

" Our research needs further laboratory testing, " added Masters. " This should

have the highest priority because our

preliminary findings show correlations between SiF use and more behavior

problems due to known effects of lead on brain

chemistry. " Also requiring further examination is German research that shows

SiFs inhibit cholinesterase, an enzyme that

plays an important role in regulating neurotransmitters.

------------------------------------