NORTHEAST WIS. – Despite its prevalence in drinking water, it’s unclear whether fluoride is good for people to consume on an ongoing basis and high time for a review of the research, said Dr. Bruce Lanphear M.D., a professor of health sciences at Simon Fraser University who has studied neurotoxins’ effects on children.
Lanphear recently spoke to the Population Health Institute advisory board at University of Wisconsin-Madison about his research. In an interview with a reporter for the Peshtigo Times, he called fluoride a neurotoxin.
“It’s such a contentious topic,” he said about fluoride. “Groups that promote fluoridation are already defensive. So they’re ready to strike back even without seriously considering the new evidence,” Lanphear said. “I saw the same pattern with low-level lead poisoning, with people saying, ‘It’s not a problem at those levels. We were exposed to those levels when we were kids. It can’t be bad,’” he continued.
The notion fluoride can’t be bad for people because it’s been promoted for decades is what Lanphear referred to as “confirmation bias.”
Confirmation bias can prevent people from fairly considering new evidence that contradicts what they’ve learned or been told previously. Lanphear said fluoride consumption doesn’t strengthen bones, despite claims to this effect.
While people once were prescribed fluoride to prevent bone diseases, such as osteoporosis, the research indicates too much fluoride can lead to fluorosis, osteofluorosis, brittle bones and fractures, he said. “If you take fluoride as a supplement, your bones look dense when you measure them with a DXA scan, but in fact they are more brittle,” he said.
Fluoride research also has indicated a relationship between fluoride consumption and thyroid issues, neurological issues and cancer.
Lanphear said the need for an independent review of new fluoride research is taking on a degree of urgency. It’s needed so the government can determine what the standards for fluoride should be, he said.
This past summer, a new body of research linking fluoride to neurological issues in babies was released, he said. While some pediatricians today warn parents not to use fluoridated water in infant formula, not all doctors have embraced this change, possibly because of confirmation bias.
“What I’ve been disappointed by is the unwillingness of our federal agencies, of our federal health officials, of our government to step back and say, ‘We really need to have an independent review of this new evidence,’” he said. “One of the most important functions of public health is to examine threats to public health like fluoride.”
In September, a U.S. District Court judge ordered the EPA to begin a review of fluoride. The EPA said in a statement it will comply: “EPA will expeditiously review new scientific information on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water,” the agency said.
While Lanphear has served as an advisor on fluoride and PFAS research, most of his own research involves lead exposure. He has seen lead standards become more stringent.
While lead used to be allowed for use in water pipes and paint, it’s not considered safe today. The EPA first published in 1991 a regulation to control lead and copper in drinking water, according to the agency’s website. The Lead and Copper Rule was revised in 1998, 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2021 and 2024.
This past October, new Lead and Copper Rule Improvements reduced the threshold for taking action on lead to 10 µg/ of lead from 15 µg/L. “When a water system’s lead sampling exceeds this level, the system is required to inform the public and take action to reduce lead exposure while working to expeditiously replace all lead pipes,” according to the EPA.
The first step in removing lead pipes is identifying where they exist. A number of communities in Marinette and Oconto counties were notified of noncompliance because they hadn’t completed required paperwork on time and satisfactorily. Residents may have received letters to this effect. Municipalities have said a letter doesn’t mean a problem exists.
Other contaminants, such as PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have their criteria revised so often, a new cycle number is assigned when the new standards are released to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. In February, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced recommended Cycle 12 standards for groundwater used for drinking water of 4 nanograms per liter, down from 20 ng/l, for PFOA, PFOS, NEtFOSE, NEtFOSAA,NEtFOSA and FOSA.
Other Cycle 12 criteria includes: 2,000 ng/l for PFBS, down from 450,000 ng/l in Cycle 11, and 10 ng/l for the following varieties: PFHxS, down from 40 ng/l, PFNA, down from 30 ng/l, HFPO-DA, down from 300 ng/l in Cycle 11. The complete list of recommended enforcement standards and health advisories for Cycle 11 and 12 can be found on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ website.
In comparison, many health agencies recommend fluoride in drinking water at 0.7 mg/l, which is equivalent to 700,000 ng/l, according to Conversion.org.
Asked whether similarities exist between fluoride and PFAS, Lanphear said, that some PFAS research indicates an association with obesity and lower Intelligence Quotient (IQ) among children exposed to it in utero.
In examining data from a 2001 Cincinnati cohort, Lanphear said, “We did find in utero exposure in quite high concentrations of PFOA in the pregnant women was associated with obesity at age 8 and some Canadian data suggesting PFAS exposure is associated with diminished IQ,” he said. Both fluoride and PFAS have been associated with thyroid issues, Lanphear said.
Research indicating fluoride’s side effects may include more than fluorosis is giving researchers a reason to reassess its importance in public health. “One of the arguments for fluoridation is it’s especially for these poor kids who don’t have access to dental care, but now we have a different dilemma,” Lanphear said. “We have a different kind of environmental injustice which is the kids whose families may not be able to afford the reverse osmosis filters or who may not be able to afford bottled water. They’re now stuck.”
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