ORIGINAL ARTICLE is located at:
http://poisonfluoride.com/pfpcprivate/h ... cides.html
PFPC NEWSLETTER SPECIAL ISSUE:
"Hidden Sources of Fluoride - Pesticides"
Pesticides are a great hidden source of fluorides.
Although similar situations exist for Canada and many European countries, this article will mainly deal with the situation as it applies to the United States.
There are several issues:
1) FLUORIDES IN PESTICIDES USED IN THE U.S.
2) FLUORIDES IN PESTICIDE RESIDUE ON IMPORTED PRODUCTS
3) RELIABILITY OF RESIDUE TESTING
5) EXPOSURE DURING PESTICIDE APPLICATION
In 1927, there were only about 30 pesticide active ingredients in use. Many were arsenical compounds, and arsenic was then considered the major pesticide residue of health concern. Throughout the 1930s, the existing spray residue program was expanded to include sampling for residues of lead, fluorine and copper (1).
In 1940, Floyd DeEds and Robert Wilson from the U.S. Department of Agriculture were faced with the dilemma of setting a fluorine spray residue limit for pesticide applications. Their experiments on rats showed that fluorine and thyroid had "clearcut" synergistic effects on dental fluorosis. Bewildered, they did not know if to set a residue level for the normal, the hypothyroid or the hyperthyroid individual(2).
Many pesticides contain fluorine as an "inactive" ingredient, serving as the adjuvant ("ferry") delivering the agent to its target. Because they are considered "inert", listing is not required on labels.
There are also many pesticides containg fluorides as the "active" ingredient. One such pesticide is CRYOLITE.
1) FLUORIDES IN PESTICIDES USED IN THE U.S.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has previously estimated that levels of fluoride in/on food from the agricultural use of Cryolite plus fluoride levels in U.S. drinking water supplies results in a daily dietary intake of fluoride of approximately 0.095 mg/kg/day. For a person weighing 70kgs, this would mean intake of 6.65mg/day from those two sources alone!(3).
This is not considering other sources such as dental products, or the incredible high amount of fluoride in tea, which is drunk in almost 80 percent of all U.S. households. On any given day, nearly 127 million people -- half of all Americans -- are drinking tea (4). Considering that some teas have been found to contain more than 7mg of fluoride per cup, it is therefore logical to assume that current intake is much higher, even surpassing the fraudulently set DRI of 10mg/day(5).
In the matter of CRYOLITE, the EPA concluded in the May 8, 1996 Federal Register that fluoride has been identified as the residue of toxicological concern in cryolite and synthetic cryolite and that these compounds act as free fluoride. That is, dissociation produces free fluoride ions (3). (No consideration at all has been given to the fact that fluoride ions will re-combine with aluminum in the system, forming fluoride-aluminum compounds which greatly potentiate the effects of fluoride.)
Composition of cryolite is as follows(6):
Fluorine: 54.30 %
Aluminum: 12.85 %
Sodium: 32.85 %
Annual application of cryolite(7):
Grapes: 2,552,815 lbs.
Potatoes: 371,604 lbs.
All Citrus: 62,501 lbs.
Sweet Peppers: 22,755 lbs.
Watermelons: 18,617 lbs.
Tomatoes: 13,670 lbs.
Cantaloupes: 10,294 lbs.
Peaches: 7,291 lbs.
Kiwi: 6,889 lbs.
Melons: 6,380 lbs.
In addition, cryolite is sprayed on all berries, brussel sprouts, cabbage,etc.
The EPA estimated dietary exposure to cryolite from all crops to be approximately 0.020 mg/kg/day for the U.S. population, 0.024 mg/kg/day for children 1-6, 0.015 mg/kg/day for children 7-12, and 0.028 mg/kg/day for nursing females 13+ years (3).
For the highest exposed subgroup (females 20 years old and over), the Agency estimated exposure of 0.038 mg/kg/day (61 FR 20781), meaning a person weighing 70kgs in this group would be taking in 2.66 mgs/day of F- from cryolite alone!(3)
It is also noteworthy that actual residue testing is never performed. Standard multiple residue testing protocols apparently cannot be applied to fluoride compounds. Analysis and projections were based on faulty tolerance levels set by the EPA, with no long term adverse effects like thyroid dysfunction ever being considered.
The many cryolite applications on grapes is the reason why grape juice has been found to contain 6.8mg/l of fluoride(8).
No permissable cryolite content for grapes or raisins is yet in place, proposed level is 55mg/kg (9).
The state of greatest concern in this matter is California, where grapes are grown. California spends more than $48 million each year for the nation's most comprehensive program to regulate pesticide use, yet does nothing about this issue. The rate of congenital hypothyroidism in California is 1/2842, while the national average centers around 1/4000(10).
Some other fluorinated pesticides in use in the U.S.(7):
Soybeans: 11,099,394 lbs
Cotton: 4,736,822 lbs
Alfalfa hay: 991,611 lbs.
Wheat and Grains: 558,665 lbs
Barley: 290,602 lbs.
Tomatoea: 126,694 lbs
Cotton: 1,573,179 lbs
All Citrus: 417,879 lbs.
Almonds 55,637 lbs
Peanuts 52,403 lbs
Grapes :48,272 lbs
Blueberries: 16,833 lbs.
Plums: 14,674 lbs.
Peaches: 14,012 lbs
Asparagus 11, 463 lbs.
Soybeans: 1,517,072 lbs.
Peanuts: 148,196 lbs.
Rice: 26, 284 lbs.
Many pesticides, including Trifluralin and Benfluralin are now found in surface and ground water, which serves a a primary source of drinking water for many people(11). As ground water supplies the U.S. with 50% of its drinking water, people in many areas may become exposed to very small amounts of pesticides or pesticide-degradation products. This potential exposure problem is a concern, especially in rural areas where well water use is prevalent.
No CODEX, EC or other international tolerances are in effect for cryolite; thus, potential dietary exposure to fluoride as estimated by the EPA from the agricultural use of cryolite on crops would not include imported foodstuffs, nor other fluoride-containing pesticides(3).
2) FLUORIDE IN RESIDUE ON IMPORTED PRODUCTS
Pesticide manufacturers spend many years and millions of dollars testing their products before presenting them to the EPA for approval and registration. When these pesticides are not approved, US manufacturers then often export them to Third World countries where restrictions on pesticide use are much more relaxed, if existent/enforced at all. As a result, 26 pesticide ingredients banned from use in the US are exported to the Third World(12).
This creates a so-called "circle of poison" situation in which US banned pesticides are exported to the Third World and are used on crops whose produce is then sent back to the US.
The same manufacturers then write petitions in their own countries as to the permission of maximum residue levels (MRL) for those pesticides found in those now "imported" foods.
One such pesticide is TOLYLFLUANID, used in many countries. It is not registered for use in the US or the UK. However, illegal use of Tolylfluanid in the UK has been repeatedly reported by the UK Working Party on Pesticide Residues (WPPR)(13).
In 1997 the Federal Register reported on a petition by Bayer for the setting of residue levels for Tolylfluanid(14). It was reported that in rats Tolylfluanid altered thyroid hormone levels and caused an increased incidence of hyperplastic and neoplastic lesions of the thyroid (primarily adenomas).
SEE: Thyroid Cancer
Subchronic toxicity studies conducted in rats showed decreased body weight gain, decreased liver enzymes, slightly increased relative liver weights, and thyroid toxicity, while decreased body weight gain, increased liver enzyme activity, slightly increased relative liver weights, and increased PAS staining in the liver occurred in a subchronic dietary dog study.
Chronic toxicity studies on Tolylfluanid were done in the rat, mouse and dog. Tolylfluanid was tested in two rat chronic dietary studies. Increased growth of the incisors of the upper jaw and skeletal changes (hyperostosis in the skull and ribs) resulted from the high fluorine content of the compound. Hepatotoxicity and renal toxicity were seen in rats, mice, and dogs. Renal toxicity was "probably attributable to the effects of fluoride on renal tubules"(14).
The reference dose (RfD) for Tolylfluanid was set at 0.08 mg/kg/day (5.6mg/day for a person weighing 70 kgs). Nobody ever thought about setting it in context with other fluoride intake, such as fluoridated water, or cryolite.
Bayer, in their petition - while stating their belief that the EPA will classify Tolylfluanid as a possible human carcinogen, based on benign thyroid tumors seen in the chronic rat studies - asked for the following maximum residue levels (MRL):
Current CODEX tolerances for Tolylfluanid in other countries are(14):
5 mg/kg for currents (black, red, and white)
2 mg/kg for Gherkins,
1 mg/kg for head lettuce,
5 mg/kg for apples,
3 mg/kg for strawberries
2 mg/kg for tomatoes.
In the case of apples, this is of immediate concern.
59.7% of apple juice consumed in the U.S. is imported(14). Apple juice is drunk by many children on a daily basis, particularly infants. A national survey of pediatric health professionals confirms that apple juice is the first juice most often recommended for infants. Since apple juice is so well accepted and pleasing, according to the survey, it remains the fruit juice of choice for babies and toddlers(15).
Although recently published research suggested an association between fruit juice consumption and short stature and obesity (both indicators of thyroid dysfunction) the researchers note, "We have clearly stated in the paper that this is a cross-sectional study and that we cannot infer causality." They also state, "The development of obesity is multifactorial, with genetic, social and environmental influences" (15).
Sure it is. Maybe they should talk to an endocrinologist about that.
By the way, if governments are fluoridating public water supplies for the benefit of children, are they even noticing that children don't drink much water?
The newest USDA data -- 1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFIII) -- show that boys and girls five and under drink about 23 ounces of beverages each day, of which 21% is 100% fruit juice and 17% is fruit drinks/ades. Above age five, their consumption of 100% fruit juice declines noticeably. Girls in that age category consume 25 ounces of beverages, of which only 12% is fruit juice and 18% is fruit drinks/ades. Boys of the same age consume 27 ounces of beverages, and only 9.5% is fruit juice and 19% is fruit drinks/ades. (Milk and soft drinks account for the remainder of the amounts indicated, NOT water...) (15)
The chronic dietary exposure to Tolylfluanid is 23.29% of the RfD for non-nursing infants, the most highly exposed group(14).
We have infants, the most highly exposed group according to the Federal Register, consuming high amounts of Tolylfluanid on a daily basis! Tolylfluanid causes thyroid dysfunction and thyroid cancer. Proper thyroid function is essential for the developing brain.
Tolylfluanid is made by Bayer, member of the German Pharma-Cartel which also includes Hoechst and BASF. Knolls (BASF) also makes Synthroid, the medication then used every day to treat the condition caused by Tolylfluanid. This is an obscene and outright hideous situation, and a clear example how the same people will first make you sick, then sell you the medication required to get well.
3) RELIABILITY OF RESIDUE TESTING
In its annual report, published in September 1999, the WPPR reported the existence of large variations in residue test results, therefore casting a serious concern as to reliability in setting maximum residue levels (MRL)(16).
Tests run in 1999 by the WPPR on four representative commodities - apples, lettuce, oranges and tomatoes - and spiked with over 100 pesticide residues, showed that residue 'loss' occurred during processing. The loss of residues means that results may understate the amount of pesticide actually in the sample.
The WPPR reported these results as highly significant, for clearly interpretation of residue analysis needs to be taken "with a grain of salt, for there may be many more pesticides in food than we think."
TABLE 1: Loss of pesticide residues from spiked samples during analytical processing(16):
No. of pesticides sought
No. of pesticides with loss >20%
A group of biologists and medical researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, led by Warren P. Porter, recently completed a 5-year experiment putting mixtures of low levels of pesticide chemicals into the drinking water of male mice and carefully measuring the results(17). They reported that combinations of these chemicals -- at levels similar to those found in the groundwater of agricultural areas of the U.S. -- have measurable detrimental effects on the nervous, immune and endocrine (hormone) systems. They say their research has direct implications for humans (18).
Such combinations of pesticides are commonly called "cocktails". A cocktail is much more than just the active ingredients. The so-called inert ingredients are in fact equally biologically active, if not more so. It's hard to think of something more biologically active than fluorides.
Porter explains, "To get a chemical into a cell you've got to have part of the chemical that's fat soluble so it can pass through the cell membrane. And part of it has to have a strong electrical charge because you need to attract the chemical to the part of the cell where you want to do the damage. The trouble is, the ways cells communicate, both within themselves and between each other, is by means of highly charged molecules, ions really. These things are being pumped across the membranes and moved around in cells. So when you take a chemical that you've designed that has a strong electrical charge and you put it in the middle of this tremendous stream of communication--I mean, a high school chemistry student could tell you there are going to be effects. There's just no way these things are not going to be biologically active. It's very important for people to understand that. This is a very real concern." (18)
5) EXPOSURE DURING PESTICIDES APPLICATIONS
Porter uses the term "Pulse Dose" (18) in reference to pesticide use and environmental health. Receiving "pulses" of poisons would be normal in the case of agricultural poisons which are sprayed onto crops only at certain times of the year. During application people living near sprayed fields might get a sudden dose of poison via their lungs, their skin and their drinking water.
Recently a study of 4 and 5 year-old children exposed to pesticides in Mexico specifically noted a decrease in mental ability and an increase in aggressive behavior among children, indicating thyroid dysfunction. Functionally, the exposed children demonstrated decreases in stamina, gross and fine eye-hand coordination, 30-minute memory, and the ability to draw a person. Behavior of pesticide-exposed children was described as, "Some valley children were observed hitting their siblings when they passed by, and they became easily upset or angry with a minor corrective comment by a parent. These aggressive behaviors were not noted in the foothills" (pesticide-free)(19).
In humans, as in dogs, behaviour and learning disabilities are seen long before any clinical signs of thyroid dysfunction are manifest (20).
It is an abhorrent practice for US pesticide manufacturers to export illegal dangerous pesticides to other countries, knowing that no regulations exist in those countries. This should be considered a crime against mankind.
The World Health Organization estimates that all of the 220,000 annual pesticide related deaths occur in the Third World (21), where 80 percent of the world's pesticides are used. Agricultural workers are rarely, if ever, given sufficient information on the risks involved and thus do not take proper protective measures when using pesticides. Pesticide poisoning is thirteen times higher for Latin American workers than for US workers (22).
Fluoride intake from all sources must be urgently addressed.
Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children
Vancouver, BC, Canada
PFPC - "F- in Food" (Table w/references)
References: For list of references used in this article, send an e-mail, putting "Refs PFPC SI" in subject box.