Congratulations to Danica Champion for continuing the great fluoride debate. In my own research of this topic, I was directed by a bookseller in Red Deer to perhaps the most exhaustive book on the subject written by Christopher Bryson and aptly titled The Fluoride Deception.

The recently written book takes us back to the Second World War and the work of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Manhattan Project.

The development of the atomic bomb, dropped on Hiroshima and then Nagasaki, required the enrichment of uranium, the processing of which used fluoride, a compound derived from fluorine, one of the most toxic elements in the world.

These processes required huge manufacturing facilities to be set up in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee.

The smoke and venting of fumes from these factories, the devastation to the surrounding farmland and cattle, and the havoc wrought on the workers themselves, and the resulting lawsuits, are well-documented in now declassified records of the government and industry, mandated by President Bill Clinton.

The book clearly shows the connection between the government, educational institutions, industry and scientists during and after the war, and the complexity of the processes, secrecy required and the need to dispose of the toxic wastes of the manufacturing operations.

With most of the scientists, government personnel and industry leaders involved in this unfortunate era now deceased, it is perhaps possible, and just a matter of time when this whole fluoride deception joins the ranks of the thalidomide, lead in gasoline, smoking and asbestos bans.

To our dentists, Dr. Hardy Limeback, the head of toxicology and dental departments of the University of Toronto agrees there may be some benefit to the topical application of fluoride on teeth, but he doesn’t agree with the flushing of these toxic wastes through our bodies.

Looking further into this topic, I was directed to a team of scientists who studied the effects of naturally occurring fluoride, of varying levels found in drinking water, on the intelligence of school children.

They came to the conclusion that no amount of fluoride would be safe for human consumption.

Gordon Arthur

Red Deer