To: Bill Morrison, William C. Boyd, Harold B. Collins, Wanda Halbert, Jim Strickland, Edmund Ford, Jr., Lee Harris, Joe Brown, Janis Fullilove, Myron Lowery, Kemp Conrad, Shea Flinn, Reid Hedgepeth, and Midsouth Citizens

Midsouth Citizens For Safe Drinking Water ~ Stop Adding Fluoride Chemicals To Our Water.

Following Memphis City Council approval, Memphis taxpayers spend $650,000.00 every year to add fluoride chemicals to the water supply. As evidenced by the Batch Analysis Report delivered with each truckload of fluoride chemicals, we, the citizenry, have learned that lead, arsenic and a host of other contaminants are present in the fluoride chemical mixture. Since the EPA's Maximum Contaminant Level Goal for lead and arsenic in drinking water is ZERO due to their known harmful health effects, we, the undersigned, demand our water from the Memphis Sand Aquifer be protected from such harmful chemicals by discontinuing the addition of hydrofluorosilicic acid to our public water supply by any and all legal means necessary, the public health requiring it.

Why is this important?

Excessive fluoride exposure is well known to cause a painful bone disease known as skeletal fluorosis, as well as a discoloration of the teeth known as dental fluorosis. Excessive fluoride exposure has also been linked to a range of other chronic ailments including arthritis, bone fragility, bone and bladder cancer; thyroid disease, gastric distress, and cardiovascular disease.

While the lowest doses that cause some of these effects are not yet well defined, it is clear that certain subsets of the population are particularly vulnerable to fluoride’s toxicity. Populations with heightened vulnerability to fluoride include infants, individuals with kidney disease, individuals with nutrient deficiencies, and individuals with medical conditions that cause excessive thirst.

Additionally, we see the fluoride chemicals added to our water contain Lead, Arsenic and other contaminants harmful to human health. Some of these contaminants, especially lead and the fluoride itself, have been shown to cause disproportionate harm to African Americans according to the CDC and scientists who have served with the EPA whose data conclude African Americans absorption rates of these contaminants are higher than other members of the population.

Fluoridation of the Memphis water supply must end because WE ALL deserve Safe Water from our public utility company!