Estimates of the total child IQ points currently being lost due to fluoridated water in the US are greater than those being lost from childhood lead poisoning [Neurath 2020, Neurath 2021].

Fluoride truly is the new lead. Fluoride is causing substantially greater population-wide loss of IQ today than lead. Two-thirds of Americans receive drinking water that has had fluoride added and dental interests are calling for expanding fluoridation. In contrast, lead was banned from paint and gasoline starting in the 1970s and, as a result, child blood lead levels have steadily declined to a tiny fraction of what they were before the bans. Only about 3% of children today exceed the latest CDC guideline of 3.5 ug/dL. In Needleman’s day, almost all children greatly exceeded today’s lead guideline [Pirkle 1994].

To be clear, lead poisoning has not been eliminated. There are still tens of thousands of children who are lead poisoned, especially from old leaded paint or situations such as in Flint, Michigan. There, a switch to corrosive water leached lead from pipes and caused more than a doubling of the percentage of children with blood lead exceeding 5 ug/dL, from 5% to 12% [Zahran 2017, PBS 2017]. As terrible as the Flint case was, it is estimated that only about 500 children had their blood lead raised above the 5 ug/dL level. Compare that to 210 million people with fluoridated water in the US. They are exposed to fluoride which the new scientific evidence suggests is putting each new generation at risk for lowered IQ. Fluoridation in the US is equivalent to 17,917 “Flints” every year, in terms of harm to kids’ developing brains. That is the number of water systems where fluoride is added.

RICHARD OLREE,

Hillman