Salt Lake Tribune - Tuesday, October 16, 2001

Unsafe Chemicals

A Sept. 26 New York Times article on the security of our water supplies is astounding in its misinformation. It states, "Poisoning the voluminous rivers and reservoirs nourishing cities would require truckloads of chemical or biological agents that would be difficult to produce and relatively easy to spot, experts say."

Well, guess what folks? There are truckloads of highly toxic chemicals already sitting in most water treatment plants: chlorine and fluorosilicic acid. In the tunnel fire in Baltimore this summer, what chemical was feared most? "The most dangerous of the train's load of chemicals, according to experts, is fluorosilicic acid," the Baltimore Sun reported on July 20.

Fluorosilicic acid, which is used to fluoridate water supplies, has always been a toxic threat. Unlike chlorine, which is very noticeable by its odor, fluorosilicic acid is odorless and tasteless. Numerous incidents have occurred where pumps have failed and a toxic slug of acid was injected into water supplies. Many people have become ill and some have died (see www.fluoridealert.org/accidents.htm.) In one case in Middletown, Md., the mayor considered calling out the National Guard to warn residents not to drink the water after a spill, but decided not to because he did not want to alarm the residents. They flushed out the entire system by opening all the fire hydrants instead.

There is a frightening parallel between the availability of planes to hijackers and the ready availability of highly toxic chemicals at water treatment plants. Tom Curtis of the American Water Works Association was quoted in the Times story as saying: "We don't need to advertise where the weakest links in the armor are."

Maybe the terrorists already know.

ROBERT J. CARTON, Ph.D.
Neavitt, Md.

Link: The Salt Lake Tribune -- Utah's Statewide Newspaper
Address: www.sltrib.com/10162001/public_f/Public_f.htm

Last modified: 18 October 2001

http://www.actionpa.org/fluoride/fl-terrorist.html