
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 18, 1993                   TAG: 9308180053
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

PANEL SAYS CANCER RISKS OF FLUORIDE ARE OVERBLOWN

Discounting studies that say there are health risks from fluoride in drinking water, a National Research Council panel said Tuesday there is no credible evidence that the chemical causes cancer, kidney disease or birth defects.

Dr. Bernard M. Wagner, a New York University School of Medicine professor and chairman of the NRC committee, said that the only proven harm to health from fluoride-laced drinking water that his panel could find was an increase in staining or pitting of tooth enamel, a condition known as dental fluorosis. About 10 percent of Americans experience tooth staining in a "very mild to mild" form, he said.

"The overwhelming benefits of fluoride in water in terms of preventing cavities, allowing young children to have a life of good teeth and maintaining those teeth into older life, far outweighs the small percentage of our population that shows fluorosis," said Wagner.

An Environmental Protection Agency standard of no more than 4 parts per million of fluoride in drinking water was viewed by the committee as "appropriate." But the panel said this standard should be changed if new research indicates it.

American cities began adding fluoride to their water supply in the 1940s after research suggested it would reduce dental decay.

by CNB