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Byron Shire
March 28, 2024

Fluoride plant failures prompt closure calls

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Protestors at the entrance of the fluoride dosing plant at Corndale, which has been shut down on a number of occasions after leaks were discovered. (Pic supplied)
Protestors at the entrance of the fluoride dosing plant at Corndale, which has been shut down on a number of occasions after leaks were discovered. (Pic supplied)

Anti-fluoride activists are calling on Rous Water to shut down its fluoride dosing plants and hold a public inquiry following a series of shutdowns.

Members of the Fluoride Free Northern Rivers group say the Corndale plant that provides fluoridated water to Lismore and Goonellabah has broken down at least twice since it was commissioned in September last year.

They say documents obtained through Freedom of Information also indicate that overdose spikes had occurred at both the Clunes and Dorroughby plants, forcing emergency shutdowns at each plant.

FFNR public officer Lisa Connell said the Corndale plant was shutdown for almost five weeks as a result of failures.

‘Over a five-day period in early October breakdowns of an inlet pump join and screw feeders caused highly concentrated fluoridated water to leak over the floor of the plant,’ she said.

‘Workers were put at extreme risk and had to wear full protection suits to clean up the water and the plant was immediately shutdown for another four to five weeks so as contractors could be found to make repairs.

‘When the plant became operational again another similar leak appeared and fluoridation was again suspended for a number of weeks.’

Ms Connell said the breakdowns being experienced at northern rivers plants were also happening at other plants in Queensland and across New South Wales.

‘For example not only are there malfunctions, the Casino plant has now broken down over ten times in the last three years.

‘Rous Water has failed it’s duty of care by not giving any public warning to residents who may have received an overdose of fluoride in their potable water supply.

‘It is only through our vigilance by water testing and obtaining information that the extent of this cover up is coming to light.’

Echonetdaily has contacted Rous Water for comment.

 


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12 COMMENTS

  1. I can’t understand how any Australian would want to force poisons onto Australian citizens who do not wish to consume them – this toxic waste product also contains arsenic, cadmium and lead according to the Australian Drinking Water Standards. This is so un-Australian, we have such a great country but persist with this outdated practice. It’s been known since 1930’s that fluoride affects the thyroid and it has resulted in hypothryoidism for me – my hormone levels returned to normal once I stopped ingesting fluoridated water. We are fortunate in that we have been in a position to set up our own water supply which has cost us in excess of $10K. Since then a bunch of ailments I had which were classic symptoms of fluoride poisoning have disappeared. The solution is incredibly simple, do not add poisons to the public water supply, anyone who believes they’re good for you teeth can take as much of it as they wish, without forcing these chemicals onto people who do not give their consent to them. A GP would not legally be able to do this so doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever.

    • Fluoride in not toxic waste,It is a mineral And if it has some content of other things they must be able to pass the international regulations for water purity and contaminates.
      Fluoride does not affect the thyroid. Please show the peer reviewed papers to back this up??
      Fluoride does not cause hypothyroidism Please show peer reviewed papers to back this up?

      There is no evidence
      of allergy or intolerance to fluorides as used in the fluoridation of community water
      supplies.” A committee of the National Academy of Sciences evaluated the same
      clinical data and reported, “The reservation in accepting (claims of allergic reaction)
      at face value is the lack of similar reports in much larger numbers of people who have
      been exposed to considerably more fluoride than was involved in the original
      observations.” The World Health Organization (WHO) also judged these cases to
      represent “a variety of unrelated conditions” and found no evidence of allergic
      reactions to fluoride.

      Nobody forces you to drink fluoride it is your choice If you dont like it make other arrangements. But why should the rest of the community stop getting the benefits of fluoride because you dont want it

      • Dismissing bona fide scientific studies without doing any studies themselves isn’t scientific I’m afraid.

        Also lots of double standards involved. If a person gets sick eating gluten then we don’t hear that being dismissed by saying lots of people eat much higher levels of gluten without a problem. Do you see the inconsistent logic being applied? I understand you are a supporter of fluoridation but that doesn’t mean all evidence of side effects must be dismissed. Where is the empathy for sufferers?

        • Putting fluoride in the municiple water supply is practically forcing people to consume it.

          Also, from what i understand, the fluoride added to water is indeed extracted from the waste smelting facilities cannot release into the atmosphere. Yes, the traces of heavy metals, once diluted in the drinking water are of homeopathic concentrations, but I’m more concerned about dose regulation. Rightly so, as these incidents proove.

  2. I live in Ballina and since Ballina’s water has been fluoridated I have been experiencing headaches and a general feeling of being tired and unwell. Generally I am full of energy and never have headaches. As I like to drink water, and drink quite a lot of water as I work out regularly and play sport, am I being adversely effected by this toxin?
    Also, what mechanisms do the Councils have in place to evaluate the effectiveness of fluoride in our water? Have they collected pre fluoride statistics to compare with post fluoride statistics in our region?

  3. Robyn Sparks’ experience of headaches and tiredness is very typical of a proportion of people’s response to fluoridated water. It was described very well in medical journals in the USA in the early years of introducing fluoridation there. For reasons too twisted and complicated to go into here, medical organisations in the US (and in Australia) eventually came on board and began issuing and endless stream of propaganda about water fluoridation being completely safe. But it never has been safe and there is always a proportion of people who react badly to it. Very few doctors are up on the subject and they fail to point their patients in the right direction. Robyn will now have to get an alternative supply of proper, clean water for cooking, drinking and possibly bathing if she wants to stay well.
    If Rous Water would alert users that this reaction is a possibility, and if doctors were properly educated about it you would find something between 2 and 5 per cent of people in Ballina suffering symptoms of fluoride toxicity.

  4. Robyn,

    Do a search for “Fluoride Fatigue” by Bruce Spittle – it’s a free ebook that documents case studies of adverse effects from fluoridated water on people and animals. Headaches and fatigue are well known side-effects even listed in the Physicians Desk Reference.

    Further symptoms include neurological problems, headaches, skin irritation, gastrointestinal pain, and symptoms (Waldbott 1956, 1958, Feltman 1956, Feltman and Kosel 1961, Grimbergen 1974, Petraborg 1977, Spittle 2008,). Patients were often unaware that their drinking water contained fluoride. Symptoms improved with avoidance of fluoridated water and returned with consumption of fluoridated water or with experimental challenge with fluoride and confirmed by double blind testing. Doctors aren’t trained to suspect fluoride, so patients may be treated for side effects when all that is needed, is avoidance of fluoridated water.

    The Feltman and Kosel study was published in the Journal of Dental Medicine and received funding from the US Public Health Service, Department of Health Education and Welfare, Washington DC.

    • Yes Marion your story is the same as millions worldwide. If fluoride causes all these illnesses , where are the medical case histories?.Opps There is none
      And if that was the case why do all the quality dental and medical institutions fully support Community Fluoridated Water??

      • Side effects are well document in the scientific literature. I can’t understand the reason behind your repeated denials. I understand you support fluoridation but you can’t just deny science. That is just wishful thinking. Look at history. Things like smoking were supported by doctors and dentists. Lead was vigorously defended – also asbestos and DDT. People are learning more and more about fluoride’s toxic effects and hundreds of communities and even some countries have rejected fluoridation over the years. Even some medical organizations have revoked their endorsements of fluoride.

    • Marion,

      I’m sure what you are saying is true. However as the peer reviewed scientific evidence has shown some people suffer adverse effects from fluoride. Some people have smoked all their lives and lived to 90. Others get lung cancer when 35.

  5. The fact that fluoride affects the thyroid gland Chris Price cannot be be denied due to it being used to treat overactive thyroid glands with fluoride back in the fifties.It had the effect of reducing thyroid function,therefore making people hypothyroid,low metabolism,weight gain,fatigue .Its actually refered to as an auto immune disease where the body starts attacking its self.The doctors prescribe thyroxine for this which is the no 1 best selling drug in the USA,but its not recommended because it only replaces t4 and the body requires t3 as well as t4 for proper thyroid function.Some people have had good results by giving up gluten,but raw food,including lots of greens,some seaweed for iodine and things like that can be helpful and a good naturopath.The thing about not being forced to drink the poison is fine except if you don’t own your own home you don’t have much of a choice,no tank.Landlords often don’t have your health at heart,especially housing commission houses or caravan parks,as usual the poorest in the community suffer.So,at the end of the day,when they cut your head open to examine your pineal gland,what will they find?… an organ that was never used due to calcification by a person in a fluoridated area or a healthy specimen in a fully functioning human body that sleeps,dreams,gets messages from the universe to guide them,can meditate,has love for their fellow human beings and compassion,all the aspects working basically,unlike how they are trying to make us now,for some hidden agenda possibly stopping us evolving to the next level of conciouseness.

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