Today we're talking with Regina Imbergia, founder of Activists for Truth and Liberty.
This woman has made it her mission to end the fluoridation program in Dallas.
And according to her research, it would currently save the residents $1 million a year to stop
this program.
So Regina, first off, just tell us who you are and a little bit about yourself.
Well, I started Activists for Truth in May of 2013.
And the whole idea is, you know, exposing truth and helping create activism to help
change things.
So as we were growing and getting together, we were exposing a lot of things that aren't
exposed through the regular media outlets.
And in doing that, I already knew about fluoride and it being a problem.
And we realized that was a good area that we could go into and maybe make a change.
Because I believe at the local level, you have a greater chance to maybe get something
done.
So we looked into, and I was similar to like all of Americans, I didn't know exactly how
the city government worked, you know, I had never been down there, I didn't take the time.
And I thought, we got to do this.
So in December, nine of us just went down there just to check it out.
And we did a lot of things wrong.
We didn't know that the better time to get was the morning because in the afternoon,
you have to wait for everything that happens all day long.
And we sat there all day, we lost a few of our speakers, because they had to go pick
up kids or whatever.
And we've got our feet wet.
Well, we realized how to do it better in January.
So we scheduled to be the morning speakers.
Meanwhile, I was I literally asked them, how do we get fluoride out of the water?
And they said, it was a vote of the people, they meaning the city said, it was a vote
of the people that put it in, in the 60s.
And it would be a vote of the people that would take it out.
So I said, okay, I started pursuing what is the process, they said, you have to get it
on the ballot.
And you can get it on the ballot by getting tons of signatures, like 30,000, because you
need to have like 20,000 valid signatures, so they throw a lot away.
Or you could convince nine of the city council because there's 16 on the city council.
But if you could get nine to just say to put it on the ballot, then they put it on the
ballot.
First thing in my mind was, well, we're not going for the petition process, we're going
to try to sway nine of these people to just put it on the ballot.
So some of our first presentations to them were to appeal to them to bring it to the
people to just, you should be able to let the people have a vote on this.
But in that process, I was trying to look up how was the original petition written.
And lo and behold, I find out that that was inaccurate information.
In 1965, the city council themselves decided to put fluoride in the water in August.
And an activist group back then realized this happened, and they were like, no, no, no,
we don't want fluoride in the water.
They got together a petition hoping to have the people say they don't want it, to say
that it's a bad idea.
Unfortunately, when this came to a vote on the ballot by the people, it was a two to
one margin.
And it was only 27,080 people voted with the council to say, no, we want the fluoride in
the water.
So that's what they've been pointing back to.
So I brought the question to the city secretary, if a vote of the council put it in, wouldn't
it just be a straight vote of the council to take it out?
Well, after they talked to the city lawyer and all that, they said, yeah, that was accurate
information.
So then I realized, what was our task?
Our task was to appeal to nine of the 16 to decide we need to help the fluoride in
the water.
So that began our mission.
And what we started to do was, you can only have one speaker a month because the rules
changed.
When we first started in January, they allowed a speaker to speak four times a month.
You would only be able to come one of those four times in the morning, the primo time.
The other three, you could speak, but you had to wait and do it in the afternoon.
I believe it was February, they changed the rules.
The rules then were, it was a vote of the panel and everything, that it was one time
a month you could come speak, one.
And you could pick the morning or afternoon, but within a 30-day period.
So we spoke in February and we spoke in March.
We started having a strategic way of just appealing to them on the consent issue, that
it's a medication and we do not want to be medicated.
We focused on that one, the dose issue, that you can control the concentration but you
cannot control the dose.
And then we did touch on the health issues, but we stuck to the three main ones, the IQ,
because there's recent data about that.
I thought it was a good idea to stick with the thyroid issue, because in the 40s, 50s
and 60s, they gave thyroid medication to lower the thyroid.
It was very obvious and it seemed to bring home.
And then we also, we talked about the teeth being pitted and discolored, which could correlate
to bones.
So we kind of touched on those three.
And then the cost issue.
So quite often we would bring up, it's a million dollars and it's an effective program.
So that's when we come to the point where then I had some private meetings with some
of the council members, trying to get a feel for if they were interested and Councilman
Cadane expressed interest.
He said, so this million dollars, you know, where did you get that information?
Which I would like to clarify here.
It's very interesting how this works.
They get a contract for three years.
So on the paper they gave me in December, it showed, or January, it showed that they
owed 1,500,000 approximately.
This is just for the fluoride.
And I was explained later was they get the contract for a three year period and it depends
on how much they use and stuff like that.
But what I bring into when I bring up the million dollars is the added cost of the monitoring,
not only just the actual fluoride cost, but all the other additional costs that are involved.
When I talk to the councilmen, they say that they hunt and look for $25,000 or $30,000
to give to the library.
I'm sure.
I mean, they're happy for any amount.
Why have it go down the drain?
Hi, my name is Chantal Arashian.
I'm here today to discuss the halting of fluoride to our water.
Today, let us put aside the risk related to ingesting fluoride and let us just focus on
the amount of money the city spends to add fluoride to the water.
The document we were given by the Dallas Water Department in January 2014 states the contract
expires on January 10th, 2015, and the remaining costs are $1,478,418.
Even if there was a penalty for canceling the contract early, can you imagine having
a million dollars to put towards other worthwhile projects?
Our raw water naturally contains fluoride as high as 0.57 milligrams per liter.
The maximum target is 0.7 milligrams per liter.
Fluoride is easily accessible these days to make up that difference.
Brushing your teeth is really what benefits the teeth the most.
This is why poverty areas still have tooth decay problems even though they have been
fluoridating for 30 years in other poverty areas.
Dallas pools close in the hot summers due to budget issues.
The library would love more money to provide their services to the community, but funding
is in short supply.
Yet thousands of dollars a day go down the drain literally.
The Dallas Water Department document states the original contract amount is for $2,048,288
and expires on January 10th, 2015.
For 3,570 tons of fluoride, how often is this delivered?
Where is it stored?
How many men hours are involved with checking it in?
How about the cost for containers to store it?
Are there any other naturalizers needed to be purchased when adding fluoride?
Protective clothing, the city purchases?
There's always additional costs.
It's not usually just the one thing.
Fluoride does not improve the safety or taste of our water.
Its sole purpose for being added was to lessen tooth decay.
In Dallas 48 years and millions upon millions of dollars later, we're saying it's time to
stop throwing this money away and spend it on much wiser things.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you.
Mr. Cadane.
Thank you, Mayor.
Thank you for bringing that forward and I would just like to say to all of my colleagues
that I think this is a good situation for us to do away with the fluoride.
We don't need it and we just saved a million dollars that we can use immediately for something
else like libraries, rec centers, and I'd like to see and I've already talked with AC
about this and we're looking into seeing what we can do immediately so we can get those
funds up front now and today.
So thank you for bringing that forward.
Thank you, Mayor.
I'd like to support your leadership on this, Sheffy, very much.
Look forward to looking into this.
This contract will come up for renewal very soon so you can count on my support and let
me know how I can help.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Gates.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention but I would like to, if we'd look at this
further, that water for the fluoride is paid out of the DWU enterprise and I don't think
we could relocate that money towards parks or streets or any other type of amenities.
I think it would have to stay within DWU so that was something we need to look into.
Several Dallas City Council members have joined the fight to remove fluoride from Dallas'
drinking water.
Speakers have been asking the council to do it for months now with no response.
So a speaker today was surprised when the council members agreed it should be done.
They say it could save a million dollars a year.
We're looking into seeing what we can do immediately so we can get those funds up front now.
Yay, this is major big.
This is it.
I knew we would prevail.
It only makes sense.
We're spending too much money for an ineffective program.
Dallas has added fluoride to the water for nearly 50 years now to fight tooth decay but
opponents claim it is a health hazard.
When I went to talk to the water department after Cadane said he had this interest, I
was talking to them because one of the council people brought up the fact that the money
is in the Dallas Water Department Enterprise because it may have to stay in there.
But I still just kind of like the way they thought that you needed to halt the fluoride
in the water by a petition and found out something else.
I am going to look into it more to see about this, whether the money that is used to monitor
and do everything else with the fluoride, if it does have to stay within the water department.
So what is your method?
You told us a little bit about it but just say it in a more clear, concise way.
What has been your method to get the fluoride out of the water then?
Well the truth of the matter is since January I have written most of the scripts for several
reasons.
I want to make sure that we stay under the three minutes.
They give you three minutes and I think it shows that you respect their time and that
we are trying to follow the agenda by staying under that three minutes.
So we time it and we make sure it is concise.
And then also to touch on specific areas where we can be very strong and staying away from
areas that could maybe be picked on or ignored and you cannot ignore the consent issue.
What we stress is the fact that as a doctor or any health care professional they are restricted,
they are not allowed to even help a person that is bleeding if they do not want to be
helped.
And I actually talked to a med student that had just graduated, he is not a doctor yet.
He said they stress the fact that authorized consent, you can lose your license and you
can be charged if somebody refuses to accept your help.
So when they are saying that they are putting fluoride in the water for a medical treatment
to help people for helping their teeth, if we say we do not want it, we have that right
to refuse it in other cases, but in this one it is in our water, so taking our consent
away.
Yeah, because you cannot stop it.
Even if you can filter your tap water but you still get it in the shower, you get it
everywhere if you go to a drinking fountain somewhere or it affects everyone.
You respect the counsel's wishes and I think that is a great way to do it so they do not
look at you as kooky or that you are just trying to cause problems and that it is a
real issue that you respect them and want to bring to them and so you write down everyone's
speeches for three minutes and everyone pretty much likes what you write.
Oh yes.
The thing of it is too is it is that respect factor and I believe going into there not
thinking they are the bad guy, going in there and I really mean this too, I think a lot
of it is the fact that it is so heartfelt.
We are trying to help them do their job.
We really want them to know that this is something that is important and that we are not attacking
them or thinking they are a bad guy.
I mean they just do not know, I mean they are just like everyone else out there in the
population that just does not understand the issue but it somehow is now in 70% of America's
water supply.
The CDC and the ADA have really instilled it in people's minds that it is good for you
and that it is healthy.
We also really try to stress the precautionary rule which is basically because in layman's
words it is like when in doubt, leave it out.
So if there is some potential risks, okay, then do not do it.
We do not have to do it.
This is something that they are putting in to try to help us, right?
So it is not, and this is what I try to explain too with the thing is it is not purifying
the water and making it safer.
It is not about chlorinating it or reducing the bacteria or something.
This is an additive that has some potential risks to it so when in doubt, leave it out.
That is a precautionary rule.
I think that is awesome.
So what are the solutions then?
How are you going to try to stop this in Dallas?
Well the thing of it is I have had several people because of this, a lot of these newspaper
articles that come out asking how can we do this in our area and you know what I have
said?
I think they need to help us do it in the Dallas area because when Dallas, it is official
that Dallas has gone through and done this, I think it will help all the areas.
They should be calling our city council and telling them great.
Let them have the multitudes of the people letting them know.
We realize we do not want fluoride in our water either and it is so great that you are
doing it in Dallas to pave the way, the leadership, your heroes.
That is what I have said to them, they will be heroes.
They really will be heroes among the people.
Maybe the dental associations and all these CDCs, they will not be happy but the people
will be happy.
And a lot of people are going to hear this from other countries and stuff and they do
not even really know what Dallas is but Dallas is not a tiny town.
Dallas is like a million and a half people.
I am not sure the exact.
Yeah, I think it is a million point three, something like that.
Yeah, a million point three people and that is a ton of people and if you guys can get
it past there, it will be like a snowball effect and then more people will see it and
it will not seem so kooky to other towns that want to do it.
They are like, well look at this town, Dallas, that did it.
So I think it is great that people should support you and your cause.
We do have the website which is www.activistfortruth.com and you can see what we have done.
You can see our presentations, I believe will prevail.
I want people to see they can make a difference.
This is bigger than the fluoride to me because I want activists because so many of them are
in apathy.
They think nobody is going to listen and it is the truth.
You can see a lot of city councils, they are eating, talking to each other and not paying
attention.
Well, I am proud that lately they pay attention.
They do look when you look at and it is exciting.
I think it has been an exciting process and I was guilty too.
I did not know how it worked.
I had never done it and we need to get involved.
We need to get involved and get to know these people as people and help them.
I think we need to help our elected officials.
They are there to serve us but we should help them too.
And you have been getting a hold of these city council members, right?
Yes, oh yes.
I have been trying to talk to them personally and you are sharing them information outside
of the public forum also, right?
And some anecdotal things like I am a cook and I told my councilman, I was saying I realized
one day, I reduced soups to 50%, right?
I start out with this much water and I reduce it.
I have already increased that concentration by double.
You cannot say when the CDC and ADA say in the concentration that they have realized
is safe but how many ways is that being altered in a human's life, you know?
I mean how many times did you put the water on to make tea and it boiled down and you
still put the teabag in there, you know?
Right?
Okay, so you are talking about, oh it is safe in these concentrations but as you said before,
that is where we get into the dose thing.
Their concentrations, I am not picking on the water department saying they are not monitoring
their water well, okay?
Because they monitor it every four hours.
And by the way, on the Friday, that is what I was going to say, on the Friday after we
had been to the city hall, so we have been to the 25th, the 25th, the raw water level
was above the maximum level that they would treat to bring it up to.
In other words, their target number is 0.70 parts per million, it was at 0.74, naturally.
That is how much it was, and this is what Councilman Cadane says, we already have fluoride
in the water, why are we putting more in, right?
That is common sense to him, he is like, wait a minute now, I talked to the water department,
I told him I want to do this, and there already is fluoride in the water, so why are we spending
this money to put more in, when you can get it in toothpaste or whatever, right?
I mean some reports make it seem like it is already out of the water in Dallas, but that
is something you want to make clear that it is not, and you are still trying to make
this happen, right?
Exactly.
I think an overzealous online international newspaper headline, it was an international
online newspaper, stated it as though it has already happened, but it has not happened,
officially, but the Councilman Cadane has made the statement that he wants it to happen,
and he wants it to happen now.
I know, and he also said it on camera, that he had talked to AC, who is the city manager,
and he was nodding affirmatively during the city council meeting, that he has spoke to
him, and has told him he wants this to happen quickly, and we have the support of the other
Councilman that said that he agrees and he appreciates the leadership that Councilman
Cadane is taking, and I'm sure there's other ones that are going to be on board about this,
but I believe the way it has to happen, for it to be halted, is nine have to vote.
Now I believe Councilman Cadane was talking about having a briefing meeting where they
discuss it and then they call a vote, so I believe, again, what my intention is, is to
be still talking to these other Councilmen and letting them know why it's a good idea
to do it.
So you said nine of them, but how many are on the council again?
Sixteen.
So nine out of the sixteen, so you have to have the majority vote, and then if the majority
say, let's take this out, it's coming out.
That's exactly right.
Wow.
And you confirm with them that it's going to be just like a vote of them and it's nothing
else.
You don't have to get the signatures or vote of the people, they don't have to put it back
on the ballot.
That's awesome.
That is official.
Yes.
Very official through the city secretary.
Yes.
Wow.
It's exciting.
Yeah, it really is.
It's exciting.
Really, people.
Things can be done, but you've got to get up and you've got to get involved.
For years, I'm sure people thought, well, I had heard this before, which I haven't seen
a lot of activity in Dallas.
I know other cities, getting it on the ballot, it's a lot of money and it's a lot of time,
and it's very strict.
Once you get approved that you can even go out and get signatures, you have 60 days to
get them in that amount of time.
So you can put all the time and money into something like that and fail, just because
you didn't meet all the guidelines.
Look at the opportunity we have here.
We just have to help nine city council people see what a good idea this is.
And we know all the reasons why it's a good idea.
So we just have to present that, present that.
And I believe we'll prevail right from the beginning, because it makes so much sense.
They don't even have to look at this as a health issue.
It's just a pure financial issue to them, and it just saves them a ton of money and
they can use the money on stuff.
They're penny pitching everywhere else when they could be using this money for something
else.
That's great.
First, real quick, go back to the history a little bit and tell us the history of fluoride
in the water in Dallas.
In 1965, I believe August of 1965, the city council decided on their own, just like now
they have the authority to decide on their own to halt the adding of fluoride, they decided
to put it in.
And like I say, there was an activist group, I can't remember the name right now, that
heard about that it was going in the water.
And they were buying the tanks.
Just think about all that had to be put in back then.
So they spent a lot of money back then.
Right now they're using a lot of that equipment.
But it was being bought and they were saying that they were going to be starting it soon.
And this activist group said, this is poison, this is dangerous.
And the way it was written on the ballot that went to the people is that this is like criminal.
And that they should not be allowed to do this.
So they went through all the hoops and everything to get it on the ballot.
And when it came up for the vote, I was reading the Dallas Morning News article about it.
It was the winter time and they were surprised how many people showed up.
But it was 27,080 people voted to keep the fluoride in the water to a 10,000 something
you know, vote.
And that's the other thing I brought up to the city council when I first went.
I said, a vote of 27,000 people 48 years ago is still affecting the people in Dallas all
this time later and the population later.
Don't you think the people have the right to have their voice be heard?
That's when I thought we just had to convince them to get it on the ballot.
But now after looking, like I say, and actually confirming the fact that it was the council's
decision to put it in, the council has the authority to stop it.
It doesn't have to go to the people.
And what I, as these pro fluoride people start coming out and they start trying to convince
these council people that they're bad and that they are stupid and that they're uninformed
and they're being misled, what I say is, well, you vote to take it out and let those pro
fluoride people get the signatures to get it on the ballot and show their proof and
convince the people to vote to have it put back in if it's so good.
They should be able to prove their point.
So that's what I say.
And what's wrong with that?
All right.
Well, I love it.
When in doubt, leave it out.
Right?
That's right, baby.
Yeah.
When in doubt, leave it out.
Precautionary rule.
Yeah.
All right.
So what does the future entail for you guys?
Well, starting tomorrow, I do have some things I want to do.
I want to actually investigate a little more about the money and how that is allocated
and different things like that.
I also want to check into the NBC article that originally, they interviewed me right
after the city council had this conversation and a news article came out with a video that
day.
A day and a half later, the headline of the video changed and they added pro fluoride
text to it, like some statements at the end.
And I was wondering if that's normal media procedure.
I don't know.
I was concerned.
I'm interested.
I want to find out how does that work?
The headline now reads something to the degree of Dallas Dental Association is concerned.
You know?
I'm sure.
Yeah.
They're concerned.
Yeah.
So I don't know.
I have a few things I want to check into.
Of course, I want to still be talking to the city council men and giving them confidence
in why we want to do this and help them have an easier way to come to agree with this.
We have a Facebook page which is Activists for Truth.
We also have a meetup that's Activists for Truth and Liberty.
I mean, they can find it in Dallas.
That would be great and they can see what we're doing.
Or we have the website where they can follow what we're doing also.
I want them to have hope.
I want them to know that this can be done.
It's not impossible.
I want them to know that the pro fluoride people will come out and attack and they will
say things that they have repeated over and over again.
And what we do is we keep presenting it with a smile and not being afraid of them or concerned
and we help support the people that we're trying to make these decisions with the confidence
that we're going to back them.
You know?
Yeah.
That we appreciate what they're doing.
That we know better, that we're not going to attack them after they do it or not be
there for them.
Yeah.
I don't know.
I don't know what else I want to say.
No?
That's great.
I actually, you know, I know you're not taping everything, but I have a press release that's
going to come out on May 1st, okay?
And in the press release, I did it through one of these agency things that helps you
kind of sort of, and it sounds like I'm being interviewed, but it's really me writing it,
right?
Well, do you know what I mean?
It's kind of goofy how they make you do this, but I really want to stress that Robert Carton,
Ph.D., and this is what I'm going to send to each of the council members and ask them
to look at the affidavit because what they're trying to say is that we, activists, don't
know what we're talking about.
We're not scientists.
We're not doctors.
And that if a council person is going to listen to some wacko activists and not pay attention
to science, but this scientist who was inside, he was actually a leader, you know, he was
a scientist with the EPA, he says that the government doesn't have the science behind
it and that it's not safe.
So they need to look at that, you know?
And so I put that in the press release.
That's awesome.
It might work.
I hope.
It will work.
You will prevail.
Yes.
We will prevail.
That's what I say all the time.
We will.
We will prevail.
I really mean it.
I know we will.
I just, I truly, truly know we will.
So it's going to be a good day in Dallas.
Yeah, hopefully they do it soon, but this stuff always takes time.
So with time we'll know and hopefully people will replicate and duplicate what you're doing,
Regina.
I'm so happy to see people like you out there that are doing something that actually makes
a difference.
Yes.
Instead of just twiddling their thumbs in front of the television every night, you actually
care about the people.
Yeah.
And so, well thank you, Regina.
I think that's it unless you have anything else you want to say.
I don't think so.
Nah.
Awesome.
Well, I'll see you next month at the end of the month.
So see you.
Exciting.
I'm very excited that Councilman Kedane is willing to be on camera and to do this.
That is awesome.
Yeah.
So hopefully he keeps that appointment.
I don't.
Alright.
So I think he will.
Alright.
Do we hang up now?
Yeah, that's it, Regina.
Thanks so much.
Oh, you're awesome.