Toxic Transport On Our Roads - Latest action

James Christian, Safe Water Campaign member writes:
Hundreds of tons of the two most toxic and corrosive acids known, hydrogen fluoride and hexafluorosilicic acid, are being transported on our roads through densely populated areas and villages throughout England:. The risks are huge.
In our efforts to raise awarenss about the dangers of water fluoridation we have written to all Councils and Emergency Services in the area (60 letters in all) to find out what plans they have in the event of an accident.
If there were to be a road accident involving a hexafluorosilicic acid spill, hospitals and emergency crews (fire officers) may be ill prepared to cope with the situation. For example if a major roadway accident happened in a small village, much of the village may have to be razed and carried off to a hazardous waste landfill, and the top two feet of soil around the spill would also have to be carted off to a hazardous waste landfill.
There is also the potential risk of serious well water contamination.
When, for example, the acid comes in contact with tarmac the volatile reaction creates highly toxic and corrosive hydrogen fluoride gas. The vapours emitted from the reaction can affect people several miles down wind from the actual spill - the acid formed from the vapours will also etch glass, so you can imagine what they can do to the throat, mucus membranes and lungs. The airborne hydrogen fluoride will not only burn the skin, but it will be absorbed into the body also, causing potentially lethal fluoride poisoning.
The Hexafluorosilic acid used for artificial water fluoridation is a waste product of the fertiliser industry, obtained by breaking down phosphate rock which has such a high uranium content that the nuclear industry in the US used it as a source for nuclear fuel! The National Pure Water
Association (NPWA) has written confirmation from the U.S. Public Health Service (1998) regarding the presence of ‘radionuclides’ in hexafluorosilic acid used in the water fluoridation plants. There is evidence that a concentration of one billionth of hydrogen fluoride can and has devastated large areas of vegetation.
Two serious incidents
In our area at Avonmouth in 2001 a tank of hexafluorosilic acid was damaged. On discovery the port was shut down for 30 hours. Details obtained by the NPWA show this incident was a hairs breadth away from being a major life-taking catastrophe and that crews were illprepared and made mistakes that could have been catastrophic.
In Florida, USA, 1994 there was an accident involving a truck carrying hexafluorosilic acid. 4,500 gallons spilled onto the public highway. 87 people including police and other Emergency workers had to be hospitalised for treatment for up to 6 weeks. 300 tons of fluoride contaminated dirt needed to be removed.
The NPWA has produced a a useful Powerpoint presentation on the risks. We woulds like to get this to all the Emergency Services in our area. Please join or make a donation to help us make this possible. You can also read more about this issue under ‘Accidents Happen’ and
‘Toxic Tankers’at the NPWA site: http://www.npwa.freeserve.co.uk/