Long-term Harm to FW Operators

Officials rethinking fluoridation of water
Gases causing costly damage to pump house
By Lara Brenckle
lbrenckl@centredaily.com
BELLEFONTE -- Bellefonte is exploring whether to stop adding fluoride to its water system after public works employees pointed out damage in the Big Spring pump house caused by the additive.Borough Councilmember Charles Aikens brought up the issue during a work session before last week's council meeting.
"There is erosion caused by fluoride gases in the room of the pump house where we chlorinate and fluoridate the waters," Aikens said. "When the vapors escape, over time, it erodes the glass in the windows."
Borough Manager Ralph Stewart said he was also told that the gases can damage the "thousands and thousands of dollars' worth" of sensitive electronic equipment that operates the water pumps.So far, the idea is simply that. Borough officials are meeting with various regulatory bodies, including the state Department of Environmental Protection, to determine how to proceed. DEP spokesman Dan Spadoni said the department allows each water system to decide whether to fluoridate its water.If a system that is adding fluoride wants to remove it, all that is required, he said, is a minor permit change, made by application to the department.Stewart said he has heard that, but other sources have led him to believe the issue must be put to a referendum.If public sentiment is highly against the change, Stewart said, the borough would investigate other avenues, such as increased ventilation in the pump house to reduce damage.The borough has spent $100,000 -- $50,000 of its own money and $50,000 in grant money -- to repair the pump house this year. Stewart said the borough will spend between $6,500 and $7,000 on fluoride this year.
While DEP does not keep records of how many water systems in the state have stopped fluoridating their water, a spokesman with the department's statewide press office said that in the North Central region, in which Centre County is included, no water systems have moved to eliminate fluoride.The issue of fluoridating public water systems has been controversial since Grand Rapids, Mich., became the first community in the United States to add the agent to its water 60 years ago.An Internet search on fluoride yields a number of nonprofit groups and published articles detailing arguments that fluoride poses more of a public health risk than benefit.On the other hand, the American Dental Association supports public water fluoridation. In a pamphlet called "Fluoridation Facts," the ADA states that "community water fluoridation is the single most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay."
The pamphlet also states that "studies conducted over the past 60 years have indicated that adding fluoride is a safe and effective way of preventing tooth decay in children and adults."Aikens, chairman of the borough's safety committee, said he was looking at the issue purely from a safety standpoint and wasn't looking to jump into the health debate. Workers in the pump house "have been very careful, but (exposure) certainly could have an effect on them long-term," Stewart said.