Australia - Fluoride bill leaves bad taste
Fluoride bill leaves bad taste
SIMONE PLEWS
THREE years after directing Port Macquarie- Hastings Council to fluoridate its water supply, the state government appears to be baulking at the cost of the system.
The council's water and natural resources director Geoff Freeman said the government was reviewing its funding models for a local fluoridation plant.
"There is an issue with the cost of the system because they are looking at this on a state-wide basis," he said. "We've designed a plant and submitted it to NSW Health for approval but they are concerned about the costs."
NSW Health had previously agreed to fund the scheme, which could cost close to $2 million. "It's a significant cost," Mr Freeman said. "They are reviewing our design and our proposal and have got technical experts looking at it as well as coming up with the appropriate funding model."
The council submitted its fluoridation plant design and proposal to the government almost 12 months ago. A North Coast Area Health Service spokesman said fluoridation of the local water supply was central to a broad strategy aimed at improving oral health in the Port Macquarie-Hastings region.
"To date the cost estimates for the proposed infrastructure may have exceeded the industry standard for a population of this size," he said. "Consequently, the NSW Centre for Oral Health Strategy has engaged an independent consultant to expedite the arrangement."
The fluoride debate has been a controversial one in the Hastings for many years, with the council referring the issue to an expert panel in 2004. In August that year the Director General of Health, Robyn Kruk, directed the council to fluoridate its water supply.
"It's been a long issue and from our point of view it's an important issue to get right," Mr Freeman said. "Council was prepared to accept the long-term operating costs of the facility, so in that context we were keen to get an efficient plant."
The health service spokesman said more than 90 per cent of the state's population received fluoridated water. "As a result, NSW Health has approved local fluoridation and has been working with council to develop a design for a suitablyequipped plant," he said.
"For the community's benefit, it is important that fluoridation be implemented as soon as possible. Health authorities, in conjunction with other NSW Government departments, will continue to work with council to achieve this goal."
Port Macquarie-Hastings councillor Lisa Intemann, a fluoridation opponent, is among 600 signatories on a petition urging America's Congress to stop fluoridation until Congressional hearings are conducted.
They cite new scientific evidence that fluoridation, long promoted to fight tooth decay, is ineffective and has serious health risks. Cr Intemann said she was invited to sign the petition, which boasts 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine winner Dr Arvid Carlsson, as a signatory.
It also is signed by three members of the prestigious 2006 National Research Council (NRC) panel that reported on fluoride's toxicology, the president of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment, and hundreds of medical, dental, academic, scientific and
SIMONE PLEWS
THREE years after directing Port Macquarie- Hastings Council to fluoridate its water supply, the state government appears to be baulking at the cost of the system.
The council's water and natural resources director Geoff Freeman said the government was reviewing its funding models for a local fluoridation plant.
"There is an issue with the cost of the system because they are looking at this on a state-wide basis," he said. "We've designed a plant and submitted it to NSW Health for approval but they are concerned about the costs."
NSW Health had previously agreed to fund the scheme, which could cost close to $2 million. "It's a significant cost," Mr Freeman said. "They are reviewing our design and our proposal and have got technical experts looking at it as well as coming up with the appropriate funding model."
The council submitted its fluoridation plant design and proposal to the government almost 12 months ago. A North Coast Area Health Service spokesman said fluoridation of the local water supply was central to a broad strategy aimed at improving oral health in the Port Macquarie-Hastings region.
"To date the cost estimates for the proposed infrastructure may have exceeded the industry standard for a population of this size," he said. "Consequently, the NSW Centre for Oral Health Strategy has engaged an independent consultant to expedite the arrangement."
The fluoride debate has been a controversial one in the Hastings for many years, with the council referring the issue to an expert panel in 2004. In August that year the Director General of Health, Robyn Kruk, directed the council to fluoridate its water supply.
"It's been a long issue and from our point of view it's an important issue to get right," Mr Freeman said. "Council was prepared to accept the long-term operating costs of the facility, so in that context we were keen to get an efficient plant."
The health service spokesman said more than 90 per cent of the state's population received fluoridated water. "As a result, NSW Health has approved local fluoridation and has been working with council to develop a design for a suitablyequipped plant," he said.
"For the community's benefit, it is important that fluoridation be implemented as soon as possible. Health authorities, in conjunction with other NSW Government departments, will continue to work with council to achieve this goal."
Port Macquarie-Hastings councillor Lisa Intemann, a fluoridation opponent, is among 600 signatories on a petition urging America's Congress to stop fluoridation until Congressional hearings are conducted.
They cite new scientific evidence that fluoridation, long promoted to fight tooth decay, is ineffective and has serious health risks. Cr Intemann said she was invited to sign the petition, which boasts 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine winner Dr Arvid Carlsson, as a signatory.
It also is signed by three members of the prestigious 2006 National Research Council (NRC) panel that reported on fluoride's toxicology, the president of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment, and hundreds of medical, dental, academic, scientific and
posted by Bill at
9:52 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home