USA - East end water to lose its fluoride
East end water to lose its fluoride
Posted By Jordan Press
Posted 1 day ago
Residents in the east end of Kingston should soon be drinking water from their taps that is free of fluoride.
For years, CFB Kingston required the chemical additive to its water supply. Utilities Kingston added fluoride to the water that it supplied to the base and to the rest of Pittsburgh district.
The base has signalled to the city that it can do without fluoride. That piece of information comes about a week before city councillors were to debate a proposal that, if passed, could have led the city to remove fluoride from the water.
Deputy Mayor Rob Matheson said the city needed to look at stopping the practice because of the cost to do so and the potential health problems associated with fluoridated water.
Recent studies have linked fluoride in drinking water to some diseases, including cancer.
"Those new scientific concerns [drive] me," Matheson said. "The only reason we're still doing it is [because of] antiquated regulations from CFB Kingston."
Utilities Kingston adds fluoride to the drinking water at the James Street booster station in Barriefield. It doesn't do so at any other drinking water plants or booster stations in the rest of the city.
The fluoride goes into the system to create a "fluoride residual" for the base. The Department of National Defence requires fluoride in the water for the base to help prevent tooth decay, according to the Utilities Kingston website.
However, the base has told the city that it no longer requires fluoride because there are other sources for the dental chemical. As well, more than 80 per cent of workers at the base live in the community, meaning they don't all drink fluoridated water.
Utilities Kingston president Jim Keech said the addition of fluoride to the water in the east end isn't a major strain for Utilities Kingston.
"It's a bit of a maintenance issue," he said .
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Adding fluoride into drinking water has recently returned to the mainstream of public debate. Scientific data and media reports have linked fluoride in water to impaired thyroid function, reduced intelligence in children and possibly the onset of osteosarcoma in teenage boys.
Osteosarcoma is the rare form of bone cancer that killed Terry Fox. Opponents say that the health risks outweigh the potential benefits. Fluoride, opponents argue, is better absorbed through brushing with a toothpaste and not through drinking water.
Proponents of the practise say that the introduction of fluoride has caused a sharp decrease in the development of cavities in children. They argue it is a safe practice that should be sustained.
jpress@thewhig.com
Posted By Jordan Press
Posted 1 day ago
Residents in the east end of Kingston should soon be drinking water from their taps that is free of fluoride.
For years, CFB Kingston required the chemical additive to its water supply. Utilities Kingston added fluoride to the water that it supplied to the base and to the rest of Pittsburgh district.
The base has signalled to the city that it can do without fluoride. That piece of information comes about a week before city councillors were to debate a proposal that, if passed, could have led the city to remove fluoride from the water.
Deputy Mayor Rob Matheson said the city needed to look at stopping the practice because of the cost to do so and the potential health problems associated with fluoridated water.
Recent studies have linked fluoride in drinking water to some diseases, including cancer.
"Those new scientific concerns [drive] me," Matheson said. "The only reason we're still doing it is [because of] antiquated regulations from CFB Kingston."
Utilities Kingston adds fluoride to the drinking water at the James Street booster station in Barriefield. It doesn't do so at any other drinking water plants or booster stations in the rest of the city.
The fluoride goes into the system to create a "fluoride residual" for the base. The Department of National Defence requires fluoride in the water for the base to help prevent tooth decay, according to the Utilities Kingston website.
However, the base has told the city that it no longer requires fluoride because there are other sources for the dental chemical. As well, more than 80 per cent of workers at the base live in the community, meaning they don't all drink fluoridated water.
Utilities Kingston president Jim Keech said the addition of fluoride to the water in the east end isn't a major strain for Utilities Kingston.
"It's a bit of a maintenance issue," he said .
Advertisement
Adding fluoride into drinking water has recently returned to the mainstream of public debate. Scientific data and media reports have linked fluoride in water to impaired thyroid function, reduced intelligence in children and possibly the onset of osteosarcoma in teenage boys.
Osteosarcoma is the rare form of bone cancer that killed Terry Fox. Opponents say that the health risks outweigh the potential benefits. Fluoride, opponents argue, is better absorbed through brushing with a toothpaste and not through drinking water.
Proponents of the practise say that the introduction of fluoride has caused a sharp decrease in the development of cavities in children. They argue it is a safe practice that should be sustained.
jpress@thewhig.com
posted by Bill at
8:21 PM
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