USA - County commission candidate stakes out anti-fluoridation position

County commission candidate stakes out anti-fluoridation position
By David DeWitt
An Athens County commissioner candidate visited Athens City Council this week along with several others to oppose fluoride in municipal drinking water.
Ibriham Alassaf, an Ohio University student who ran for an at-large council seat on the Democratic ticket in May's primary, lost that race and recently announced his intention to challenge current Athens County Commissioner Mark Sullivan in next year's Democratic primary.
Sullivan has said he will seek re-election, and, in addition to Alassaf, Democrats Mike O'Brien, Bob Baughman and Paul "Smoke" Barrett all have said they also will run in that primary.
On Monday, Alassaf chose to speak at the end of the City Council meeting when citizens are given the opportunity to voice their opinions on subjects not covered in the meeting. Fluoridation of water was not addressed by City Council on Monday.
Noting City Council's recent preliminary talks about a possible "fracking" ordinance, Alassaf said that the city faces an "environmental problem that's been going on way longer than fracking" — water fluoridation.

"It's a problem," he said. "We need to stop referring to it as fluoride. It's fluorosilicic acid."
Alassaf said that it's an economic handicap to the city, which spends $19,000 annually on municipal water fluoridation. He charged that fluoride is corroding the city's water infrastructure and that he has health and safety concerns as well.

He pointed to recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control that municipalities lower the level of fluoride in their water supplies. He was joined by fellow OU student Dan Waller and local resident Dane McCarthy in speaking out against water fluoridation at the meeting................