USA - Anti-Fluoridation Forces To Gather Signatures To Get Issue On Marin Ballot

Nov. 13--Backers of a Marin anti-fluoridation initiative plan to set up tables at the Sunrise Center in Corte Madera on Friday afternoon to begin collecting signatures to put the issue on the ballot.

Clean Water Sonoma-Marin wants to require the Marin Municipal Water District to stop using fluoride in water until it can detail what's in the chemical -- hydrofluorosilic acid -- the agency uses to fluoridate water. It also wants the district to provide a report showing that it is safe to ingest.

"There are no safety studies that we can find," said Dawna Gallagher-Stroeh, director of Clean Water Sonoma-Marin, who is leading the effort. "The water district's mission is to provide clean and safe drinking water. They should be able to tell us what's in the water."

The petition asks for a moratorium on the use of fluoridation until the data can be provided. The group has about 180 days to gather 11,000 signatures within the MMWD district, which stretches from Sausalito to San Rafael. If successful, the issue would go on the November 2016 ballot. About 190,000 are served by the water district........