USA - South Bay Activists Threaten to Sue over Water Fluoridation
South Bay Activists Threaten to Sue over Water Fluoridation
By Jennifer Wadsworth
Plans to start fluoridating the South Bay's water supply has drawn some
backlash. (Photo by Steve Johnson, via Flickr)
Plans to start fluoridating the South Bay's water supply has drawn some
backlash. (Photo by Steve Johnson, via Flickr)
Seven decades since American cities began fluoridating public water
supplies to prevent tooth decay, the South Bay remains something of a holdout.
It’s the largest metropolitan region in the nation to not fluoridate its
water.
That’s about to change, but not without some pushback. Activists have
threatened to sue the Santa Clara Valley Water District to prevent it from
adding the mineral, which it planned to start doing this December.
The plaintiffs, groups called Safe Pure Water and Healthy Alternatives to
Pesticides, plan to protest fluoridation at a water district meeting Tuesday
night.
“Water district officials should stick to the agency’s legal charter and
not masquerade as dentists prescribing fluoride to patients they have never even
met,” said Brandi Madison, the group’s spokeswoman.
Two-thirds of the country drinks tap water treated with the chemical, which
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call one of the top public
health achievements of the 20th century.
Although fluoridation is common, it has never been universally accepted.
Detractors criticize the practice of adding it to the public tap as mass
medication. Others take issue with the chemical itself, which they see as an
environmental pollutant. A 2015 study linked fluoride with the prevalence of
attention deficit disorders in the U.S.
Public health officials, however, say fluoridation is a boon for low-income
communities who are unable to afford regular dental care. Santa Clara Valley’s
water district, which provides wholesale drinking water for 1.8 million people,
debated the issue for years before deciding to jump on board with the other 75
percent of the country.
Marty Grimes, a spokesman for the district, said the agency has been
raising money with help from local nonprofits. The Santa Clara County Health
Trust donated $1 million for the cause, with another $900,000 coming from the
First 5 California and $500,000 from the California Dental Association
Foundation.
They can always find money for fluoridation. How much do they charge for veneers to cover the fluorosis?
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