USA - Will Spotsylvania end fluoridation of county water?

By JEFF BRANSCOME THE FREE LANCE–STAR

In June, Spotsylvania County resident Larry Plating offered a grim take on the county’s long-standing practice of adding a small amount of fluoride to drinking water. He told the Board of Supervisors that fluoride can reduce IQ levels and cause serious health problems, and said more than 40 percent of American teenagers show signs of overexposure to fluoride. It might be time to turn off the “spigot” that has been fluoridating Spotsylvania’s water since 1981, Plating added in his remarks to supervisors.

The vast majority of dental professionals consider fluoridated water a safe way to help prevent cavities, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control naming the 72-year-old practice one of the 10 “great public health achievements of the 20th century.” But the topic has generated controversy for decades, and Plating’s views reflect those of anti-fluoride organizations that include the Fluoride Action Network and the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology.

About 96 percent of Virginians and 74 percent of the U.S. population get their water from public systems that add fluoride. The CDC says the practice reduces cavities by 25 percent, but critics assert that it amounts to “forced medication.” “Let the fluoride be provided by peoples’ choice, not government coercion, and save us all taxpayer dollars in the process,” Plating, who said he is a retired chemist, told supervisors in June. Plating continued his self-proclaimed “crusade” at subsequent meetings, urging supervisors to stop what he considers a threat to public health. Emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that Plating has complained about fluoridated water for at least three years.

His persistence may pay off.............................