USA - Board takes fluoride out of water

Board takes fluoride out of water Some officials question reason for removal
By Michael ValkysPoughkeepsie Journal
It was in Poughkeepsie's drinking water for years.
Several years ago it was taken out. Last June, it returned.
Last month it was removed again.
Confused?
So are some city leaders who want to know why fluoride has again been removed from the water system, which serves about 80,000 residents in four Dutchess County communities. City officials hope to learn more Tuesday when the Common Council plans to discuss the fluoride issue with Poughkeepsie Joint Water Board Chairman Frank Mora.
The water board last month reversed its June decision to bring back fluoride and voted to remove it from drinking water consumed by residents in the city and town of Poughkeepsie, as well as others in Hyde Park and Wappingers Falls.
City leaders want to know why fluosilicic acid, a chemical used in the fluoridation process, is again absent from the water system.
"Taking the fluoride out is going to have a devastating effect on the people of the City of Poughkeepsie," said Councilwoman Gwen Johnson, D-7th Ward.
Johnson said the city has many poor and elderly residents who may not be able to afford proper dental care. She said having fluoride in the water at least provided residents some protection from dental problems.
The use of fluoride in drinking water has sparked a nationwide debate on the practice and there are scientific studies both for and against its use.
The Poughkeepsie Joint Water Board has members from the city and town. The board voted 4-2 in June to reintroduce fluoride after a two-year absence. The practice of adding it was halted in 2005 because of equipment and employee safety problems at the Poughkeepsie treatment facility.
Those problems were later corrected and the water board voted to reintroduce fluoride last June.
But the board reversed course last month, this time voting unanimously to remove fluoride.
Town of Poughkeepsie Councilman Todd Tancredi, R-6th Ward, serves on the water board. He voted last year to reintroduce fluoride after its two-year hiatus.
Tancredi said he changed his vote last month because board members have not received requested information from state health officials about fluoride's possible negative effects.
"The concerns are there and they seemed like legitimate concerns," Tancredi said of studies, which have found fluoride in water may cause thyroid impairment.
Other studies have found no correlation between the amount of fluoride in tooth enamel and decreased tooth decay.
Still other studies have found fluoridation helps promote dental health.
With negative studies out there, Tancredi said he would rather err on the side of caution. So he voted last month to have fluoride removed from the water system.
Mora, a former city council chairman who voted against fluoride's return last year, did not return a call seeking comment.
Tancredi would not rule out yet another vote by the board at some point to return fluoride to the system.
But he said that isn't likely to occur unless members have their concerns addressed.
Tancredi said he realizes the issue is a divisive one, and the many studies with divergent findings make it difficult to determine which is the best course of action.
"People on both sides of the issue are very passionate about it," Tancredi said.
Reach Michael Valkys at mvalkys@poughkeepsiejournal.com or 845-437-4816.
Comments
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for removing the flouride from my water. If anyone wants flouride get it from the dentist or something. I prefer not to have big brother putting things in my water, especially since there are so many questions about its safety and effectiveness.
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 6:46 pm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Actually, fluoride is neither a nutrient nor essential for healthy teeth or bodies. Rotten diets make rotten teeth - fluoride won't change that.
NYS Department of Health statistics show that highly fluoridated NYS counties do not necessarily have less tooth decay than lesser fluoridated NYS counties. And fluoridation has not leveled out tooth decay between haves and have-nots. See: http://www.freewebs.com/fluoridation/chart.htm
Further information about how fluoridation has failed New Yorkers is here: http://www.freewebs.com/fluoridation/fluoridationfailsnewyork.htm
The NYS Department of Health has been very derelict in its duty to inform you that all foods from baby foods to french fries contain differing levels of fluoride that aren't listed on the labels. The US Dept of Agriculture lists common foods and their fluoride content: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=6312
Up to 41% of U.S. school children are fluoride overdosed, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and sport dental fluorosis - white spotted, yellow, brown and/or pitted teeth.
No New Yorker is, or ever was, fluoride deficient. However, many New Yorkers are dentist deficient. Only 25% of NY dentists accept Medicaid patients. 108 million Americans don't have dental insurance.
Tooth decay crises are occurring in all fluoridated cities and states. See http://www.fluoridenews.blogspot.com
The NYS Department of Health is further negligent by not informing New Yorkers about new American Dental Association and CDC advisories that concentrated infant formula should not be mixed with fluoridated water.
The FDA says that bottled fluoridated water must not be marketed towards babies. Yet, Nursery Water does just that and our health department doesn't stop them.
Fluoride is in any product made with mechanically deboned chicken such as baby food, chicken nuggets, vienna fingers, etc. Babies risks dental fluorosis from this source alone.
Fluoride is in any product made or reconstituted in fluoridated areas such as orange juice, soda, bread, tomato sauce, M&Ms, etc. Fluoride containing pesticide residues remain on many foods such as potatoes and in very high levels in raisins and grape juice. Fluoride is found naturally in tea an ocean fish.
Fluoride is in many medicines, also. Fluoride is absorbed in baths, inhaled from showers and cold mist humidifiers and ocean mist. Fluoride is also a component of air pollution. Fluoride is in many dental materials such as cements, sealants, dental fillings, etc. Fluoride gets ingested when brushing with fluoridated toothpaste through involuntary swallowing and by being absorbed via the mouth membranes.
With fluoride, less is best, none is better. It's virtually impossible to live a fluoride-free life.
According to the National Academy of Sciences to avoid moderate fluorosis (yellow or brown teeth), the adequate daily intake of fluoride, from all sources, should not exceed:
-- 0.01 mg/day for 0 – 6-month-olds -- 0.5 mg/day for 7 through 12 months
-- 0.7 mg/day for 1 – 3-year-old
Avoiding fluoride has never been linked to more tooth decay.
Dental examinations of 4800 South Australian ten- to fifteen-year-olds' permanent teeth reveal unexpected results - similar cavity rates whether they drink fluoridated water or not, reports Armfield and Spencer in the August 2004 "Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology"
Even when fluoridated water is the most consumed item, cavities are extensive when diets are poor, according to Caries Research. ("Dietary Patterns Related to Caries in a Low-Income Adult Population, Burt, et al., Caries Research 2006:40:473-480 )
"While bottled water users had significantly lower fluoride intakes, this study found no conclusive evidence of an association with increased caries.," reports Levy et at in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry Summer 2007.
Many studies show that when fluoridation ends, so do cavities. See: http://thyroid.about.com/cs/toxicchemicalsan/a/fluoridepr.htm
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 5:53 pm