The growing national concern over fluoride in drinking water may have impacted Madison Utilities’ decision to halt its fluoridization process.
The Utilities Board announced in March that it would stop adding fluoride to the local water supply due to high costs — roughly $14,000 annually — structural degradation and employee safety. The change is set to take effect in June, but public pushback could cause the board to reconsider.
Utilities board attorney Woody Sanderson said Tuesday during a public hearing on the issue that incurring the heavy costs to continue the fluoridation program and make the extensive repairs needed could be money wasted, WHNT reported, if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stop recommending the chemical, as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has advised.
“[T]hese issues were occurring at a time when political changes across the country were occurring with respect to injection of fluoride in the public water supply,” Sanderson said, referring to the Utilities’ Keene water treatment plant. “...[A]ny such expenditure would simply be wasted if a ban on fluoride occurs.”
As in previous meetings, several residents strongly opposed the board’s decision Tuesday night, claiming it would negatively impact dental health, particularly among children. AL(dot)com reported that all the practicing pediatric dentists in Madison signed a letter to the board to support keeping fluoride in the water system.
One resident in favor of the board’s decision said, “I don’t believe it’s the water board’s responsibility to improve public health, other than by providing clean, safe water,” Lemley said. “If you can’t control the dose … and you’re not 100% sure that no one will be negatively affected by it, I think it’s pretty risky to start adding it to the water supply of everyone in the community.”
Others in support of removing the fluoride pointed to Kennedy’s recommendation and studies showing a possible negative link to gastrointestinal issues and lowering IQ.
Kennedy testified before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, saying, “The National Toxicity Program issued a report in August, a meta review of all the science that now exists on fluoride, and showed a direct inverse correlation between fluoride exposure, dose-related, and lower IQ. It’s an issue that we all have to be concerned with. We want high IQ kids right now.”
The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it would review ingestible fluoride products to determine if they should be taken off the market, AP News reported. This comes after the Environmental Protection Agency also said it would review the “new science” on the possible dangers of fluoride in drinking water.
The utilities board did not make a decision at the public hearing. For now, the plan to halt fluoridation is still in place.
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