Ordinance to Ban Fluoride in Fairbanks Water to be Introduced Tonight

An ordinance to prohibit the addition of fluoride to community water systems will be introduced today at the Fairbanks City Council.

Tools

By Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Story Created: May 23, 2011 at 8:53 AM AKDT

Story Updated: May 23, 2011 at 8:53 AM AKDT

FAIRBANKS — An ordinance to prohibit the addition of fluoride to community water systems will be introduced today at the Fairbanks City Council.

The ordinance, sponsored by Fairbanks Mayor Jerry Cleworth, cites recommendations made by the Fairbanks Fluoride Task Force. After more than a year of study and public testimony, the group of local scientists and health care professionals said fluoride should no longer be added to the public water supply.

Eliminating the added fluoride should reduce the risk of fluorosis, a type of tooth discoloration, the group said.

The city began adding fluoride to the water in 1959, part of a national movement designed to fight tooth decay. Removing the added chemical could have a small effect upon dental health, but what that might be is unpredictable, the task force said.

The task force said removing fluoride would end ethical concerns raised by the addition of the chemical to local water.

The group said its conclusion runs counter to the recommendations of the American Dental Association, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Alaska Department of Public Health. 

The chemical might be useful in some communities, the group said. However, “the majority of members are not convinced that it is necessary in Fairbanks because of the fluoride content of the city’s ground water and the alternate sources of fluoride available in the community,” the task force said.

Recently in Georgia, former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young and Gerald Durley, pastor of Atlanta’s Providence Baptist Church, called for an end to that state’s mandatory fluoridation law. Durley said the chemical could disproportionately harm black Americans because they have higher rates of kidney disease and diabetes, maladies that a National Academy of Sciences report said make people more susceptible to fluoride-related problems. Young also said poor families are less able to obtain unfluoridated water to mix with baby formula. Such infants have a higher rate of fluorosis, a concern cited by the Fairbanks task force as well.

The local task force also recommended the Fairbanks North Star Borough government be involved in any decision-making process because about 25 percent of people on the Golden Heart Utilities water system live outside city limits.

Cleworth said earlier this month he had notified borough officials of his intent to introduce the ordinance

You have indicated this comment should be removed.

Close

The comment has been submitted for review. Thank you .

Kerry said on Wednesday, May 25 at 3:52 PM

Fairbanks City Council should be applauded for taking a stance against fluorination and resisting pressure to conform to ADA, CDC and the like. The proven risk to infants, diabetics and thyroid disorder suffers should be evidence enough to disuade fluorination when the claimed reduction in dental carries has been shown in study after study to be unsubstantiated. Bravo, Fairbanks!

67736436
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

chewchew said on Tuesday, May 24 at 12:52 AM

i was not a good toothbrusher until preteen age, but i never had sensitive teeth until 20's. did the fluoride in the water and toothpaste help me keep my real teeth for as long as they're supposed to live, or help to cause the sensitiveness?

67606662
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

jwillie6 said on Monday, May 23 at 3:49 PM

Fluoride is not a nutrient. It cures nothing. It heals nothing. It is a toxic waste product. It causes many health problems, lowered IQ, thyroid damage, brittle bones, arthritis, and much more (See fluoridealert.org). The most devastating effect of fluoridation is the vast increase in bone cancer in boys by the time they reach their 20's. A Harvard University study by Dr. Elise Bassin, DDS, was published in the prestigious cancer journal, Cancer Causes and Control (Bassin et al., 2006), and shows a link between water fluoridation and a FIVEFOLD increase in osteosarcoma, a very deadly bone cancer, in young boys. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,190977,00.html This confirms another earlier study in 1992 by the New Jersey Department of Health study showing osteosarcoma rates higher among young males in fluoridated vs. unfluoridated regions of New Jersey. How many deaths should we tolerate in children just to use our drinking water to dispose of an industrial toxic wa

67577507
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

NYSCOF said on Monday, May 23 at 3:19 PM

The American Dental Association is a union that protects the best interests of dentists. 80% of dentists refuse to treat Medicaid patients and 100 million Americans don't have dental insurance. Dentists would prefer to treat their water rather than their teeth. The CDC does no original research on fluoridation and a CDC representative gave misinformation to the Fairbanks City Council years ago claiming a list of studies exonerated fluoride's adverse effects when, in fact, many of them did not or weren't even fluoridation safety studies. And the CDC hires people to promote fluoridation not to study it.

67576309
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Mike said on Monday, May 23 at 10:48 AM

Morons! They actually want to go AGAINST the ADA, CDC and Prevention and the Alaska Department of Public Health?! I suppose the next bill this goof will want to pass is to raise taxes due to pay for everyone's dental bills within the next 10-20 years.

67561677
Inappropriate? Alert Us!

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

KTVA CBS 11 | Anchorage, Alaska News and Weather and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.