It seems fluoride will not return to local drinking water resources any time soon, as officials struggle to find answers about its toxicology.
During a public session of the Poughkeepsie Joint Water Board Tuesday night, a few Dutchess County residents praised the board for making the decision to have the fluoride removed in January.
“We’re continuing to investigate the issue and gather as much information as we can, which is what we’ve done all along,” board member Todd Tancredi said. “We still have the same concerns we had when we made the decision to remove the fluoride.”
Frank Mora, a city representative on the water board and chairman when the unanimous vote to halt the fluoridation process took place last month, is still waiting for state health officials to answer specific questions about potential health risks.
“The answers to these questions should be transparent. They should be readily available,” Mora said, adding each state office recommended the board consult a different office. “Everyone’s pointing fingers at everybody else.”
He said someone claiming to be a toxicologist came to a recent Common Council meeting and said the Environmental Protection Agency has done actual toxicology studies on fluorosilic acid. But the man has not gotten back to Mora.
During the Tuesday meeting, board members were provided with a recent story in Scientific American magazine that questioned the use of fluoride, in terms of long-term overuse and health effects in children.
Dutchess County Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Caldwell, who was not present at the meeting, recently addressed the Common Council and urged members to reverse the decision, claiming fluoride has been proven to strengthen teeth.
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