Canadians got a wake-up call on the importance of water supply safety in May 2000 when seven residents of Walkerton, Ont. died as a direct result of drinking tap water contaminated with E. coli. An inquiry concluded water utility workers failed to use adequate amounts of chlorine, among other mistakes. American health officials began adding […]
News Archive
Welcome to the Fluoride Action Network News Archive. The FAN News Archive serves as an historical repository for fluoride news stories, positive or negative. Since FAN catalogs all news stories on fluoride, our news section remains a reliable database of all published fluoride news.
Our news database is categorized by country, state/province, and industry. This collection of articles is constantly being updated with the most recent global news on fluoride-related issues and events.
Calgary: Fluoride is the feud that won’t die
It was the fall of 1989. Madonna’s Like a Prayer blasted on radios, stores were filled with acid-wash jeans and moviegoers awaited the release of Michael J. Fox’s Back to the Future II. And once again, Calgarians were talking fluoride. Newspaper articles described the virtues of adding fluoride to water to prevent tooth decay since […]
Q & A: Who decides on fluoride in Calgary’s water?
Calgary has spent a lot of time mulling whether fluoride should flow through the water in city taps. And on Monday, after six plebiscites in the city’s history – the most recent in 1995, voting to keep the fluoride in – city councillor Druh Farrell will put forth a motion to lose the tooth-protectant chemical […]
Calgary: AHS urges Calgary council to continue fluoridation
Alberta Health Services is urging aldermen not to drop fluoride from the city’s drinking water. Ald. Druh Farrell is set to present a motion on Monday calling for city council to scrap its fluoridation program and says a majority of aldermen are prepared to support her. However, AHS says the city’s two-decades-old fluoride policy is […]
Calgary. EDITORIAL: Remove the fluoride
Calgary is once again preparing to tackle the issue of water fluoridation, one of the longest and most contentious debates in Canadian history. Advocates argue that fluoridated drinking water is a safe and effective way to reduce cavities. Opponents call it a poison and a gross infringement of individual rights. When first introduced, it was […]
Calgary: Alderman rallies support to remove fluoride from Calgary tap water
A movement to remove fluoride from Calgary’s drinking water supply has a majority of city council behind it, the Herald has learned. The question over fluoridation of tap water has been subject to council verdicts and plebiscites repeatedly over the past five decades, including a decisive 1989 vote that finally saw the additive put into […]
Lake Cowichan: Fluoride vote seems likely
The town of Lake Cowichan may be headed to referendum on the question of fluoridation. Council has considered stopping the fluoridation of the town’s water a number of times over the years, including the most recent consideration in 2002. That’s when the town’s elected officials passed a resolution calling for the question to be asked […]
Sarnia: Cost of fluoride
It costs about $131,000 a year to add fluoride to Sarnia’s drinking water. In an effort to find cost-savings, Coun. Andy Bruziewicz asked staff to confirm what’s spent on the controversial decay-fighter. The figure includes the cost of the fluoride, staff training, lab tests and equipment upkeep. Council voted in February to retain flouride in […]
Lethbridge: Fluoride safe at present levels in water: scholar
A Fulbright Scholar from Penn State who’s visiting the University of Lethbridge says it’s OK to feel good about the city’s drinking water which is purified using state-of-the-art technology and residents need not worry about fluoridation. Fluoridation has come up in recent months as a topic of public debate, arising as an election issue this […]
Fluoridated water poses risk, professor tells SACPA
A staunch opponent of water fluoridation presented the science behind his case Thursday during a presentation to the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs. Numerous studies from around the world cast serious doubt on the effectiveness and safety of adding fluoride to public drinking water, said James Beck, a University of Calgary professor emeritus of […]