Idaho Senate kills resolution lauding community water fluoridation

The Idaho Senate has rejected HCR 34, the House-passed resolution recognizing community water fluoridation as a “significant public health achievement,” on a 16-18 vote. Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, asked the Senate, “How can we pass legislation like this where there’s a big contention on the health issue side? If we’re not sure, we should not […]

Idaho: House passes resolution lauding water fluoridation, amid dissent

The House has voted 46-19 in favor of a resolution recognizing the value of community water fluoridation in oral health. Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, spoke against the resolution, citing Wikipedia references to “contrary studies.” Rep. John Rusche, D-Lewiston, a retired pediatrician, told the House, “In spite of what those uncontrolled studies that were reported previously to […]

Resolution Recognizing Fluoride Benefits Introduced in Idaho House

BOISE – A resolution was introduced Tuesday into the Idaho House recognizing the dental health benefits of fluoridated water. The resolution recognizes the “significant public health effort” and the role Idaho played in the development of a scientific understanding of fluoride, sponsor Rep. Kelly Packer, R-McCammon, told the Health and Welfare Committee. When Oakley built […]

Qualitest: Idaho getting $87K from pharmaceutical agreement

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced Thursday that Idaho has joined 47 states and the federal government in a settlement agreement with Qualitest Pharmaceuticals. Qualitest is a manufacturer of generic pharmaceutical products, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceuticals. The settlement resolves allegations of unlawful labeling practices involving Qualitest-branded multivitamin tablets with fluoride, according to a news […]

The Wound That Won’t Heal: Idaho’s Far-Reaching Phosphate Pollution

While the pollution at the FMC site rivals the story in the movie Erin Brockovich, the story of phosphate in Idaho actually has a much wider reach, spanning the entire Phosphoria Formation that lies underground across western Idaho, southwestern Montana, western Wyoming and northern Utah. Deposited by an ancient shallow sea, the deposits have yielded […]

The Wound That Won’t Heal: Idaho’s Phosphate Problem

This is the first story in a three-part series about phosphate mining in southeast Idaho and its effects on the Shoshone-Bannock tribes. In this installment, Indian Country Today Media Network takes a historic look at the defunct FMC plant on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in southeast Idaho. In coming stories, we’ll look at the […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Issues the First 40-Year License for This First-of-its-Kind Depleted Uranium De-conversion Facility

International Isotopes Inc. is pleased to announce that the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission(NRC) has issued a Part 40 combined construction and operating license for the Company’s planned depleted uranium de-conversion and fluorine extraction processing facility.  The license was signed and issued to the Company during a brief ceremony at NRC offices in Bethesda,Maryland on October 2, 2012. The Company originally […]

Health officials urge well owners to test water

CALDWELL — Groundwater throughout southwestern Idaho are contaminated with trace amounts of arsenic, nitrates and fluoride, according to Southwest District Health officials. There’s no need for alarm, Environmental Health Services director David Loper said — these contaminants occur naturally and usually don’t pose a significant health risk. Nonetheless, he continued, it’s important for residents to […]

Lewiston may halt fluoride treatments

Sixty-three years after first deciding to add fluoride to its drinking water, the city of Lewiston could stop. The city began adding fluoride to its water in 1947 to help prevent tooth decay in children. The city spends about $9,000 for the chemical, which isn’t mandated by state or federal agencies. David Six, head of […]