Fluoride Costing More but Still Seen As Bargain: Health Experts: Money Saved on Dental Bills Makes Use Worthwhile

Part of the fallout from Hurricane Katrina was a disruption in Florida phosphate mining, a byproduct of which is the fluoride added to drinking water to prevent tooth decay. Fluoride supplies were interrupted and costs went up, leading some cities — including Evansville — in several states to stop adding fluoride to water. That’s not […]

The case against fluoride in water

Northern Kentucky University sociology professor Joan Ferrante buys copies of the book “The Fluoride Deception” by Christopher Bryson and gives them to people she meets. “I think it is the most well-researched book that I have ever come across in my career,” said Ferrante, who loves research and prefers it to two other main sources […]

New fears about fluoride

A debate many thought was quashed years ago is being resurrected among scientists and causing unease among parents: Does fluoride in drinking water pose health risks? In late March, a National Academy of Sciences panel concluded that the maximum amount allowed by the federal government — 4 milligrams per liter of water — puts children […]

DuPont to pay $1.1 million for 1997 spill

The DuPont chemical plant in western Louisville will pay $1.1 million to settle a federal Clean Air Act complaint stemming from a major spill of dangerous hydrogen fluoride six years ago. Half the money will be paid as a civil penalty, with the rest going toward eight local projects, including a $71,000 “green buffer zone” […]

Paducah plant workers receive medical testing

PADUCAH, Ky. — James “Smoothy” Wilkerson is thankful for his $150,000 share of the more than $110 million paid to compensate sick Paducah nuclear workers. He’s even happier that a tiny tumor in his right lung was detected early by a scanner that sees lung images as thin as paper. Wilkerson, 72, of South Fulton, […]

DuPont agrees to $1.1 mln settlement over HF leak

WILMINGTON, Del, Feb 28 (Reuters) – DuPont Co. (nyse: DD – news – people), the No. 2 U.S. chemical company, on Friday said it agreed to a $1.1 million settlement with the U.S. government over a hydrogen fluoride leak from its Kentucky plant in 1997. About 11,500 pounds of hydrogen fluoride, a gas with a […]

New Recycling Facility Will Convert Uranium Waste Cylinders in Paducah, Ky.

PADUCAH, Ky.–Uranium Disposition Services says its new recycling facility should prevent additional buildup of about 38,000 uranium waste cylinders stored at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, create at least 150 permanent jobs and produce material that can be sold to help the federal government recoup costs. Starting in 2005, the facility will annually convert 1,500 […]

Fluoridated Kentucky Part of the Oral Health Crisis

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. (AP) – Twelve-year-old Jordan Rickett nervously waited his turn in the Whitley County Central Elementary School gym, watching as a classmate seated in a dental chair got his teeth examined. “He’s sure been there a long time,” Jordan said, fidgeting. “I hope it doesn’t take that long for me.” For children in parts […]

Cleanup resumes at Paducah plant

PADUCAH, Ky. – A broken baler has been fixed and the cleanup of “drum mountain” has resumed at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. “Drum Mountain” is the nickname for a massive pile of discarded and rusting drums once used to store depleted uranium tetra-fluoride at the plant. Officials think they are a major source of […]

Some Paducah workers were used in uranium experiments

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Workers at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant participated in radiation experiments during the 1950s, but some may not have been informed of the dangers, according to a federal report obtained by The Courier-Journal. At least 14 workers at the federal uranium processing plant who tested the effectiveness of respirators against radioactive dust, […]