Columbia: Board OKs fluoride removal from water

Columbia City Council member Mike Greene grew up in a rural area drinking well water without fluoride, and he still has all his teeth. His parents, who drank the same water, have their teeth, and his siblings have theirs. “Everybody can afford to take care of their teeth,” Greene said. “… I grew up in […]

Gilbert group gears up to launch campaign against fluoridation

A newly-formed political-action committee in Gilbert is building a case against adding fluoride to the town’s drinking water and plans to circulate petitions aimed at taking the issue to the November 2014 ballot. The Gilbert Safe Water Coalition, organized in June and about two dozen members strong, is focused on educating the community about fluoride […]

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 […]

Clarksburg. Water Board: Fluoridation will continue for now

The Clarksburg Water Board will not be taking fluoride out of the water supply any time soon. The Water Board took no action Tuesday after hearing from health professionals arguing that fluoride reduces tooth decay and is safe in low concentrations and from opponents who question both assertions. Board President Al Cox, who leans towards […]

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 […]

Hinesburg Select Board hear concerns about fluoride in water

A Hinesburg resident, concerned about reports about potential harm fluoride poses, took his worries to the Board of Selectmen and members want to hear from the public about the issue. Karl Novak, who was unavailable for comment this week, introduced the question about fluoride’s effects in a letter to local media. Citing studies performed in […]

Fluoride oversight leaves Intel with stain to clean: Editorial

Intel is to Oregon’s economy what Mount Hood is to its landscape: the signature feature that towers above everything else. It’s pretty much impossible for the semiconductor giant, with more than 17,000 employees in Oregon, to be inconspicuous. Its Washington County factories become visible from blocks away. Its employees and suppliers clog surrounding roads. Nevertheless, […]

Intel, come clean on fluoride emissions: Editorial

As Oregon’s largest private employer and a major driver of the state’s economy, Intel wields enormous clout in Washington County and Hillsboro. The company employs 17,000 high-wage workers in the metro area, its ambitious expansion plans prop up the local construction industry, and it pays millions upon millions in fees and taxes for roads and […]