LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Lawmakers are weighing the merits of adding fluoride to local water supplies.
A bill that would repeal the requirement for fluoride in drinking water, failed to make it out of committee today receiving only four of the five votes it needed to pass. But it may not be the last time this issue is debated.
Senate Bill 2 aimed to remove the mandate that water systems maintain a specified fluoride content in public water systems.
The sponsors of this legislation say they’ll continue their push on this issue.
Arkansas is one of about a dozen states that have laws mandating statewide fluoridation to promote dental health.
Senate bill two aims to change that, and would give local governments and residents authority over these decisions.
“It should be a local control issue, I just want to return that ability to the people to make their own decision within their community,” says Senator Clint Penzo.
“Mandate says everybody has to drink flouride if you’re going to drink city water that you pay for, it’s not free,” says Joey Marone, citizen of Crawford County.
While fluoride is known to prevent cavities, lawmakers say there is concern about health risks associated with fluoride in drinking water that raises questions about the tradeoffs.
“Very aggressive compound, it’s toxic. On the package it has a skull and crossbones on it and they put that in our drinking water. Anything with a skull and crossbones should not be added to our drinking water,” says Senator Penzo.
“The pretense is that it helps your teeth, so you ingest it, drink it, it goes into your stomach into your system, and passes over your teeth for half a second. Really no topical advantages there. And then we’re supposed to say thank you,” says Marone.
Opponents of the bill, however, warn that ending the state’s fluoridation program could have negative consequences, specifically for low-income and rural communities where access to dental care and fluoride resources may be limited.
“Unfortunately, Arkansas ranks at or near the bottom in dental health. And so I feel that this is an important responsibility for the state to do everything it can to ensure that Arkansans have healthy teeth,” says Senator Greg Leding.
For supporters, though, it all comes back to local control, while still advocating for dental health in Arkansas.
“This is not going to remove fluoride from the shelves. It’s just going to remove fluoride from our drinking water. I think it’s important to know that there’s only 25 countries in the world out of 195 that add fluoride to their drinking water. We’re one of them, I don’t think it should be the case,” says Representative Matt Duffield.
The debate over fluoride in drinking water is not over.
Senator Pezno says he has another bill, Senate Bill 4, that he plans to amend and propose in another committee.
That bill would let city or county voters to decide if they want to remove fluoride from their water systems.
Original article online at: https://katv.com/news/local/arkansas-lawmakers-debate-local-control-over-fluoride-in-water-amid-health-concerns