ATLANTIC BEACH — The Atlantic Beach Town Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday evening declaring 2,000 pounds of fluoride as surplus and authorizing its donation to the city of Clinton.
The decision, included in the council’s February consent agenda, follows a November directive to discontinue fluoride treatment of town water.
The council signaled its intent to donate the surplus in a Feb. 11 public notice. That notice clarified the fluoride was valued at approximately $5,600. The resolution passed Monday explained the chemical would be donated at no cost to Clinton for “water production.”
The decision to donate the surplus fluoride, which the resolution notes was “removed from service and not needed,” solidifies the council’s earlier directive to cease fluoridation. The November decision prompted criticism from residents regarding a lack of public deliberation, as the item was passed as part of a consent agenda.
The November resolution justified ending the treatment by citing concerns raised by community members “regarding potential adverse health effects associated with fluoride consumption,” as well as “numerous safety hazards” faced by water treatment plant operators.
When asked about specific complaints, however, Town Manager John O’Daniel said in a November interview with the News-Times that the council arrived at the decision partially because of efforts to rehabilitate an aging water treatment plant.
“The actual chemical they have to handle is toxic; the less they have to handle that type of material, the better,” O’Daniel said.
Two months after the Atlantic Beach decision, the Morehead City Council also unanimously approved a resolution rescinding a 1971 directive for the installation of a water fluoridation system. Morehead City’s resolution cited hazards related to handling chemicals in its January 2026 decision, stating it was “no longer necessary or recommended to add fluoride to water systems.”
It is unclear which entity no longer recommends the practice. The World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Dental Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and U.S. Public Health Service continue to recommend community water fluoridation as a cost-effective way of preventing tooth decay.
Like Atlantic Beach, the Morehead City Council included its resolution in a January consent agenda.
Most recently, the Carteret County Consolidated Human Services Board unanimously approved a statement favoring fluoridation Feb. 9. While the action does not oblige municipalities to fluoridate water, it was issued “to provide accurate, science-based information to the public,” according to the statement.
The Atlantic Beach Town Council will meet again March 23 at 6 p.m.
Original article online at: https://www.carolinacoastonline.com/news_times/article_0785e82b-e71f-49e4-86f1-9d6e21ea3782.html