CYNTHIANA, Ky. (WKYT) – A bill to allow Kentucky municipalities and water districts to opt out of adding fluoride to their tap water supplies is advancing through the state House of Representatives.
House Bill 141 passed the House Standing Committee on State Government by a 16-1 margin, with one additional lawmaker passing on the vote.
Cynthiana mayor James Smith was one of several who sat before the committee Thursday to speak in favor of making water fluoridation optional.
“We treat about two million gallons of dollars a day, it costs us $16,000 a year,” said Mayor Smith. “We don’t have a choice. We couldn’t take it out if we wanted to.”
Smith simply wants to have local control over the decision – he says he doesn’t have a position on the matter. But the legislation’s origin is entangled with Harrison County.
Reps. Mark Hart (R-Falmouth) and William Lawrence (R-Maysville) have represented Cynthiana at times over the past several years. One of Mayor Smith’s constituents has been working with them on this and pushing against fluoride through those years.
“I dug into the literature to see what I could learn about how fluoride would affect my child,” said Cindi Batson during Thursday’s committee meeting. Batson is a nurse and mother who lives in Cynthiana. “When I tried to take those concerns to my government, I ran into block after block.”
Batson worries about its health effects, saying her daughter got dental fluorosis.
But the CDC called it one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.
“Water fluoridation is a consistent means to provide prevention of dental decay for citizens of all economic, social and geographic areas within our state,” said Mary Ann Burch, who testified to the committee on behalf of the Kentucky Dental Hygienists Association.
Kentucky’s dental associations worry that this will worsen tooth decay statewide, particularly in communities with limited access to dental healthcare.
“Conservative measures estimate that every dollar spent on water fluoridation leads to an estimated 38 dollars in reduced dental costs,” said Dr. Steve Robertson, who serves as executive director of the Kentucky Dental Association.
As this moves on to the full House, Mayor Smith hopes to hear further discussion on the matter. This bill would overturn a program that’s been in place since the mid-20th century.
“I’d like to hear both sides and do my own research on that, and encourage others to do that as well,” Mayor Smith said.
According to the Fluoride Action Network, Kentucky is one of 15 states that mandates water fluoridation in its communities.
Original article online at: https://www.wkyt.com/2024/02/10/bill-allow-ky-water-utilities-opt-out-using-fluoride-advances-out-house-committee/
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