CLEARFIELD — Clearfield Municipal Authority is considering removing fluoride from its drinking water treatment plan.
At the board’s recent meeting, members mulled a suggestion from Engineer Jim Balliet of Gwin, Dobson & Foreman Inc., Altoona, to discontinue adding the chemical compound as part of its drinking water treatment process.
Balliet said obtaining a trust-worthy supply of fluoride is becoming more and more difficult to obtain and is increasingly more expensive. He also said the substance is very corrosive to the treatment plant’s components, causing additional expense to the authority. Nearby municipalities have done away with adding fluoride to drinking water, he noted.
He said with work underway to upgrade the drinking water filtration system at Montgomery treatment plant, the authority needs to decide if it is going to continue adding fluoride.
He said if the authority determines it is no longer going to be added to drinking water, there is a process associated with discontinuing adding it.
“We are going to need to know soon if fluoride is going to be included in the project. If we can delete it that will give additional direction with the project. We will need to make a definite decision within the next few months. If the authority decides to delete it the public will need to be notified. There will need to be changes to the existing permits and new permits to be applied for. You are looking at six-to-nine months (to get it accomplished).”
The authority said a number of years ago it proposed eliminating fluoride from the drinking water and it received a number of comments from local dentists and customers who believed it should continue the practice to help children’s teeth stay healthy by preventing tooth decay.
Balliet said some of the thinking has changed and some studies have shown the treatment is not necessary to preserve the health of children’s teeth.
He also noted fluoride is added to protect children’s teeth, but he believes only a small percent of children actually drink water from the tap.
“Less than one percent of people are benefiting from the addition of fluoride to drinking water and it is not an exact dose. The best way to get fluoride is from the dentist,” Balliet said.
Original article online at: https://www.theprogressnews.com/news/clearfield-municipal-authority-considering-removing-fluoride-from-drinking-water/article_a9265ada-4470-11ef-9ea3-03a3fa409af9.html