DEFOREST, Wis. — The DeForest Village Board voted 4-3 Tuesday night to remove fluoride from the community drinking water.
The vote came after the issue was tabled in a January meeting after pushback from residents who said they felt the public had been left out of the decision. Subsequent community listening sessions were scheduled ahead of Tuesday’s final vote.
“In my five years of being on the board, I’ve never done as much research on a subject as this,” said Trustee William Landgraf.
“This has been a miserable couple of months, back and forth, back and forth,” said Trustee Colleen Little.
The issue of fluoride has been a contentious one in DeForest for months.
Brenda Staudenmaier, who is not a DeForest resident but an anti-fluoride advocate, has been a prominent voice in the debate.
“There are safer, targeted ways to prevent tooth decay without forcing systemic exposure to fluoride through drinking water,” she said during public comment at the Jan. 21 board meeting.
Staudenmaier was part of a successful 2024 lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, in which it was ruled that the recommended amount of fluoride presents “an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.”
“Community water fluoridation prevents cavities and improves overall health. Hard stop. End of comment,” said Wisconsin Dental Association President Dr. Tom Reid.
The 2024 EPA lawsuit cited information from a National Toxicology Program report that both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Dental Association have discredited.
“Man, woman, child across the socioeconomic spectrum benefits from having fluoride in their water,” said Reid. “It really is the original health equity success story.”
But Staudemaier, alongside board members records show she had been in private contact with, stood against fluoride and the health organizations that support it.
“History reminds us that expert consensus has often been wrong,” said Trustee Rebecca Witherspoon.
The next DeForest Village Board meeting is set to take place on Feb. 20.
Original article online at: https://www.channel3000.com/news/deforest-village-board-votes-4-3-to-remove-fluoride-from-drinking-water/article_6f715b02-e37e-11ef-8c02-d382f54b5a47.html