SOUTHWEST HARBOR — By a margin of two to one, voters here on Tuesday, May 7th. decided to stop having fluoride added to the town’s water supply.
The vote was 145-72.
Like many towns across the country, Southwest Harbor has been fluoridating it’s water since the 1950’s to protect against tooth decay.
But critics of the practice contend that it is no longer necessary and fluoride has been linked to a variety of health problems.
Town Manager, Don LaGrange said Wednesday morning that he and Dave Corrigan would consult with the town’s engineering firm, Olver Associates, on phasing out fluoridation. “ We will be guided by what the engineers tell us,” he said.
In 2007 the town of Mount Desert became the first town in Maine to discontinue fluoridation. Bar Harbor still is adding fluoride to the water supply.