Fort Wayne requests mercury-free fluoridation chemical, but only if it isn’t intentionally added

In Fort Wayne’s Request for Proposal (RFP) for Fluorosilicic acid, the following was included:

17. MERCURY FREE SPECIFICATION

BIDDERS MUST OFFER MERCURY-FREE ALTERNATIVES TO ALL PRODUCTS
WHICH CONTAIN INTENTIONALLY ADDED MERCURY (MERCURY ADDED
PRODUCTS) WHERE SUCH ALTERNATIVES EXIST.

SHOULD SUCH ALTERNATIVES NOT BE AVAILABLE, BIDDERS MUST SUBMIT
WITH THEIR RESPONSE A LIST OF PRODUCTS WITHOUT MERCURY-FREE
ALTERNATIVES AND AN EXPLANATION OF WHY ALTERNATIVES ARE NOT
AVAILABLE.

CITY RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REJECT ANY AND ALL BIDS THAT DO NOT
PROVIDE MERCURY-FREE ALTERNATIVES OR AN ADEQUATE EXPLANATION
WHICH CITY DEEMS ACCEPTABLE