CHAMBERSBURG – A meeting to discuss whether or not to add fluoride to the water in the Chambersburg borough last night only saw about 10 people show up.
Representatives from the PA Coalition for Oral Health were there to discuss the issue.
David Wilson, Chambersburg Borough Council Member, said, “It wasn’t a great turnout. I wish we had seen more. There’s been a lot of interest about this, but there was some good discussion. This wasn’t really a session where people were saying they’re for or against. They were mostly hearing the information and asking questions. And there were a lot of good questions about fluoride in the water. It was so much information to take in. I just want to make sure, I recommend people who do have questions, who weren’t able to make it last night, go to the PA Coalition for Oral Health website. They have a lot of great resources there.”
Michele Jansen of News Talk 103.7FM pointed out, “There’s several issues here. Now last night’s focus was on the health benefits or risks, and I think that should be the most prominent part of the discussion. I know there are those who feel very libertarian about I don’t want anyone making a decision about putting something into my body that I don’t choose to put into, and that’s been a growing and let’s blame some of the sad things that have happened in recent years where people found less than great transparency and too much hype and too much fear mongering about certain health issues. But this is one that’s been pretty steadily observed by those who deal with oral health and health professionals to be something positive, so we don’t want to lose track of that. But that’s one argument. Another argument is cost. But last night’s focus was on the health benefits.”
Wilson said, “Yes. We have a wealth of information from the fact that there are thousands of communities across the United States who have had fluoridated water for decades, right? She shared that over hundreds of studies of all of those communities, we have yet to see a single situation where there is risk or problems associated with the normal amounts of fluoride that are recommended in the water.”
What’s the next move on this issue?
Wilson said, “I haven’t seen the agenda for Monday night’s Borough Council meeting. I can say that it does sound like we got a bid for the chemicals. So we do feel like we’re in a better place as far as having the chemicals available that we need to continue fluoridation. So it may be on the agenda for Monday night. I will find out later this afternoon when I see the agenda.”
If it is on the agenda would that be the vote?
Wilson said, “Yes that would be the vote this coming Monday night. So anybody who’s interested in this should have an eye on the agenda when that gets announced and come out Monday night and make your voice heard before the vote happens.”
Jansen said, “There’s fair arguments for all the different issues, cost, autonomy, and then help the health benefits or risks thereof. I happen to agree with David looking at all the studies that the ones that people use to sort of frighten people into thinking there’s something really bad about the level that the United States uses in water, I think those are very poor studies, and you shouldn’t necessarily think that they have as much weight to hold as they do, whereas we just pointed out there’s other really good studies that have not demonstrated great risk and we have demonstrated great benefit.”
Original article online at: https://www.tristatealert.com/only-a-handful-of-people-showed-up-to-talk-fluoride-in-the-water-in-chambersburg-last-night