Somerset says no to fluoride in drinking water
After five straight attempts, anti-fluoridation activists secured a victory.
By a vote of 108 to 71, voters agreed to remove it from town water.
The article does not immediately ban the addition of fluoride to the town’s water supply. The article instructs the Board of Selectmen to seek a Home Rule Exemption from state law so the town can enact an ordinance banning fluoridation in town.
Elizabeth Paskowski has added the article to four annual and special town meeting agendas since 2023.
“Has there been a study in this town of children’s IQ?” Paskowski said. “We have no right to say if IQ has been affected or not.”
A 2024 review by the National Toxicology Program, and a meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, suggested that high amounts of fluoride in excess of 1.5 ppm was associated with, but did not necessarily cause, slightly lower IQ scores in children. A 2023 report from the Somerset Water Department shows that the town’s water supply had a fluoride range, tested monthly, from 0.0 to 0.929 parts per million, with the highest at 1 ppm.
Paskowski said research led her to wonder if her father and late mother were sickened by fluoride, “but I have no way of proving it.”
Liz Smith claimed that fluoride has been linked to multiple health and behavioral problems, saying that in 1978 about 30 children in Somerset had individualized education programs, and that now “500” have IEPs. According to state Department of Education data, 302 students in Somerset had IEPs in fiscal 2022.
Somerset has added fluoride to its water supply since 1968.
Does Somerset have good water quality?
During discussion on the $8.6 million for the town Water Department and Water Pollution Control Department budgets, citizens lashed out, with one resident saying he received a letter indicating his water was contaminated by lead.
“Currently, the water department is in compliance with all Mass DEP regulations for drinking water quality, so there are no contaminants in the water,” said Steven Cadorette, chairman of the Board of Water & Sewer Commissioners.
He said the letter referenced the lead service line inventory.
“That letter doesn’t mean you have lead in your drinking water,” Cadorette said. “There may be lead in your service line. … There is no issue with the drinking water quality in the water system in Somerset.”
Resident John Silvia said his wife suffers from liver failure and demanded to know if Cadorette would recommend she drink town water.
“I drink the water. My wife drinks the water,” Cadorette said. “My children drank the water when they grew up. They drink it when they come to my house. My grandchildren who range in age from 6 months to 13 drink the water.”
“You’re a fool,” Silvia said.
Original article online at: https://www.heraldnews.com/story/news/2025/05/20/somerset-2025-town-meeting-full-results-fluoride-ban-passes/83738264007/