In the third of four meetings across Osceola County, St. Cloud area customers of Toho Water Authority at a Sunday meeting were overwhelmingly in favor of the utility stopping the decades-long practice of adding fluoride to tap water.
“We want our customers and community to determine whether we stop or continue the current practice of adding fluoride to the water we produce,” Toho Water Public Relations Director Caitlin Dineen said at the meeting at the St. Cloud Library.
Questions have recently been raised at the federal and state level on the need to continue the practice, which became widespread in the U.S. by 1960, intended to improve the overall dental health of Americans.
(Editor’s Note: On Wednesday, the Florida Senate passed a bill that would prevent local governments from adding fluoride to water supplies.)
With “background” fluoride occurring naturally in most groundwater, utilities such as Toho Water Authority monitor natural fluoride levels in their water and add additional fluoride, as needed, to achieve the 0.7 milligrams per liter recommended by the Federal Center for Disease Control.
Recently, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo advocated deleting added fluoride from municipal water systems, and current Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently praised the state of Utah for issuing a statewide ban on added fluoride. As the News-Gazette previously reported, an agriculture-related bill currently working its way through the Florida legislature, which is now in session, would implement a statewide ban here if approved and signed into law.
Almost all of the two-dozen attendees Sunday were in favor of removing the added fluoridation. The seemingly well-informed group expressed serious concerns about its side effects, ranging from digestive and intestinal health to elevated cancer risks.
One fact that emerged Sunday was that there has been a general lack of studies, especially in the U.S., on these possible negative side effects. In addition, several people also asked about the compound effect of more than recommended levels of fluoride occurring throughout the food chain, with many products such as tea and grape juice having enhanced levels of fluoride over the base level in the water used to make the product. Even the process of washing fruits and vegetables can add to an individual’s fluoride intake.
Even if the board decides to stop fluoridation, Toho officials said the savings will be relatively small.
“We spend about $70,000 per year for the fluoride we purchase, plus some additional costs for associated infrastructure,” said Chuck Weber, Toho Water’s Chief Operation Officer.
Residents can submit public comments via email to fluoride@tohowater.com through April 30. A fourth and final community meeting will be held at Kissimmee’s Hart Memorial Library on Thursday, April 17 at 6:30 pm. Staff will present the comments gathered from the meetings and online to the Toho Water Authority board at its August meeting. For more information on TWA’s current fluoridation program see https://bit.ly/4iksxvt.
Original article online at: http://www.aroundosceola.com/news/st-clouds-toho-water-authority-customers-speak-out-against-fluoride