SUNBURY — The public water supply in Sunbury and a small part of a neighboring township soon will be fluoride-free.
The Sunbury Municipal Authority Tuesday night voted 4—3 to remove fluoride as soon as the required permit is received from the Department of Environmental Protection.
The state Department of Health and a state dental association have criticized the authority for the decision.
DEP takes no position on fluoride but regulates the operation of treatment processes at public water systems.
A system must obtain a construction permit before it makes any modifications to its treatment process, it explained.
That process, which usually takes three months, requires publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and a 30-day public comment period, it says.
The authority also will have to provide notice to its consumers and medical professionals in the water supply service area at least 30 days before ceasing fluoridation, according to DEP.
Until that occurs, fluoridation will continue in Sunbury.
The authority has 3,531 customers in Sunbury and 188 in Upper Augusta Township. The water has been fluoridated since the 1970s, records show.
The safety of employees was the motivating factor in the authority’s decision, not the opposition to fluoridation by the U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., authority general manager Derrick Backer explained.
Utah in March became the first state to ban fluoride in public water systems, and Florida followed on July 1.
The authority had the choice to either upgrade equipment to make the handling of fluoride safer for the employees or remove it from the water, he said. The workers advocated removal, and the authority majority agreed, Backer said.
Since the fluoride issue became public in Sunbury, the authority received 18 emails or letters endorsing its removal and 16 for keeping it, Backer said.
The Pennsylvania Center of Oral Health and the Susquehanna River Valley Dental Health Clinic urged continuation, he said.
“Very sad,” was the reaction to the vote by Dr. James Mancini, president-elect of the Pennsylvania Dental Association and dental director for the Meadville Medical Center.
“I see the benefits of fluoridated water every day, he said. The rate of cavities is less with fluoridated water, he said.
For every $1 a community puts into fluoride, there is a $20 saving in dental costs, he said. That’s based on an 80-year history of the use of fluoride, he said.
Mancini does not see a safety issue cited by the authority because he said there is no direct contact with the fluoride.
The only difference between fluoride and chlorine being added to the water is that the latter is mandated and the former is not, he said.
The authority did not contact the state Department of Health before voting to eliminate fluoridation, but its oral health program was aware the issue was being discussed, a spokesperson said.
That program sent a Sept. 30 letter to the authority outlining the strong public health and economic benefits of maintaining community water fluoridation, he said.
“This decision could significantly affect the dental and financial health of Sunbury residents as fluoride adjustment in community water systems is a proven public health measure that provides substantial benefits,” the letter stated. It continued: “Research supports that drinking fluoridated water strengthens teeth and reduces dental decay or caries by approximately 25 percent in both children and adults.
“This preventive measure is not only effective but also cost-efficient, saving families and the healthcare system money by decreasing the incidence of dental caries, which remains one of the most common chronic diseases among children.”
The letter also offered support and resources to help the authority sustain “this important preventive measure.”
Original article online at: https://www.pennlive.com/news/2025/10/state-health-dental-group-critical-of-pa-citys-decision-to-halt-fluoridation.html