If fluoride is a toxic chemical and our government warnings regarding toothpaste and mouthwash are harsh, it may be a red flag to stop adding fluoride to our water.
Although there is no fluoride in the north end of Lambton Shores (Lake Huron Water) system, Forest is part of the LAWSS system out of Sarnia and they do have fluoride in their system.
In a 1966 referenda, the citizens of London voted in favour of fluoridating the municipal public water supply coinciding with the transition from well water to Lake Huron water via the ‘new’ Lake Huron Water Supply System. Fluoridation equipment was incorporated into thedesign of the new Arva Pumping Station and fluoridation commenced on September 1, 1967.
The question as to getting the fluoride out has come to Lambton county council and Sarnia mayor Mike Bradley thinks this issue should go to the voters and suggests it be on the 2010 ballots as a referenda.
Each of the six member municipalities in the system must let their residents make the call under provincial regulations, he said.
“Because it was decided by the electorate, I don’t think we have the moral right to decide,” he said.
Fluoride was introduced to the Sarnia area water system in 1970 after more than a decade of acrimonious debate. A majority voted for it’s inclusion in the water system in a plebiscite. Under the Fluoridation Act of 1990, the removal of fluoride must go to a referendum vote and the province even specifies how to word the question, Bradley said.
“The fact that there is actually a prescribed way to do this, and a prescribed question you must ask, tells you that there’s been a lot of thought put into this,” he said. “This is the only fair way to do it.”
Toothpaste and mouthwash warnings are:
“Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age.”
“If you swallow more than used for brushing, get medical help or contact a PoisonControlCenter right away.”
“If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Centre right away.”
“Never give fluoridated mouthwash or mouth rinses to children under six years of age, as they may swallow it.”
“Use non-fluoridated toothpaste or no toothpaste for young children.”
Lambton Shores Mayor Gord Minielly said he wants fluoride pulled from the system. He thinks the science that supports the use of fluoride is outdated and children are overexposed. He says even Dr. Chris Greensmith, the medical officer of health, doesn’t have the facts.
“It’s such a complicated issue,” he said. “People are being fed a whole bunch of crap from guys like Dr. Greensmith who are using 40, 50 or 60-year-old information and studies.”
But Greensmith said the data he’s reading accumulated over the past six decades, not from that time. He said the American Public Health Association has called the addition of fluoride into water systems one of the 10 most successful public health measures ever.
“My position is not based on rhetoric, it’s based on science,” Greensmith said. “I don’t want to get in a mudslinging match here. It’s not very seemly or very productive.”
The Town of Dryden, Ontario voted against fluoridation of their water on April 22nd, ending a debate that has gone on for more than one year. Council will decide what to do with the $300,000 they set aside for the intended fluoridation. Both Kitchener and Cambridge have natural fluoride in their water. (0.1-0.3ppm) Ninety-eight percent (98 per cent) of Europe has said no to fluoride.
Increasing the entire populations’ exposure to fluoride must increase the rates of fluorosis – is the government also setting aside a public-funded trust to compensate all those who suffer from what will be yet another iatrogenic illness?
Ninety-eight per cent of Europe does not use water fluoridation. Many countries have banned it outright. Quebec City discontinued water fluoridation on April 1, 2008; Niagara Region passed a by-law in February 2008 prohibiting water fluoridation. Thunder Bay recently said no thanks to water fluoridation. The number of citizens drinking fluoridated water in British Columbia and the province of Quebec has dropped to about four per cent.
Health Canada, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the US Environmental Protection Agency, have not been able to find any chronic toxicology studies to demonstrate safety of the actual products used in water fluoridation systems after 60 years of use.
With files from Sarnia Observer.
Print 
PDF