The possible passage of state legislation that would ban fluoride in public water systems will have no impact on Lafayette Utilities System customers.
LUS does not add fluoride to its drinking water, Director Jeffrey Stewart said Friday. The water does contain some minute levels of naturally occurring fluoride, according to LUS water reports.
Communities that purchase LUS drinking water include Youngsville, Broussard, Scott, Water District North, Water District South and the Milton Water System.
The city-owned utility system has not for a long time, if ever, added fluoride to drinking water, Stewart said, nor do the communities it sells water to add fluoride.
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that helps prevent cavities and strengthen teeth. Dentists have expressed concern about eliminating fluoride in drinking water.
Adding fluoride to community drinking water systems started in 1945 and was common by the 1960s.
Proponents of eliminating additional fluoride from public drinking water are concerned about the potential health risks and forcing residents to ingest fluoride against their wishes.
The Louisiana Senate on April 30 passed Senate Bill 2 largely along political party lines. The bill would outlaw the addition of fluoride to public drinking water. The bill now goes to the state House of Representatives for consideration.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Donald Trump, is pushing to ban fluoride in drinking water.
Louisiana Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham, the state’s top public health official and a vocal backer of Kennedy’s health agenda, lobbied for the bill during public testimony before the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.
The state bill as proposed, would give local water system customers the option to petition local government to hold an election that would allow them to vote on whether they want fluoride added to their drinking water.
The fluoride ban would take effect Jan. 1 should the bill pass and win Gov. Jeff Landry’s signature.
Original article online at: https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/proposed-fluoride-ban-wont-impact-lafayette-utilities/article_fe99680c-29ad-40e3-b6d7-5b2e779597b9.html