WOODLAWN, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Following a public meeting dominated by concerns from public health officials, the Woodlawn Utility District (WUD), which provides water to about 4,000 households in west Montgomery County, voted Tuesday morning to stop adding fluoride to its water by Dec. 31.
In making its decision, the WUD board cited the importance of resident choice on the matter and the danger to employees of working with large amounts of fluoride, despite objections from state and local health officials about a likely increase in dental health problems.
The meeting began with a presentation from WUD Operator Paul Clay, who said he isn’t against fluoride itself, and there are several good sources for fluoride, including the small amount naturally occurring in water. But, he said, “If you brush your teeth as normal, you’re going to get the fluoride you’re supposed to get per day.”
He presented two YouTube videos that blamed ingesting fluoride for – in addition to potential fluorosis – osteoporosis, acne, clogged arteries, diabetes, ADHD, thyroid dysfunction, kidney dysfunction, liver dysfunction and lowered IQ.
Clay said fluoride use should be topical and not ingestible. “We want to give people the option of what they put in their bodies. Once we put it in the water, you don’t have that option,” he said.
For fluoridation
During the public hearing, the content of the videos was strongly refuted by dentists and public health officials, who said the studies cited were in some cases withdrawn by their presenters, or debunked for having inadequate peer review, insufficient data and other flaws.
Stewart and Houston County Health Department Director Karen Anderson said the only potential danger of fluoridated water is fluoride toxicity, but to get that you would have to drink 350 liters, or 92 gallons, all at once.
Several speakers pointed out the advantages of fluoridated water for dental health.
Retired teacher Julie Bisgaard of Woodlawn said she saw a lot of children who weren’t able to take care of their teeth. “In my first year of teaching, I was extremely surprised to find out that many of my students were not brushing their teeth at home, and so I bought toothbrushes, and we brushed in the classroom,” she said. “Can we comfortably say that all of the children here in Woodlawn have toothbrushes, toothpaste, and receive regular dental care?” Bisgaard asked. “There are significant income gaps in this area, but water – we all have access to that.”
Speakers said many children and adults in Woodlawn need services that many others take for granted.
Following notification about the possible change, WUD received letters objecting to removing fluoride from the Tennessee Department of Health, the Tennessee Dental Association and the Tennessee Public Health Association.
Dental hygienist Abby Fowler, who works with students at Woodlawn Elementary School, said she has been seeing more parents eliminating fluoride from their routine and using non-fluoridated toothpaste, and it’s leading to more children needing serious and expensive dental treatments, including surgery. Removing it from the water, she said, will make matters worse.
Dr. Dawson Nicholson is a dentist who formerly worked at the Stewart County Community Medical Center. “The hardest part of my job was seeing the kids who came in have these huge abscesses – a swollen face from a very dangerous infection. Those were oftentimes children from areas that did not have fluoride in their water,” and did not have access to toothbrushes and toothpaste, she said. “Think about those children who, if the fluoride is taken out of their water, they will not have another source of that.”
Against fluoridation
Dotsonville resident and veteran Casey Buchanan said it’s not right to force fluoridated water on residents. “If someone doesn’t want fluoride in their water, they shouldn’t have to go buy bottled water. They shouldn’t have to go buy extra equipment (such as filters) just to get the fluoride out of their water for their home,” he said. “It’s just not fair to people who don’t want it in there.”
WUD chief operator Mike Mayo brought up concerns about employees having to work with large amounts of what can be a dangerous chemical if fluoride is accidentally mixed with other chemicals. In 2000, a chemical delivery worker died after fluoride accidentally came in contact with chlorine at the plant, Mayo said. A WUD employee also almost died in the incident.
He said it’s a dangerous chemical, and it’s difficult to monitor how much is being put in the water. “We’re not against fluoride, it’s just we’re for safety,” for both employees and the public, Mayo said.
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Board votes to stop adding fluoride
With board member Scott Little absent, board members Kent Griffy and Mark Barnett voted unanimously for WUD to stop adding fluoride.
“As a board member and a customer of Woodlawn Utility District, I have to favor stopping fluoridation for the safety of employees, and the chemicals and the handling of them at the plant,” Griffy said. He said the best way to use fluoride is to put it on the tooth, instead of letting it pass over the tooth, and customers can adequately take care of their teeth.
“As much as I respect everyone’s opinion that I heard this morning,” Griffy said, “I also understand the opinions of those who advocate not putting chemicals or things in the water that are not required, for the benefit for some that may actually cause harm to others.”
Barnett said it’s a matter of choice. “I don’t feel like we were doing a bad thing,” he said, but people should be able to make their own decisions about fluoride instead of the WUD dictating that decision for them.
Woodlawn now joins the other area rural utilities of Cunningham, Cumberland Heights (which purchases water from Cunningham), and East Montgomery that do not have water fluoridation. The urban water utilities of Clarksville Gas & Water Department and the Jacobs Fort Campbell Water System both fluoridate their water.
Original article online at: https://clarksvillenow.com/local/woodlawn-board-votes-to-stop-adding-fluoride-to-water-citing-matters-of-choice-worker-safety/