Massachusetts
WATER FLUORIDATION STATUS:
- PERCENT OF PEOPLE SERVED BY PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS THAT ARE FLUORIDATED:
2018: 57.3% – ranked #39 among the states (100% fluoridated is ranked #1)
2016: 57.9%
2014: 70.4%
2012: 70.4%
2006: 59.1%
2000: 55.8%
1992: 57.0% - To see if your town is fluoridated, click here.
- To learn when your town was fluoridated, and which fluoridation chemical it uses, click here.
- 140 Massachusetts Public Water Systems receiving water fluoridation (2014)
Massachusetts FLUORIDE DATA FOR EACH WATER SYSTEM
• 2020: Levels of Fluoride in the State’s Drinking Water and Fluoridation Status: 10 Public Water Systems with fluoride levels over 0.71 ppm.
For a quick overview, Michael Dolan, in his November 2021 Fluoridation Review, listed these cities and towns in Massachusetts:
The following list of fluoridated cities and towns was obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health website, dated January 2014. We have not included as fluoridated eighteen towns that are listed, but have only a few residents receiving fluoridated water, or where only institutional inmates are receiving fluoridated water.
Fluoridated cities and towns: Acton, Acushnet, Amherst, Andover, Arlington, Ashburnham, Athol, Attleboro, Bedford, Belmont, Beverly, Billerica, Boston, Brookline, Burlington, Cambridge, Canton, Chelsea, Cohasset, Concord, Danvers, Dartmouth [unspecified, diluted fluoride concentration between April and October], Dedham, Dracut, Duxbury, Essex, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Franklin, Gardner, Gloucester, Groveland, Hamilton, Haverhill, Hingham, Holden, Holliston, Holyoke, Hudson, Hull, Ipswich, Lawrence, Lexington, Lincoln, Longmeadow, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Manchester by the Sea, Mansfield, Marblehead, Marlborough, Medford, Medway, Melrose, Middleton, Millis, Milton, Nahant, Natick, New Bedford, Needham, Newburyport, Newton, North Andover, North Attleboro, Northborough, North Reading, Norwood, Oak Bluffs, Oxford, Peabody, Pembroke, Plainville, Quincy, Reading, Revere, Rockport, Rutland, Salem, Saugus, Scituate, Seekonk, Sharon, Shrewsbury, Somerset, Sommerville, Southboro, Southbridge, Stoughton, Stoneham, Sturbridge, Sudbury, Swampscott, Swansea, Taunton, Templeton, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Tyngsboro, Wakefield, Walpole, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Wenham, Wellesley, Westborough, Westford, Westminster, West Newbury, Weston, Westwood, Weymouth, Winchester, Winthrop, Woburn.
Non-fluoridated cities and towns: All of Berkshire County, all of Franklin County, all of Hampshire County except Amherst, all of Hampden County except for Holyoke and Longmeadow, all of Cape Cod. The individual non-fluoridated municipalities are: Abington, Adams, Agawam, Alford, Amesbury, Aquinnah, Ashby, Ashfield, Ashland, Avon, Ayer, Barnstable, Barre, Becket, Belchertown, Bellingham, Berkley, Berkshire, Berlin, Bernardston, Blackstone, Bolton, Blandford, Bourne, Boxborough, Boylston, Braintree, Brewster, Bridgewater, Brimfield, Brockton, Brookfield, Buckland, Carlisle, Carver, Charlemont, Charlton, Chatham, Chelmsford, Cheshire, Chester, Chesterfield, Chicopee, Chilmark, Clarksburg, Clinton, Colrain, Conway, Cummington, Dalton, Deerfield, Dennis, Dighton, Douglas, Dover, Drury, Dudley, Dunstable, East Bridgewater, East Brookfield, Eastham, Easthampton, East Longmeadow, Easton, Edgartown, Egremont, Erving, Fairhaven, Falmouth, Florida, Foxborough, Georgetown, Gill, Goshen, Grafton, Granby, Great Barrington, Greenfield, Groton, Hadley, Halifax, Hampden, Hancock, Hanover, Hanson, Hardwick, Harvard, Harwich, Hatfield, Hawley, Haydenville, Heath, Hinsdale, Holbrook, Holland, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Hubbardston, Huntington, Kingston, Lakeville, Lancaster, Lanesboro, Lee, Leicester, Lenox, Leominster, Leverett, Littleton, Ludlow, Lunenberg, Marion, Marshfield, Mashpee, Mattapoisett, Maynard, Medfield, Mendon, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleborough, Middlefield, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Monroe, Monson, Montague, Montgomery, Mount Washington, Nantucket, New Ashford, New Braintree, Newbury, New Marlborough, New Salem, North Adams, Norfolk, Northampton, Northbridge, North Brookfield, Northfield, Norton, Norwell, Oakham, Orange, Orleans, Otis, Palmer, Paxton, Pelham, Pepperell, Peru, Petersham, Phillipston, Pittsfield, Plainfield, Plymouth, Plympton, Princeton, Provincetown, Randolph, Raynham, Rehoboth, Richmond, Rochester, Rockland, Rowley, Rowe, Royalston, Russell, Salisbury, Sandisfield, Sandwich, Savoy, Sheffield, Shelburne, Sherborn, Shirley, Shutesbury, Southampton, Southfield, South Hadley, Southwick, Spencer, Springfield, Stockbridge, Stoughton, Stow, Sunderland, Tolland, Townsend, Truro, Tyringham, Upton, Uxbridge, Vineyard Haven, Wales, Ware, Wareham, Warren, Warwick, Washington, Webster, Wellfleet, Wendell, West Boylston, West Bridgewater, West Brookfield, Westfield, Westhampton, Westport, West Springfield, West Tisbury, Whately, Whitman, Wilbraham, Williamsburg, Williamstown, Wilmington, Winchendon, Windsor, Worcester, Worthington, Wrentham, Yarmouth.
water fluoridation accidents:
- AUGUST 2000 – Wakefield: Error with fluoridation equipment leads to fluoride levels as high as 23 ppm. Local health officials claim no one is affected, however news reports interview at least one resident with diarrhea and dizziness. (SOURCE: Boston Herald, 2000)
LATEST NEWS:
- To see the latest news on fluoride developments in Massachusetts, click here.
- To see an updated list of Massachusetts’ professionals calling for an end to fluoridation, click here.
Massachusetts’ FLUORIDATION LAW:
- The State of Massachusetts does not mandate fluoridation. Local governments control fluoridation policy in MA. State law enables a community through a Board of Health order to implement fluoridation. Implementation of fluoridation is?subject to a 90-day waiting period during which a petition for referendum may be filed opposing the practice. City governments and citizens can discontinue fluoridation by a referendum vote. To learn more about these laws, click here.
Of Special Interest:
- The Natick Report of 1997: Should Natick Fluoridate? A Report to the Town and Board of Selectmen. Prepared by the Natick Fluoridation Study Committee.
- Wilmington report by Gregory Erickson, Director of Public Health, Wilmington. “A Discussion on Whether the Board of Health Should Order the Fluoridation of the Municipal Water Supply.” February 15, 2000.
DATA ON ORAL HEALTH:
- 2008. The Oral Health of Massachusetts’ Children. By White BA, Monopoli MP, Souza BS. Catalyst Institute. January.
Assessment and report funded in part by Delta Dental of Massachusetts and the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (see acknowledgments for all funders).
* The only mention of dental fluorosis in in one reference citation.
- 2010. Oral Health Plan for Massachusetts 2010-2015. Better Oral Health for Massachusetts Coalition. No mention of dental fluorosis.
Massachusetts COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE REJECTED FLUORIDATION:
Community | Population | Date |
Edgartown | 4,000 | April 12, 2018 |
Greenfield | 18,168 | February 9, 2017 |
Amesbury | 16,500 | November 8, 2011 |
Littleton | 8,900 | May 10, 2008 |
Yarmouth | 25,000 | May 6, 2008 |
Methuen | 47,000 | November 5, 2002 |
Plainville | 7,683 | April 1, 2002 |
Worcester | 181,631 (as of 2011) |
November 7, 2001 |
Brewster | 10,094 | May 15, 2001 |
Wilmington | 21,363 | February 15, 2000 |
Barnstable (Cape Cod) | 47,821 | November 4, 1993 |
FLUORIDE POLLUTION SOURCES IN MASSACHUSETTS:
In 2008, Massachusetts ranked #38 out of 48 states for Hydrogen Fluoride releases (187,516 pounds) into the environment. The following data comes from EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). “Total releases” includes both water and air pollution. It’s important to note, however, that not all industries or sources that release fluoride into the environment are included in the TRI.
2008 Releases (in pounds) |
Type of Industry | Name of Industry |
68,216 | Coal-fired power plant | DOMINION ENERGY BRAYTON POINT LLC. BRAYTON POINT RD, SOMERSET, Massachusetts 02726 (BRISTOL) |
66,000 | Coal-fired power plant | MOUNT TOM GENERATING CO LLC. 200 NORTHAMPTON ST, HOLYOKE, Massachusetts 01040 (HAMPDEN) |
42,914 | Computers/Electronics | EVERGREEN SOLAR INC. 112 BARNUM RD, DEVENS, Massachusetts 01434 (MIDDLESEX) |
3,369 | Fabricated Metals | SOMERSET POWER LLC. 1606 RIVERSIDE AVE, SOMERSET, Massachusetts 02726 (BRISTOL) |
1,967 | Computers/Electronics | WYMAN-GORDON CO. 244 WORCESTER ST BOX 8001, NORTH GRAFTON, Massachusetts 01536 (WORCESTER) |
276 | Computers/Electronics | ANALOG DEVICES INC/WILMINGTON MANUFACTURING. 804 WOBURN ST, WILMINGTON, Massachusetts 01887 (MIDDLESEX) |
74 | Computers/Electronics | SCHOTT SOLAR INC. 4 SUBURBAN PARK DR, BILLERICA, Massachusetts 01821 (MIDDLESEX) |
