A debate is raging over the public health practice of putting fluoride in drinking water, and Emerald Coast Utilities Authority is preparing for the potential fallout. Escambia County is among 36 Florida counties with public water systems that actively fluoridate their water, according to the Florida Department of Health.
The Environmental Protection Agency allows up to a maximum contaminant level of 4.0 parts per million and recommends 0.7 ppm. ECUA Executive Director Bruce Woody said only two out of 28 wells register a barely detectable amount.
“Any fluoride in the water is what we added due to EPA and (Centers for Disease Control) recommendations,” Woody said. “There would be a modest savings by not doing it.”
Woody said the City of Pensacola added fluoride to drinking water in 1968 but that lasted for only a brief time. The ECUA board voted in 1998 to add fluoride after 58% of voters approved a referendum. Debate over the public health practice stirred in 2010 when some voiced their opposition at ECUA board meetings, but ultimately, the board decided to stay the course. That board dealt with local pressure. This board faces pressure at the national and state levels to stop the practice.
- “The next step at ECUA is to have staff figure out exactly what’s going on with this report and address the situation as needed,” ECUA Board Chair Vicki Campbell said. “We don’t want a knee-jerk reaction. I’m sure we’ll be addressing it. It’s not the first time it’s come up. For me, personally, I would want to follow up with doctors and dentists. I’d want to see the study. What exactly did the study say? I’d want doctors and dentists to weigh in.”
DIG DEEPER: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sparked national debate by calling for an end to the public health practice. Nominated to be the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services by President-elect Donald Trump, Kennedy cited controversial studies that fluoride in water is a risk to developing brains and said the Trump administration would advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water on inauguration day.
Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, the Florida surgeon general, sided with Kennedy. His office released a statement recommending against community fluoridation “due to the neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure.”
Ladapo cited safety concerns related to systemic fluoride exposure, including adverse effects in children such as reduced IQ, cognitive impairment and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He further cited increased neurobehavioral problems in children, sleep cycle disturbances caused by an accumulation of fluoride in the pineal gland, skeletal fluorosis, potential risk of premature menarche in adolescent girls and potential suppression of the thyroid gland.
In September, a federal court in California ruled against the EPA and ordered officials to take action over concerns about potential health risks from currently recommended levels of fluoride in drinking water.
Leading health organizations disagree with Kennedy, Ladapo and the federal court ruling. The EPA, Centers for Disease Control and the American Dental Association all support maintaining a minimum level of fluoride in drinking water.
The ADA stated, “Seventy years of research, thousands of studies and the experience of more than 210 million Americans tell us that water fluoridation is effective in preventing cavities and is safe for children and adults.” The CDC stated studies continuously show that widespread community water fluoridation is not associated with lower IQ scores in children, prevents cavities and saves money for families and the health care system.
ECUA board member Dale Perkins agrees with Campbell that re-examining the public health practice is a wise decision. He said Ladapo “probably has some valid concerns.”
“One thing I’m never going to do is put the health of children at risk for my own political gain,” Perkins said.
Campbell predicts ECUA will let the issue run its course as a political topic and focus on objective, scientific data. She said that will change if the CDC and EPA change their recommendation level of 0.7 parts per million.
