City of Lynden votes to remove fluoride from city water supply

Lynden city leaders voted 5-2 on Monday night to remove fluoride from the city’s drinking water system. It was the only city in Whatcom County that treated its water supply with fluoride.

The city’s municipal water supply has been fluoridated since 1959, but community members recently voiced concerns over the safety of the mineral in tap water.

“Do not treat me for something that I do not wish to be treated for. And you have to treat the water, but anything you have to do to treat the water should be done minimally and as responsibly as you can,” Lynden City Council member Lee Beld said. “But you don’t add things to my water that I don’t want. If I want fluoride, I just can simply go get fluoride. If you want fluoride, you can get fluoride. I’m not trying to ban fluoride. I’m trying to say that you should not be treating me for something I do not want.”

Beld also shared that he personally doesn’t have fluoride in his home due to installing reverse osmosis filters.

What is fluoride and what does it do?

Fluoride is the ionic form of the element fluorine. It is intended to prevent or help slow the progression of tooth decay while stimulating new bone formation, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cited water fluoridation as one of the greatest public health success stories of the 20th century.

“Tooth decay is one of the most common chronic diseases among American children, with one of four children living below the federal poverty level experiencing untreated tooth decay,” the CDC stated in its official statement on fluoride. “Untreated decay can cause pain, school absences, difficulty concentrating, and poor appearance—all contributing to decreased quality of life and ability to succeed.”

And while many council members and city leaders agreed there are health benefits to fluoride, medicating without consent became a major focus of the meeting.

“Fluoride is readily available through toothpaste and brushing your teeth, things like that, and and yet, if you read the side of of a toothpaste box, it tells you that it’s pretty dangerous to ingest this stuff in any quantity and to seek medical advice from poison control,” Lynden City Council member Nick Laninga said. “So my point is, is that we are medicating without people’s consent, and I don’t think we have any business doing that.”

Dr. Trent Veltkamp of Veltkamp Family Dentistry in Lynden told KOMO News that he believes in the validity of fluoride as a helpful tool for dental cleanliness, but he did state that too much fluoride can lead to enamel spotting and bone issues. However, according to Veltkamp, the U.S. uses less than half the concentrations of fluoride where harmful effects could occur.

“If I was king, I would go to the voters anytime. I’m not a scientist,” Lynden City Council member Gary Vis said. “I don’t understand half these studies I’ve read. I don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong. How do I determine what’s a valid study and not a valid study based on my preferences beforehand? Based on who paid for the study? Based on whatever…I don’t feel comfortable enough removing it until I would get their advice.”

Lynden’s previous attempts to ban fluoride

The Lynden City Council previously banned fluoride in a 4-3 vote last July, but the decision was eventually vetoed by Mayor Scott Korthuis, citing a lack of evidence that fluoride causes any actual harm when it is in the city’s water supply.

The move comes as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raised concerns of fluoride nationally. Earlier this month, Kennedy Jr. said he plans to tell the CDC to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide. He’s assembling a task force of health experts to study the issue and make new recommendations.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently reviewing “new scientific information” on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water. The EPA sets the maximum level allowed in public water systems.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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