Huntingburg resident asking city to stop fluoride drip in water supply

Brendan McCormick stood before the Huntingburg Common Council last Thursday and proposed they stop adding fluoride to the city’s water supply or reduce the amount to .7 parts per million, currently the city water is at approximately 1 part per million.

Huntingburg began the process of adding fluoride to the municipal water supply in 1951. The process became nationally recognized as a way to combat cavities in lower income families and children.

McCormick, a 14 year Navy veteran, was well composed and thoughtful in his talk with the council. He became concerned when he began researching an essay for college and decided to cover the topic of water fluoridation. Through the research he conducted for his essay he became convinced fluoridation of public water was unnecessary and even dangerous. The father of three young children attempted to find effective filtration devices for his family but the cost was too high for the unemployed college student.

McCormick felt the positive effects of fluoride in our public water was very minimal. “One surface of the five surfaces of one tooth in an individual’s mouth may be positively affected by the forced ingestion of fluoride through our water supply,” McCormack stated.

McCormick followed this up with the detrimental effects of fluoride that are well documented. He cited sources and studies that indicate fluoride’s impact on the body include kidneys, bones, brain, thyroid, intestines, and even the teeth (excessive fluoride can damage growing teeth and create fluorosis). Studies have also indicated that fluoride can cause hormonal problems and many other detrimental effects on the human body.

The council was attentive to what McCormick had to say. Councilwoman Linda Summers even commented she had opposed the fluoridation of the water supply since before the city began producing its own water. Councilwoman Amy Lehr was intrigued as well since she had personally experienced some of the potential ill health effects of fluoride consumption.

Councilman Glen Kissling had spoken to two local dentists and both have advised him that stopping the practice could be detrimental to lower income families in the community. Additionally, council members remarked even if Huntingburg stops fluoridating the water it would have little impact because of Patoka Water’s fluoridation practices. The city receives about 60% of its water from Patoka.

Huntingburg Mayor Denny Spinner had recently toured the Huntingburg water plant and asked how hard it would be to stop fluoridating the water in through the plant. “The tech pointed at a switch and said ‘just flip that switch’,” Spinner said.

According to Utilities Superintendent Tony Traylor the switch from fluoridation would save the city about $1600 a year.

300 cities in Indiana fluoridate their water, however, 84 do have stopped fluoridation; Bicknel, Crawford County, Linten, Oden, West Terre Haute are local cities that no longer fluoridate.

50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation

The Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing its current position on fluoridation on municipal water supplies. EPA position here

Here is a study from the USDA in regards to levels of fluoride in foods. The tables are at the end of the document. It is an Adobe PDF.