Opponent from mainland urges fluoride-free water Local and mainland critics of fluoridation planned to ask the Kaua’i County Water Board at its meeting today to scrap any proposal to fluoridate the island’s public water system. The anti-fluoride group, which will
Opponent from mainland urges fluoride-free water
Local and mainland critics of fluoridation planned to ask the Kaua’i County Water Board at its meeting today to scrap any proposal to fluoridate the island’s public water system.
The anti-fluoride group, which will include Dr. David Kennedy, a San Diego, Calif., dentist touted as an expert on water fluoridation, claims the treatment will create long-standing health problems for Kauaians, including bone disease, infant mortality and brain damage.
Fluoridated water also will damage the coastline and ecosystems, critics contend.
“Why do I not want it? Because I have a little girl, that is why,” said Dr. Stan Schiller, a Lihu’e optometrist opposed to fluoridation. “No parent should want it.”
But proponents of fluoride say the treatment is safe, is used throughout the United States and prevents tooth decay.
Kennedy is scheduled to make his presentation in opposition of fluoridation at 10:15 a.m. in the Water Department building in Lihu’e. He also plans to make similar presentations later this week on O’ahu.
Kennedy, past president of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology and the Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, will begin circulating a petition May 21 in California to place an initiative on a statewide ballot there to ban fluoridation in that state.
The initiative would seek to reverse a mandate for fluoridation that was passed by the California Legislature and former governor Pete Wilson in1995 and is scheduled for implementation this year.
The Kaua’i water board will be asked for a moratorium on any fluoridation plan here.
The Water Department has taken a neutral stand and is not moving forward with fluoridation, according to officials.
Schiller said fluoridation is a danger to water consumers because the process involves the use of flurosilic acid, a byproduct of fertilizer. The chemicals have never been tested for safety in humans or animals, Schiller said.
Grady Deal, a Koloa sociologist and holistic chiropractor who is opposed to fluoridation, said Kennedy has the results of studies that show the water treatment process causes cancer, neurological damage, increased hip fracture, thyroid dysfunction and tooth decay.
Many countries have banned fluoridation of drinking water, Schiller said.
According to the Center for Disease Control, large segments of the population are susceptible to fluoride poisoning, including infants and senior citizens with cardiovascular and kidney problems, and people with dietary calcium, magnesium or vitamin C deficiencies.
Once the chemicals are introduced into Kauai’s water system, the treated water will degrade river and ocean life, Schiller said.
“It will go to the river, go out to the reefs and damage reef animals and the ecosystem,” Schiller said. “We want less stuff in our water, not more. We want pure drinking water.”
Proponents of fluoridation say the process is a safe, economical and effective way of preventing tooth decay, which they say is one of the nation’s most widespread diseases and is the number one reason for tooth loss for all ages.
Supporters of fluoridation say the treated water will reduce tooth decay by 40 to 60 percent over a lifetime.
Fluoridation will provide long-term benefits, supporters contend. As the teeth of infants and children develop, fluoride becomes part of the enamel, rendering teeth less susceptible to tooth decay.
Schiller, a biochemist, says the benefits of fluoride are only topical.
Since the 1930s, hundreds of scientific studies have shown that adjusting the natural fluoride in the water supply causes no harmful effects, proponents say. In the United States, 144 million people drink fluoridated water.
Fluoridation of water systems began after World War II as a new way to control tooth decay.
On Kaua’i, the issue of fluoridation will be debated on KQNG 570 AM at 11 a.m. Thursday between Kennedy, the author of “How to Save Your Teeth,” and Dr. Glen Okihiro, a dentist on O’ahu and president of the Hawai’i State Dental Association.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
