Johnny Johnson, in foreground, addresses the Clarksburg Water Board Tuesday, The retired pediatric dentist told the board that arguments against fluoridation are based on “silly, counter-science information.” Staff photo by Jim Davis
CLARKSBURG — To fluoridate or not to fluoridate Clarksburg’s water supply: That remains the question.
The Clarksburg Water Board took no action Tuesday after hearing from a lawyer who has sued cities to remove fluoride from their drinking water and a retired pediatric dentist who rebutted the fluoride opponent’s claims one by one.
Water Board President Al Cox asked fellow board members Paul Howe and Charlie Thayer if they wanted to vote on the matter at the end of the regular meeting.
Howe suggested the board table the matter, and Thayer agreed.
Both Howe and Thayer have expressed concerns about long-term use of fluoride on human health, while Cox accepts regulatory agencies’ findings that the substance is safe at the levels allowed in the United States.
Those allowable levels, set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are 0.5 to 0.9 parts per million, with 0.7 parts per million being the optimum level.
James Robert Deal, a Lynwood, Wash., attorney who opposes fluoride, and Johnny Johnson, a retired Tampa, Fla., pediatric dentist who is in the pro-fluoride camp, spoke to the board on the issue.
Deal, who spoke to the board via telephone conference call, repeated fluoride opponents’ claims that the substance doesn’t improve dental health but harms overall human health.
Specifically, Deal alleged the fluorosilicic acid manufactured for use in water systems leads to elevated lead levels in children’s blood by leaching lead from water conduits and increasing absorption of lead from water.
The lawyer cited a Harvard University study attributing low intelligence to exposure to fluoride and referred to the substance as an uncontrolled drug whose long-term use could cause dental fluorisis, weak bones and other ailments.
The National Sanitation Foundation standard that makers of fluorsilicic acid are required to meet is illegal because the agency hasn’t done the required toxicological studies, Dean said.
“It’s actually an unfortunate fraud,” Deal said.
Johnson, who appeared in person, referred to fluoride opponents’ arguments as “silly, counter-science information.”
As for the lead concerns, Johnson said there is no scientific research to substantiate the claim.
The issue with lead has to do with old homes and pipes, and there are additives that can prevent it from occurring, he said.
The Harvard study was done in China and India, which have higher concentrations of fluoride in their water, and there are no peer-reviewed studies linking fluoride use to health ailments, Johnson said.
There are numerous studies showing that fluoride reduces cavities well into adulthood, Johnson said.
Meanwhile, toxicological studies haven’t been done because the levels are not anywhere near the 4 parts per million threshold set by the federal government, Johnson said.
“Information was being cherry-picked,” he said of fluoride opponents’ arguments.
Cox thanked both Deal and Johnson for giving their perspectives on the issue.
Others in the audience urged the board to think long and hard before stopping the use of fluoride in the water.
“Use the science when you all make a decision, because everyone is looking at you,” said Dana Singer, with the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department.
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