Saturday, June 16, 2001

County backs off fluoride proposal

By NICOLE SERVICE
NEWS-JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

BUNNELL — County Commissioner Blair Kanbar´s proposal to fluoridate the water supply drowned in a sea of criticism Thursday.

A persistent 30 to 50 residents waited through a four-hour workshop to voice their opinion on the issue. Most residents spoke against the proposal.

Mollie DiLello brought a tube of fluoridated toothpaste to the meeting, where she pointed out the warning label that said to call the poison control center if there is an overdose.

"That alone should scare the hell out of you," she said. "It´s poison, we don´t want it and we don´t need it."

Rhoda Lawrence, a dental hygienist with the state´s Department of Health, said the poison label was something the Food and Drug Administration did on its own, and that the medical community never supported it.

"If a child eats the entire tube of toothpaste, nothing would happen," she said. "The warning is overstated."

She added that 62 percent of the country´s population gets fluoride put in its water supply.

"There is no evidence that there are any ill effects from fluoride," she said. "It´s such a cost effective and safe health matter."

Officials from the cities of Palm Coast and Flagler Beach also spoke against the proposal.

Flagler Beach City Commissioner Ron Vath said the Flagler Beach City Commission voted against fluoridation two years ago, and that they didn´t want the county forcing them to do something to which they object.

"Fluoride is as hazardous and toxic as lead," he said. "Don´t let all our population ingest this hazardous material."

Palm Coast City Manager Dick Kelton said the issue of fluoridating the water supply within the city is a matter for the City Council to decide, not the County Commission.

"We will make a decision for ourselves," he said. "The council has all the authority to deal with the issue on its own."

Palm Coast resident Arnold Masters was one of the few residents to speak in favor of fluoridation.

"The facts are very simple," he said. "The American Dental Association, the American Medical Association ... endorses fluoridation. If all the things attributed to fluoride were true, people would be dropping dead."

"Anything in excess is a poison," he said. "If you pump five or six gallons of water into a person, it would kill them, too."

After listening to both sides, the commission decided that the prudent thing to do was drop the issue.

Commissioner Hutch King said he wasn´t going to overstep the city´s authority.

"Until Bunnell, Palm Coast and Flagler Beach come here, and until they say we want fluoride in the water, I am not going to support this," he said.

County Commissioner Blair Kanbar said the commission was doing the county a disservice.

"This is a countywide responsibility," he said. "We are not doing the right thing. The right thing is to protect the health of 7,000 children in Flagler County."

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