Windsor water now fluoride free

by Richard Riosa

Windsorites will no longer consume fluoride in their tap water.

For more than 50 years Windsor has been adding fluoride to the community water supply. The addition of fluoride was intended to help prevent tooth decay.

On Jan. 28, Windsor city council listened to the presentations of 27 delegations, 16 of which were in support of ending water fluoridation. The overall safety and effectiveness of fluoridated water was the main focus of the six hour debate. The motion to end fluoridation of the city’s water supply passed with an 8-3 vote.

“From my perspective, it still fundamentally comes down to the issue of public practice versus the ability to choose,” said Mayor Eddie Francis, who ultimately supported the motion to end fluoridation.

Ward 9 Coun. Hilary Payne was one of the three councillors who voted to continue with the fluoridation of Windsor’s water.

“I absolutely refuse to believe that those people (health and dental experts) would come here and advocate and support something which would harm our health,” said Payne. “That is absolutely inconceivable.”

Council’s decision is contrary to the opinions of most health and dental experts who attended the debate. Many said they believed the fluoridation of water to be a safe and effective way of helping to prevent tooth decay.

“You have good information here that basically tells you fluoride is safe, it works and it is effective,” said Dr. Peter Cooney, who is the Canadian oral health advisor to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

President of the Ontario Dental Association, Dr. Arthur Worth, said Health Canada, the American Dental Association, the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control fully support the benefits and safety of fluoridation.

“Fluoride in drinking water provides protection from tooth decay to all members of the community who consume it,” said Worth.

Worth also said he has seen, in his own practice, the effects of non-fluoridated water on tooth decay. He said people from areas which do not add fluoride to their water have more cavities and their teeth are softer than those who are exposed to fluoridated water.

However, many of the delegations who attended the open debate disagree with the established medical institutions’ stance on water fluoridation.

Doug Hayes, the Essex County Chair of the Council of Canadians said the council is concerned about chemicals being added to drinking water that don’t contribute to the process of making it clean. The chemical referred to by Hayes and many of the other delegations, is hydrofluorosilicic acid. Hydrofluorosilicic acid is a fertilizer by-product which would be otherwise illegal to dump into the environment.

“The adding of hydrofluorosilicic acid to our drinking water is for the purpose of mass medication without informed consent and without proof that doing so is safe for us,” said Hayes.

Kimberley DeYong of Fluoride Free Windsor said there is no way to properly determine total fluoride exposure. She said more research is needed to determine the health risks of this substance.