Another Push to Add Fluoride to Public Drinking Water

By Beth Fitzgerald, NJSpotlight.com

Convincing a majority of lawmakers of the benefits of requiring fluoride in New Jersey’s public water supply has been like pulling teeth for years in the New Jersey legislature.

The long-hoped for measure by dentists has consistently been opposed by some environmentalists and water companies. But on Monday, the Assembly’s health committee took another shot at moving the bill.

“Hope springs eternal,” said Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D-Burlington), a medical doctor and chairman of the heath committee, which cleared a bill similar to legislation that failed to make it through the last session.

Only 13 percent of New Jerseyans drink fluoridated water, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), placing New Jersey next to the bottom nationwide.

Dentists say access to the teeth-strengthening fluoride would drastically reduce cavities, especially in the New Jersey’s poorer cities. “We see an awful lot of dental disease in children,” said Dr. Nanci Tofsky, professor and interim chair of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School.

But the bill has its critics -- water companies and environmentalists who cite its impact on the environment, potentially harmful health effects, and the cost of installing fluoridation equipment for opposing the measure.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, said his organization is not opposed to water fluoridation, but he urged the committee to ban the use of industrial-grade fluoride, which may contain heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and lead.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com