City votes to continue fluoridation

By Amanda Smith
On Thursday, Nov 19, the long-awaited decision of whether or not to continue the fluoridation of water in the city of Plattsburgh was made. Four out of two city council members chose to prolong the fluoridation of the city’s water. The decision has many residents concerned about those residents who may be harmed due to too much fluoride.
Eleven months ago, City Council member Michael Kelly, in charge of Ward II, asked to take a look at the issue of the fluoridation of water in the city. The issue was intensely debated upon until the night of Nov 19 when the city council came to their decision.
Thursday night’s city council meeting was tense as residents apposing the issue said their piece. Former city council member, Bill Provost gave a speech in which he thanked SUNY Plattsburgh Anthropology Professor, Dr. Richard Robbins, and the Press Republican for accurately reporting the meetings.
Handouts from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and other sources, which lacked evidence opposing the fluoridation of the city’s water, were provided. When asked why this was, City Council member James Calnon said, “We’ve seen the other side of the story for some time now...and who am I to question [the experts]?”
According to the CDC, fluoridation was started in Michigan in 1945 and has successfully assisted our country’s health for more than fifty years.
Mayor Donald Kasprzak said he felt the city council’s decision was the right one. There was no overwhelming or compelling evidence to convince him that fluoride is harmful. There weren’t many residents supporting “the fluoride side” for undisclosed reasons, he said.
“Only one part per million, much below the maximum CDC recommendation will be used,” Kasprzak said. “There aren’t enough facts to support [the argument that fluoride is harmful.]”
It isn’t a matter of the benefits fluoride serves, but a matter of safety said concerned resident Doug Butdorf.
“Fluoridation is not proven to be safe,” Butdorf said.
SUNY Plattsburgh professor, Dr. Richard Robbins argument from the meeting explained why fluoride should not be used in water.
“We all likely have in our bodies traces of anywhere from 40 to 80 toxic chemicals, including dioxins, almost all of which have never been tested for their effect on the human body,” he said. “More seriously, there is virtually no research on the effect of combining those chemicals or at what rate they build up in the body. There is, of course, nothing on how their impact varies by the age, weight, gender, health, or pharmacological status of the person.”
Shelley Fracalossi, former SUNY professor and Plattsburgh resident, felt her democratic government had failed her and other residents of her city.
“[The council] wants to do the same thing they’ve always done and are afraid to do anything different because of public outcry,” Fracalossi said. “The decision was probably made on who talks the loudest; no one speaks for science.”
Fracalossi said if her government fails her on such a small scale, then she’s worried what other things the government can change.
“I don’t know what else we can do,” she said.
The subject can be brought in front of the council once again in 2010 to be overturned if any residents strongly oppose the city council’s decision.