Under Kentucky state law, any water system serving at least 3,000 people must fluoridate their water supplies.
Earlier this year, a version of legislation brought up Tuesday advanced out of a House committee, but failed to get a floor vote.
Republican Rep. Mark Hart of Falmouth sponsored the 2024 bill, and has sponsored similar bills in several previous legislative sessions.
At a legislative committee meeting Tuesday, he said the Commonwealth should not be requiring local water systems to add fluoride if their customers don’t want it.
“The bill is just to remove the unfunded [state] mandate. Let the people drinking the water decide what they want to put in the water,” Hart said.
During the nearly half-hour discussion on the bill, only those in favor of making fluoride in drinking water optional were able to speak to legislators. Rep. David Hale, co-chair of the interim Joint Committee on State Government, said that was due to the time restrictions of Tuesday’s meeting. The Wellington representative told lawmakers that it was not his intention to not allow everyone to speak on the topic, and said if the bill comes before the committee during the 2025 session, those both for and against the measure would be allowed to speak on it. Hale also said he emailed legislators information from those in favor and against optional fluoridation.
Groups like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and the American Dental Association recommend community water fluoridation to help prevent tooth decay and improve overall oral health.
According to the CDC, in 2023, over 99% of Kentuckians were serviced by a fluoridated water system.
The U.S. Public Health Service recommends a fluoride concentration of 0.7 parts per million to maximize oral health benefits while minimizing other potential harms. Kentucky state law reflects that same optimal concentration, although the Commonwealth’s accepted range is between 0.6 ppm and 1.2 ppm.
However, while some studies demonstrate the benefits of fluoride to oral health, others suggest the mineral – in high amounts – could impede children’s brain development.
A study by the National Toxicology Program, run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reviewed other published scientific literature and found with “moderate confidence” that higher levels of fluoride exposure – “such as drinking water containing more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter” – are associated with lower IQ levels in children. But, researchers on the study said there were insufficient data to determine if the current fluoridation recommendation of 0.7 milligrams per liter – or 0.7 ppm – has a negative effect on children’s IQ.
Last month, a federal judge in California ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen regulations for fluoridated water. In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said the typical levels of fluoride found across the nation pose an “unreasonable risk” for reduced IQ levels in children. However, the judge also said that his finding did not mean fluoridated water is a public health danger.
Hart said, under Kentucky’s current fluoride mandate, the Commonwealth could be held responsible if people find that they have a health problem stemming from drinking fluoridated water.
“We had all good intentions when this mandate was put on there to help improve oral health, but are we going to cost the development of children? Are we going to create other medical problems so that we can have better health?” Hart said.
The entire state government committee meeting can be streamed on YouTube.
Copyright 2024 WKMS
