What is in your drinking water? Not fluoride if you are in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah made national history when it became the first state in the nation to ban the introduction of fluoride in public drinking water systems.

That ban in Utah officially took place Wednesday.

Other states, including Florida, appear to be following the lead that Utah set, even though it is a contentious issue.

A bill was passed in Florida to ban fluoride in drinking water, and it was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday.

Other states, including Kentucky and Nebraska, are also considering flushing fluoridated water down the drain for good.

The American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say fluoride has been one of the most dramatic public health accomplishments to help prevent dental decay. Health experts cite numerous studies that extoll the benefits, but there is also other scientific information that calls that conclusion into question.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, is an advocate for removing fluoride from drinking water.

During a visit to Utah, Kennedy said he made up his mind about fluoride after reading the latest science that points to the additive to drinking water being unnecessary.

"It has no business being there," he said in Salt Lake City last month.

While fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral, the form in which it is artificially introduced into drinking water is entirely different.

The concentrate in its undiluted form is classified as a hazardous, poisonous material that, while it contains fluoride, also contains arsenic, lead, copper, manganese, iron and aluminum. It is a byproduct of phosphate mining operations.

Why the fuss about fluoride?

A U.S. District judge in California ruled last September that fluoride at some level poses an unacceptable risk to young children and nursing mothers.

"There is little dispute in this suit as to whether fluoride poses a hazard to human health. Indeed, EPA's own expert agrees that fluoride is hazardous at some level of exposure. And ample evidence establishes that a mother's exposure to fluoride during pregnancy is associated with IQ decrements in her offspring," Judge Edward Chen wrote.

"The United States National Toxicology Program — the federal agency regarded as experts in toxicity — undertook a systematic review of all available literature near the time of publication considering whether fluoride poses cognitive harm, reviewing 72 human epidemiological studies considering this question," the court said.

Perhaps on that cue, Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain, ran HB81 earlier this year to prohibit the introduction of the substance in public drinking water systems. The bill passed and was signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox.

While medical professionals were vehemently opposed, Gricius had the backing of water districts that said there had been millions of dollars invested to provide feeder sites, while at the same time, workers were exposed to a hazardous material.

The law in Utah took effect Wednesday. Water districts have been dialing down the introduction of fluoride in recent weeks in order to comply with the new law.

Scott Paxman, general manager of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, said the material has to be disposed of at a hazardous chemical waste site in Utah, which only adds to the costs.

Sandy aftermath

Utah may have been driven to explore the issue, and the eventual ban, after an event that happened in Sandy in 2019.

Residents there experienced the effects of excess fluoride after a malfunction of one of the city's feeders that sickened hundreds of people.

Testing in some samples showed fluoride levels at 40 times the national threshold. Ten days after the first complaint from a resident and after the state could not confirm lead and copper testing results had returned to normal, the Utah Division of Drinking Water and the governor's office required the city to issue a "do not drink" order.

The event left agencies scrambling, including the Salt Lake County Health Department, Sandy itself, and even the state agency that oversees regulations to provide safe drinking water.

How to get fluoride

During an emotional hearing on fluoride this last session, Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, was blunt to critics of the bill.

"My response to those would be that there is a difference between medicated fluoride that is added to water, and the element fluoride that occurs naturally because it exists in our world. All medications come prescribed at a dose. Right? You take Tylenol, you're taking one pill, you are getting 200 milligrams," he said. "That is not possible when what you do is add medication to a universal good that everyone has immediate access to, but that nobody is drinking the same amount."

But the law passed by Utah does not prohibit fluoride. While it bans the introduction of the substance in drinking water, it did free up the ability to get fluoride without a prescription from a local pharmacist.

A South Jordan company called Ultradent Products will be donating roughly 70,000 free fluoride treatments to Utah residents who are in need.

The company is partnering with local dental and hygiene schools to provide treatments throughout the state. Those treatments will be available Saturday, May 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Rose Park Community Resource Fair. The service will be provided by students in the Salt Lake Community College's hygiene program.

There is no need for an appointment.

"Care and giving back are cornerstones of Ultradent's culture. We hope families will come to this upcoming event and take advantage of free fluoride varnish treatments to help protect their teeth now that a vital resource, fluoridated water, is being taken from our state," said Dirk Jeffs, chief executive officer and president of Ultradent Products.

Jeffs said the effort by the company is to protect dental health and many more free public outreach events are scheduled later this year.

Related topics