Yarmouth moves forward with fluoridation

Yarmouth -

Massachusetts has 139 communities with fluoridated drinking water and Yarmouth officials want their town added to the list.
Dr. Benjamin Gordon, chairman of the Yarmouth Board of Health, said his board would revisit the issue and recommend that the town fluoridate its drinking water. Gordon’s comments come on the heels of a Tuesday night vote by Yarmouth selectmen to endorse the Massachusetts Department of Health’s position that towns adopt fluoridation.
While not a directive, the selectmen’s unanimous vote essentially backs the board of health as it makes its decision to fluoridate or not. The board of health’s next scheduled next meeting is Monday, Jan. 22.
In 2005, the board of health decided not to move forward with the controversial subject, citing the need for public education and a markedly anti-fluoridation tone to two public meetings.
But despite the board of health’s renewed interest in the subject, fluoridation in Yarmouth isn’t a done deal. According to Gordon, the board’s recommendation would instantly trigger a 90-day waiting period. During that time, a petition signed by 10 percent of the town’s registered voters could force a referendum on the issue. And, said Gordon, a referendum defeat would mean that the issue could not be raised again for another two years.
“We can’t order fluoridation and have it done next week,” said Gordon, who attended Tuesday night’s meeting of selectmen along with other board of health members and Yarmouth Health Director Bruce Murphy.
In terms of public education, selectmen got a large dose of it Tuesday night in the form of Dr. Myron Allukian Jr., a dentist and former director of Oral Health for the Boston Public Health Commission. An internationally recognized expert on the subject, Allukian attempted to allay fears about fluoridated drinking water, a topic which has proved a lightning rod since it was introduced six decades ago.
“The data is overwhelmingly in support of fluoridation,” said Allukian, who added that, while some opponents may have valid questions about fluoridation, much of the controversy stems from what he called “junk science.”
Allukian spoke to the dental health benefits, especially to young children, from fluoridating water at one part per million. He told board members that, at that level, fluoride would be “odorless, colorless and tasteless” and present no health risks.
Allukian also said $1 spent in fluoridation would translate into $38 in savings from better oral health.
Selectman Bill Marasco, a doctor and one of the board’s leading fluoridation proponents, thanked Allukian for his presentation and called fluoridation a public health issue.
“This is going to help people who can’t help themselves,” said Marasco.
In 2005, the board of health conducted an informational hearing followed by public hearings. While not rejecting fluoridation, the board decided not to move forward and said as much in a letter to selectmen last January.
“At all three public meetings, the clear sentiment of the majority of the public present was that the town should not add fluoride to the drinking water,” reads the letter.
Gordon touched upon those concerns Tuesday night, explaining to the board that approximately 40 people attended those meetings and that several were not from Yarmouth. He added that presentations like those of Allukian, as well as technical assistance from the state’s public health agencies, went a long way to the public education component that health board members desired.
Presently, no towns on Cape Cod have fluoridated drinking water. In Bourne, Otis Air National Guard Base fluoridates its drinking water as does the town of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard.
In a move that made headlines across the state, the city of New Bedford recently returned to fluoridated water after decades without it.

 

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