Longview council may not be able to remove cavity-fighting fluoride on its own

Beacon Hill Water and Sewer District co-owns water treatment plant, but Councilman Erk Halvorson says council can act without approval of its partner

The city of Longview may not be able to act alone to remove cavity-fighting fluoride from city drinking water, making an effort to do so politically more difficult.

It seems like a legal battle over the issue may be brewing.

The Beacon Hill Water and Sewer District (BHWSD) jointly owns the city water treatment plant at the Mint Farm Industrial Park. The district’s three commissioners believe that ownership gives the district a say over operational changes to the facility and how water is treated.

Commissioner Dean Takko is a firm supporter of fluoridation. Commissioners Monte Roden and Richard Ames are skeptical about making any change, but they say they are willing to listen to any public concerns if the city calls for a public hearing on the matter on Dec. 12.

“I’m a strong supporter of fluoridation,” said Takko, a retired state legislator and Cowlitz County assessor. “You can always find crazy studies out there that say fluoride will kill us all,” he quipped.

Roden, a retired Cowlitz PUD supervisor, and Ames, a retired Coweeman Middle School history teacher, said they would need to see compelling evidence that fluoride causes injury before agreeing to abandon it. But they are open to discussing and studying the question.

“I’ve probably been drinking (fluoride-treated water) for 60 years” without suffering ill effects, Roden said Friday. “No one has given me any information showing that it has ill effects at the levels it’s in our water.”

He’s open to hearing what the public may have to say about the issue, but he said he’d make a decision based on fact, not on who is loudest and more vocal.

“Just because you’re loud doesn’t mean you’re right,” Roden said.

Ames said, “It’s going to have to be something pretty overwhelming for me” to abandon fluoridation. “I just have not seen any (evidence) that tells me it is unsafe. It would have to be pretty compelling” for him to change his mind.

“I answer to my citizens only, not experts.”

— Longview City Councilman Erik Halvorson

Tuesday night, the Longview City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution proposed by Councilmen Erik Halvorson and Keith Young to call for a Dec. 12 public hearing on whether to end fluoridation.

The measure also would order city staff to inform state health officials that the city may discontinue fluoridation within 90 days, as would be required by state law.

The council is likely to be divided on the resolution.

Halvorson on Friday disputed whether the city needs Beacon Hill to go along with the council if it chooses to stop fluoridation.

“Fluoride in the water supply is a legislative decision that the City Council has authority to remove. Beacon Hill can, if they desire, continue fluoridation of their water by installing fluoride injection systems downhill from our reservoirs. Of course, this will be done in partnership.” 

“I answer to my citizens only, not experts,” Halvorson said. “That being said, there will be health experts in attendance on Tuesday who oppose fluoride in water with ample evidence for its removal.”

Halvorson did not answer my question about whether he consulted the city attorney about his position.

The operating agreement between the district and city does not specifically address fluoride or any treatment regimes, stating only that operation must comply with laws and regulations. However, it clearly emphasizes mutual management and decision-making for far less consequential matters. For example, both parties must approve sale of water to a third party.

Takko chuckled at Halvorson’s reaction, saying of him and the rest of the four-member council majority: “They must like to go to court,” a reference to lawsuits filed against the conservative bloc after they terminated City Manager Kris Swanson in March.

Halvorson tried to bring the fluoride issue to the council last winter but withdrew it during the conflict over Swanson’s firing. Vigorous public response to that initiative led him to re-introduce the issue now, he said. He also argued that ending fluoridation it would save the city of the need to buy a new $200,000 tank and the costs of adding fluoride — about $16,000 last year

Local dentists and doctors are mustering opposition to the Halvorson/Young initiative, which the councilmen support through referencing a controversial document called 50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation written by the Fluoride Action Network.

“This group is well-known for its anti-fluoride stance and frequently disseminates misinformation. They often misinterpret scientific studies to make fluoridated water appear dangerous, which can be quite misleading,” said Hazar Jaber, CEO of Happy Kids Dentistry, a Longview practice serving 12,000 local children.

Jaber and Longview pediatrician Erin Harnish are distributing a letter among medical professionals to defend use of fluoride. To summarize, it says fluoridation is safe, has a dramatically cost-effective public health benefit (especially for the low income and seniors), and that opposition is based on misleading readings of the research. (Check the story I posted Thursday for details by going to andrestepankowsky@subsack.com)

Fluoride is a naturally occurring chemical used in the United States for more than 75 years to help prevent tooth decay. It is present naturally in virtually all water, including Longview’s Mint Farm well water.

Hundreds of millions of Americans have grown up exposed to fluoridated water. Dentists routinely swab fluoride on teeth during cleanings and checkups. Many brands of toothpaste include fluoride.

Longvew has fluoridated city water since the mid 1960s, perhaps longer.

Nevertheless, persistent critics say exposure to fluoride causes bone, kidney and brain problems and delays children’s intellectual development and IQ. They also contend that fluoridation of municipal water violates the “informed consent” principle because it forces it on everyone whether they want it or not. This is one reason why fluoridation is a bugaboo for the political right.

A federal report released Thursday said fluoride levels in water of 1.5 milligrams per liter retard childhood brain development, but that level of exposure is twice the amount recommended for drinking water under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls community water fluoridation one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20 century.

The American Dental Association (ADA) said in 2021 that “fluoridation of public water supplies is the single most effective public health measure to help prevent tooth decay … This commitment is shared by many national and international organizations, including the World Health Organization, U.S. Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.”

A magazine called Skeptical Inquirer: The Magazine of Science and Reason, published a June 2021 article called “Does Public Water Fluoridation Make Children Less Intelligent?” https://skepticalinquirer.org/2021/04/does-public-water-fluoridation-make-children-less-intelligent/

The magazine reviewed studies done in Mexico, New Zealand, China and especially one in Canada. The Canada research that found that prenatal exposure to high levels of water fluoridation was associated with decreased IQ in boys, but not girls.

There is no mandate, no evidence and no justification to shove this down consumers’ throats.

Skeptical Inquirer documented and cited many flaws in the studies, especially in the oft-cited Canadian probe. It noted that one of the study’s authors herself continues to support fluoridation and that the study actually supported the safety of water fluoridation at the levels used in drinking water.

“The way the media reported the Canadian IQ study was unfortunate. They raised undue alarm over findings that many scientists have criticized as questionable. Fluoridation is still the best way to reduce the risk of tooth decay for all children, including those from the poorest families and those who never see a dentist,” the magazine reported.

It concluded: “The bottom line is that high doses of fluoride can be toxic, but the recommended concentration (0.7 mg/L, the EPA standard) used in community water fluoridation is not harmful or toxic. Public water fluoridation is not going to decrease your children’s IQs.”

The last thing this community needs is another emotion-filled debate about a health issue like those that occurred during the COVID pandemic. There are far more serious public health problems to contend with than fluoridation.

And we don’t need non-scientists pretending to be chemists just because they can find articles on the web. Most people go looking for data to support their biases and theories. Real science works the opposite way: Good scientists seek to disprove their theories.

Halvorson and Young show every sign of wanting to make this a rush job. There is no reason to start down the path of defluoridation at the end of Tuesday’s long council meeting, when this matter is up for discussion. Rushing into decisions about an important health issue is a disservice to the public.

It’s better to be right than rushing to win.

Halvorson’s comment about keeping the Beacon Hill Water and Sewer District out of the decision smacks of the same type of haughty disregard for others’ opinions that the council majority demonstrated during the Swanson mess. The District co-owns the plant, gosh sakes. Halvorson needs to shelve his inflated sense of authority.

No one should claim to know where the Longview body politic stands on this. Fluoridation was not an issue last fall, when three of the four-member council majority were elected with a small percentage of the electorate participating. There is no mandate, no evidence and no justification to shove this down consumers’ throats.

If the community wants to reconsider fluoride, so be it. But it must be done with patience, honesty, diligence — and a little humility.