Dear All,

Citizens living in several Arkansas communities (Shirley, Wooster, Mayflower, Guy, Quitman, Greenbrier and the Beaverfork area), have been blessed with a local Utility which has shown some sound common sense and ethical judgment by halting water fluoridation. Crystal Harvey has sent us a copy of a letter by Tim Shaw, the General Manager of Community Water System, to a pro-fluoridation activist, in which he spells out the reasoning for halting fluoridation. It is interesting that this letter is dated March 21, 2006, just one day before the National Research Council published its findings after its 3 year review of the EPA’s fluoride drinkin water standards.

Tim Shaw is to be highly congratulated for his wisdom and foresight. He can be reached  by phone at 501-825-7294 or 1-800-234-2971  or by email at  tshaw@cwswater.org>.

Meanwhile, Mr. Shaw’s letter would be a wonderful model for other utilities, with common sense and a conscience, to use to support a similar action, especially now with both the NRC report and the Bassin article published.

Paul Connett

LETTER

March 21, 2006

Re Fluoride in Drinking Water

Dear Ms……….

I am in receipt of your letter dated March 14, 2006. In your letter you expressed concern over the decision by Community Water System (CWS) to discontinue the addition of fluoride (in the form of hydrofluorosilicic acid) in our finish water. This decision was not rash nor taken lightly. Management at CWS contemplated with this issue for a year before recommending that we discontinue feeding fluoride.

As a water utility, our foremost reponsibility is to supply the highest quality water with the least amount of additives to our customers. Fluoride is a hazardous chemical and requires special handling and storage. This chemical is also highly corrosive on the pumps and piping used to inject it and to most everything it comes in contact with. In our particular case, signficant improvements would have been required to continue this problematic operation.

I will be the first to admit that the debate over the use of fluoride is a hotly contested issue that will not be resolved in the immediate future. Like many important issues, there will be no action as long as the status quo is maintained.  Challenges to the conventional wisdom must continue in order for the body of scientific knowledge to grow. Studies are beginning to indicate that topical application of fluoride through toothpaste is as effective as ingestion. Either way, utilities are caught in the middle between customers that feel strongly both for and against fluoridation.

It is important to remember that as a water utility, our responsibility is the treatment and transmission of high quality drinking water, not to be a conduit for publicy medicating our customers. The customer can choose to brush their teeth with fluoridated toothpaste and/or take supplemental fluoride with a prescription from a dentist or physician. If we fluroidate, there is no choice.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call at 1-800-234-2971.

Sincerely,

Timothy A. Shaw

General Manager