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Home My WebLink About2007-01-09 Government Operations Committee Minutes ' Government Operations Committee , January 9, 2007 Councilor Attendance: Hawes, Allen, D'Errico ' Staff Attendance: Barrett, Others: Bangor Water District Chair Robert Sypitkowski, , Kathy Moriarty, Bangor Water District Manager Minutes ' 1. Informational meeting with the Bangor Water District regarding the Water � Fluoridation Program. , Hawes introduced City Councii and staff members in attendance. Water District Chairman Sypitkowski introduced Trustee members Stan Miller, Richard , Dahl, Brad Wellman, Dan Wellington, and Wes Haskell. He also introduced the District's Manager Kathy Moriarty. Moriarty then moved forward with a Fluoride informational Power Point , presentation. Paper copies of the presentation were made available and one is attached to the minutes. Moriarly said the purpose of the presentation was to ' provide the Council some basic information about drinking water fluoridation. When a community decides to either add or remove fluoride, there is a process , whereby the citizens vote to decide whether to start or stop fluoridation. It is outlined in Maine Statute Title 22, Chapter 601, §2651 to 2659. There would be a referendum vote and the question would be stated as "shall fluoride be added , to a public water supply for the intended purpose of reducing tooth decay." Before the referendum is set on a ballot, there first must be either a majority vote of the City Council or a citizen petition process. 10 days prior to a , referendum vote, a public hearing is required. If the referendum vote is affirmative, within 10 days the City Clerk would notify the Water District and within 9 months the Water District must add fluoride. The process would be the , same for stopping fluoridation. In either case, the issue could not be readdressed for another two-year period. On July 11, 1966, the City Council passed an item by majority vote , sending the issue to referendum. The November 8, 1966 election showed 6,619 yes votes and 2,859 no votes. In February of 1967, the Bangor Water District , started adding fluoride to the water and having been doing ever since. Floods Pond natural fluoride level is .2 mg/liter. The DistricYs tap water fluoride level is ' 1.2 mg/liter, which is the optimum level to prevent tooth decay. She discussed State and Federal fluoridation regulations. � 1 1 ' Responding to Councilor Allen, Moriarty said in warmer climates one tends to drink more water making the optimal fluoride level lower. In Maine's climate, ' the optimal level is at 1Z. It is a constant level. Moriarty said that some bottled waters contain fluoride while others do not. Fluoride concentrations in ground water varies. , Allen asked how Bangor rates in comparison to other communities in terms of maintaining fluoride control in the water. Moriarty said she was not , certain how other communities are controlled. Fluoride is a fairly easy chemical to dose. There should not be difficulties with water companies maintaining stable doses. Moriarty said that Portland has fluoridated water as well Augusta,� � Lewiston-Auburn. 74% of Maine's community water systems do fluoridate. ' Dr. Leo Leonides, a pediatrician, spoke about the fluoridation issue. He has no doubt that fluoride helps with tooth decay, but there are many other concerns, which he discussed. Brushing is more effective than drinking Fluoride. ' He spoke about thyroid related issues. In November 9, 2006, the American Dental Association issued a warning to parents about children under 12 months of age being given fluoridated water. He spoke about animal studies relating to , the use of fluoride showing that it affects a portion of the brain. He spoke of studies from China, which present compelling information regarding fluoride, black tea, and pregnant women. He spoke of the controversy over fluoride's ' impact on bone strength and fractures. He does not drink Bangor water. D'Errico asked Leonides if he shares his studies with other physicians and he said he does so. ' Dr. Jonathan Shenkin addressed the committee. He is a pediatric dentist. � Before moving to Maine, he lived in Iowa, where the Iowa Fluoride Study is the largest federally funded research center. He worked in collaboration with those folks. Prior to that, he was with the National Institute of Health working on � fluoride issues. He referenced comments made by Dr. Leonides. Regarding European oral health, there are a number of countries that do not fluoridate their drinking water because they use salt fluoridation. This is not permitted in the ' US. Europe has universal care for oral health. The US does not. Water fluoridation in the US is universal prevention. Children who live in fluoridated communities have tooth decay reductions of 20-40% over those who do not live � in fluoridated communities. Regarding toothpaste versus drinking water, it is correct that fluoride has topical effects. Toothpaste and water serve two different purposes. Having both has cumulative effects. The question of why ' fluoride is such a controversial issue goes back to when fluoride was first introduced. Sixty years ago, it was claimed to be a communist plot. He spoke of the Town of Lincoln rejecting fluoride due to start up costs. The ADA warning on , infant formula is the result of several studies down at the University of Iowa looking at the risk for tooth fluorosis only. In terms of the risk of autism and , ' , other neurological deficits, there is no respectable evidence. All of the animal ' studies that are looked at in literature are using levels that are 100 to 150 time the level of what we drink in Bangor's water. Responding to Allen, Shenkin said ' fluoride is a city-by-city decision. It is a cost issue for some communities. The State Dental Program does work with communities and has CDC funding. Fluoride in salt was discussed unofficially, but the FDA doesn't allow it. , The District Trustees hope to have a strong formal statement or a recommendation at some point within the next two months (and possibly the , end oF February but more likely March) regarding fluoridation. Allen asked how the Trustees feel about the statement of Dr. Leonides. The basic premise of the Board has been that information needs to be scientific evidence based. , Moriarty also indicated that the District plans to pursue a rate increase , this year of approximately 5%. The last increase was two years ago. Regarding the two different opinions given regarding fluoridation, D'Errico ' asked about the next step in the process. Sypitkowski said the Board is looking at it from a citizen point of view and also relying on the District's technical familiariry. The District has not seen anything thus far that would require the , District to recommend a change. Responding to Allen, Moriarty said that the use of fluoride has been studied for a long time period. The most recent study from the National Research Council was a group looking at an accumulation of a lot of ' studies. The Committee made a recommendation that the District return to the ' Committee after their findings are concluded. Allen suggested bringing the group back to a full Council meeting for a final analysis. Hawes said once all the information is in, she would expect it to go to full Council. Barrett said the � District comes to Government Operations four times a year and to the full Council two times a year. He said the findings could correspond to their next , meeting with the full Council. Allen stated there are still two conflicting views on the issue. Hawes said , the District would come back with their statement, hopefully by the end of February or in March. This paper will be reviewed by the Council. The District will take into account all of the information that has been presented. � A motion was made and seconded to adjourn. , ' , 1