http://www.hamilton.co.nz/our-council/news/Pages/Hamilton-to-end-fluoride-in-water.aspx
History was made at 10.15am on Wednesday 5th June 20133 when Hamilton City Council, NZ, voted 7-1 to remove Hydrofluosilicic Acid from our public water supply.
Hamilton to end fluoride in water
5 June 2013
Hamilton City Council has voted overwhelmingly to remove fluoride from the city’s water.
After four days of submissions a council tribunal today voted 7-1 to stop the practice of adding fluoride to the public water supply from no later than 21 June when stocks run out. The tribunal was presented with research from experts and interested parties on both sides of the debate, although the majority were against fluoride.
Mayor Julie Hardaker tabled the motion to remove fluoride, seconded by Deputy Mayor Gordon Chesterman. Councillors on the tribunal to agree were Daphne Bell, Margaret Forsyth, Roger Hennebry, Dave Macpherson and Angela O’Leary. Peter Bos was the only vote against.
Three councillors who are also on the Waikato District Health Board – Martin Gallagher, Pippa Mahood and Ewan Wilson – did not take part in the tribunal, along with John Gower and Maria Westphal due to previously stated views on fluoride.
The Council will be writing to Health Minister Tony Ryall, expressing its view that public water fluoridation is a health issue which central government should determine.
That point was stressed by Mayor Julie Hardaker today. “This is a matter for central government – not a local government job.
Ms Hardaker, who thanked submitters for their “respectful and considered” presentations, said the tribunal process gave the opportunity to see the two different views put forward by experts and community members to help make the decision.
She said there needed to be compelling reasons to change the status quo – Hamilton has been adding fluoride to its water since the 1960s.
Ms Hardaker said “potential and perceived risks’’ from fluoridation were raised at the tribunal, while there was no dispute that topical applications via toothpaste were effective against tooth decay.
She felt a telling statistic was that of the 220 litres of water a day used by the average Hamilton person, only about 2 litres was consumed and the rest went to the wastewater system.
Deputy Mayor Gordon Chesterman said he was not satisfied fluoridation had achieved benefits “beyond reasonable doubt’’.
He urged the Government to crack down on sugar-laden drinks, which many tribunal submissions linked to dental decay, suggesting they be taxed like alcohol and tobacco.
He noted only 23 of 67 New Zealand councils still added fluoride as public opinion was changing. “Fluoride must go. Fluoride is not beyond reasonable doubt.”
Sugary drinks were a common target among councillors. “Sugar is enemy No 1,” said Cr Hennebry. Cr Bell said she was going against her dentist’s advice in voting for “freedom of choice’’.
Cr Forsyth said she now had “sufficient doubt’’ about fluoride. Cr Macpherson said he was convinced fluoride was not safe, while Cr O’Leary strongly supported the motion and thought the tribunal had been a “really great process’’.
Cr Bos, speaking against the motion, wanted a referendum on fluoride at the elections later this year. “I think we are making a mistake. This should go to the people.”
Several councillors also mentioned the work of Council staff in co-ordinating the 1557 submissions and running the tribunal. “I want to thank everyone involved,” said Ms Hardaker. “This was an exercise in how democracy works.’’
The vote was greeted with applause from about 20 people in the public gallery.
The Council will make annual savings of $48,000 by removing fluoride. How that saving is used will be discussed at the Annual Plan deliberations tomorrow. An amendment by Cr Macpherson, seconded by Cr Hennebry, to spend the $48,000 on increasing the Waikato District Health Board’s dental health education and intervention programme was lost in a 6-2 vote.
Fluoride fact sheet (PDF, 360KB)
HAMILTON CITY COUNCIL
Fluoridation Factsheet
INTRODUCTION
Council has considered on-going requests from the community on the practice of adding fluoride to the Hamilton water supply and made a decision to review fluoridation of the Hamilton Water Supply Policy.
Public consultation opened on 1 March and closed on 2 April 2013.
A total of 1557 submissions were received. The majority (1385) of submissions wanted Council to stop adding fluoride to the city water supply with 170 submissions supporting the continuation of fluoride. And two submission did do indicate a preference.
A tribunal-style hearing was held 28, 29, 30 May and 4 June 2013. This involved a co-ordinated presentation by both the opponents and supporters of water fluoridation to Council. In addition to these presentations, 141 individuals or representative organisations presented.
After four days of hearings, on 5 June 2013 Council voted 7-1 to stop the practice of adding fluoride to the public water supply from no later than 21 June when stocks run out.
SUBMISSIONS – HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY
The majority (1385) of submissions sought Council to stop adding fluoride to the city water supply with 170 submissions supporting the continuation of fluoride.
A total of 984 submitters indicated they were Hamilton residents or ratepayers. A further 74 submitters indicated they were Hamilton water users (but not ratepayers or residents)
The key reasons for submitters wanting Council to stop the fluoridation of the Hamilton water supply were around individuals having the right to choose what they ingest (994), the links between fluoride and a number of illnesses, risks and harm (807) and the perception that fluoride is considered ineffective (741).
Of those wishing Council to continue to fluoridate the water supply (170), the key reasons were the perception that fluoridating the water supply is a cost-effective population-based strategy to prevent dental cavities (124), that there is scientific research to support fluoridation (45) and people citing their own experiences with the benefits (or problems due to the lack) of fluoride (46).
MANAGEMENT OF FLUORIDE IN THE WATER SUPPLY
“Fluoride” is a general term used to refer to various chemical compounds of the element fluorine. Those chemicals can be naturally occurring, or man-made.
Naturally occurring fluoride is found in air, soil, fresh water, sea water plants and many foods. Hamilton City Council uses the chemical hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFA) to fluoridate Hamilton’s water.
Naturally occurring levels of fluoride in drinking water vary depending on the type of soil and rock that the water flows through.
The Waikato River typically has a background fluoride level of approximately 0.2mg/L.
Water fluoridation is the act of adding fluoride chemicals to city water supply. Fluoridation of treated water in Hamilton began in 1966 as a means of addressing oral health and dental decay issues using powdered sodium fluoride, and then changed to liquid hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFA) in 1985.
The level of fluoride in drinking water recommended by the Ministry of Health is between 0.7-1.0mg/L. Hamilton’s target level of fluoride is between 0.70 mg/L and 0.80 mg/L. HFA is added to the treated water supply at a dose rate of approximately 0.5 – 0.6mg/L to achieve this level.
The New Zealand Drinking Water Standards of New Zealand 2005 (revised 2008) specify a maximum acceptable level of 1.5mg/L of fluoride in treated water. Due to the therapeutic and maximum acceptable levels being relatively close, the water treatment station tightly controls and monitors the fluoride dosing system.
Adding fluoride to the water supply costs approximately $48,000 per annum.