Anchorage Mayor Temporarily Shuts Down Fluoridation Of Drinking Water As Rumors Swirl
An elected official in Alaska’s largest city seemingly took it upon himself to stop a standard drinking water treatment practice, then offered a confusing response when pressed for an explanation.
“Mayor Dave Bronson of Anchorage … went to a city water treatment plant in October and shut off the fluoride in the water system,” The New York Times reported. “In a statement … Mr. Bronson’s spokesman, Corey Allen Young, said the mayor made the decision on Oct. 1 after his team was informed that fluoride was burning the eyes and throats of workers who handled it… But some local leaders say the mayor’s story doesn’t add up because no workers have reported any injuries related to fluoride.”
Bronson’s statement also clarified that the fluoride was turned off for only five hours, the amount of time it took for the mayor to realize that fluoridation of drinking water was actually a requirement per the city code.
Following the abrupt decision to stop a standard drinking treatment practice and the apparent cover-up, some have speculated that Bronson was actually motivated by the oft-amplified but frequently debunked notion that adding fluoride to drinking water is dangerous for consumers. Such beliefs recently prompted the end of fluoridation in a Florida community, for instance.
“Some local officials questioned whether Mr. Bronson … might have been motivated by false claims about the safety of drinking fluoridated water, which have circulated for decades and gained some traction in Alaska,” according to the Times.
Others have speculated that Bronson’s actions were prompted by an opportunity to save the city money.
“One email does describe the mayor choosing to shut down fluoridation after hearing it would save the city money,” Anchorage Daily News reported. “‘He also asked about the total annual expense of dosing fluoride, we showed it would be a significant cost savings to stop dosing fluoride when considering all costs… At that point Mayor Bronson then directed water treatment staff at all AWWU water plants that dose fluoride to take fluoride systems offline, and he would take up the conversation with the Assembly,” Brad Stitzel, superintendent of the Eklutna Water Treatment Plant, wrote in an email.”
Whatever the real reason for the shutdown and prompt restarting of fluoride treatment in Anchorage, it seems there is more to the story than worker safety. However, given the controversy over this issue, it may still be some time before the whole truth is revealed.
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