Community Corner

Expert: Stop Putting Fluoride in Connecticut's Water

During a hearing in Hartford this week critics argued the mandatory addition of flouride in public water supplies is harmful to some.

This article was written and reported by Associate Regional Editor Eileen McNamara. It was posted by Jason Vallee.

Though state Sen. Joe Markley's proposal for a ban on adding fluoride to public water supplies failed in the General Assembly this year, the Southington Republican was back at the state capitol this week pushing the idea.

During an informal hearing Monday in Hartford Markley said he would bring his bill back before the legislature during its next session in the fall, according to a Hartford Courant report.

Markley wants to ban the addition of fluoride in public water supplies because, he says, it adds an unfair and costly burden to water utility companies.

In renewing his case this week against the practice, Markley relied on an expert, Paul Connett, a retired chemist and college professor. Connett said that while fluoride in public water supplies has substantially reduced cavities for millions in Connecticut and the U.S., it can harm the bones and brains of young children, the Courant reports.

He also said the state, which mandates adding fluoride in public water systems, is usurping the rights of residents to decide for themselves whether to take fluoride or give it to their children.

"We should never use the public water supply to deliver medicine. No doctor could do to us what the state of Connecticut is doing," the newspaper quotes Connett.

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