No on Measure W

Join over 130 North Coast dental hygienists, dentists, nurses, physicians and these Arcata mayors who support keeping the benefits of community water fluoridation in our water: Julie Fulkerson, Thea Gast, Dan Hauser, Michael Macchi, Carl Pellatz, Sam Pennisi, Connie Stewart, Alex Stillman, Jim Test

Water fluoridation benefits the most vulnerable of Arcata's residents. There are many underprivileged children and seniors in Arcata (40% of Arcata's children are eligible for free school lunches). Because of a shortage of dentists, especially children's dentists, these neighbors of ours have trouble getting dental appointments and even more trouble paying for dental care. The "No on W" committee is a group of citizens, educators, dentists, nurses and physicians concerned that removing fluoride will make a bad problem worse: In 1960, the city of Antigo in Wisconsin removed fluoride. By 1965 tooth decay in second-graders had increased 200% and fluoride was added back to their water supply. Let's not make that mistake!

Don't be fooled by the "Safe Water" Measure: Make no mistake about it, the "Safe Water" ballot measure isn't about keeping Arcata's water safe - it is about taking a step backwards by removing fluoridation from our water despite a 50 year safety record.

There are no "toxins" in Arcata's Water: Don't be taken in by scary talk about poisons that "might" be added along with fluoride - after 50 years of fluoridation NO arsenic or lead can be found in Arcata's water.  See for yourself: Look at the city's water quality report. You won't even find arsenic and lead listed because the report only lists contaminants that are present in amounts that can be detected with highly sensitive lab equipment.  Amounts of any substances that might be present at levels less than the detection limit are not dangerous.

Measure W's "red herring" - the FDA does not regulate community water supplies! Measure W would make the city require that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determine what can go into our water supply. However, this is impossible because the Federal Clean Water Act gave that responsibility to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The FDA has no authority to regulate tap water and their own web site says as much: "The regulation of water is divided between the Environmental Protection Agency and FDA. EPA has the responsibility for developing national standards for drinking water from municipal water supplies. FDA regulates the labeling and safety of bottled water." Click on this quote above, scroll to the bottom of the page and see for yourself.  The FDA does have the ability to determine what goes into bottled water, and they recently allowed bottlers of fluoridated water to make the claim that their water prevents tooth decay.  The FDA's announcement is at this web site.

What is fluoride? How does it work? Fluorine is a chemical element. The fluorine ion (fluoride) occurs naturally in ground water in most parts of the world - which is why the law does not consider it a "drug" in tap water. In the early 1900s, dentists noticed that people who lived in certain areas of the U.S. had "mottled" teeth, but had no tooth decay. By about 1931 the substance responsible was identified as fluoride, which was present in very high concentrations. Further research showed that by adjusting the fluoride concentration to about one part of fluoride per million parts of water, the "mottling" of teeth (fluorosis) was minimal or nonexistent, but the cavity fighting benefits remained. Fluoridation of water supplies in the United States started after WWII and has proven to be both a safe and cost-effective way to fight tooth decay. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, on average, every $1 spent on water fluoridation saves $38 in dental treatment costs. The California Department of Health Services estimates the cost savings to be even greater, and all California cities with more than 10,000 water hook-ups are now required by state law to provide this benefit to their residents.

Fluoridation is safe and effective: In 1956 progressive Arcatans voted to fluoridate our water supply because they felt an obligation to provide the cavity-fighting benefits of fluoride for all residents. Arcata has had safe fluoridated water for the past 50 years. While there are no unusual illnesses in Arcata, if you ask local dentists they will tell you that Arcata residents have better teeth than residents from neighboring areas that lack community water fluoridation.