Some residents fought a plan to add fluoride to the county's water, but now that it's a reality, few have complained.
By CHRISTINE DELLERT
Published June 16, 2004
More than a week has passed since Pinellas County began injecting fluoride into its drinking water. The phone calls so far total 14 - nine for, five against.
"It has been pretty quiet," said Tim Wiley, director of Pinellas County Utilities customer service.
Which is surprising, some say, given the months of raucous debate that accompanied this decision.
Last August, the County Commission voted 6-1 in favor of fluoride. Dozens of residents sent e-mails and formed safe water committees, rejecting the nation's most recognized trend in preventing tooth decay. Concerns of health risks, particularly to children, prompted about 150 residents to rally at commission meetings.
Fluoridation began on the morning of June 7, making Pinellas the last large water supplier in the eastern United States to do so. Pinellas provides water to 600,000 homeowners in the unincorporated areas, Largo, Seminole and the beach communities. It also sells bulk water to Clearwater, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Pinellas Park and Oldsmar.
Most municipalities have heard few complaints.
"If there are any problems, nobody has called us," said Marcia Grantham, Indian Shores' town clerk.
Many residents - and some public works directors - probably were unaware that the county was doing this, city officials said. Others thought fluoride was already in the water.
"If someone hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known," said Chuck Weinreich, a 15-year resident of Treasure Island. "I really can't tell the difference."
Pinellas County Utilities says no one can. "You can't taste it or see it or smell it," said Bob Powell, director of PCU's Laboratory Department.
Dean Scharmen, public works director of Indian Rocks Beach, said last week: "Looks and tastes the same as it did yesterday."
But some residents say they fear the water may no longer be safe to drink or cook with.
"I washed my strawberries today and I wondered whether they were fit to eat or not," Helen Wall of Pinellas Park said last week.
Wall said she considered purchasing a water purification system after drops of hydrofluorosilicic acid - the type of fluoride the county is using - were injected into the county's two main water lines more than a week ago.
Solutions of hydrofluorosilicic acid are stored in large tanks, said Mike Sweet, director of the county's utilities engineering. Metered pumps monitor the amount that drips into pipelines - like a swimming pool filtration system - measuring natural levels of fluoride in the water with the county's addition.
The fluoride that is being added to the water is microscopic, said Dr. John Heilman, director of the county's health department. Heilman compared it to one drop in a bathtub.
The county purchased the tanks and pumps for about $600,000, Pinellas County CommissionChairwoman Susan Latvala said. The equipment will cost $150,000 annually to maintain. The money comes from customers' utility bills, she said, which are expected to increase about 5 cents a month.
"This has been done across the country and around the world for years and years," Sweet said. "It is endorsed by just about every organization of any consequence."
The American Medical Association, the American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend adding fluoride to water.
St. Petersburg, Dunedin, Gulfport and Belleair have been fluoridating their water supplies for at least 10 years. Tampa began fluoridating in 1988.
"It's very, very safe," said Dr. Myles Levitt, a pediatric dentist who has practiced in St. Petersburg since 1974. "It's one of the most cost-effective and best ways to prevent cavities."
But some studies show that increased exposure to fluoride can affect tooth formation in early childhood, according to the Journal of the American Dental Association. Fluorosis, a cosmetic condition with no known health effects, appears as streaks or dark spots on the tooth's surface.
Residents against fluoride also say the lack of human health studies on hydrofluorosilicic acid is worrisome.
"There are just too many questions about it,' said Jackie Johnson of Clearwater, a staunch opponent of fluoride. "They point to studies with other compounds that have been done. But nothing has been done on this particular product."
Residents pushed county commissioners to send a sample of hydrofluorosilicic acid to an independent laboratory for testing. Latvala last week said the sample would be sent "right away" to ease residents' fears.
"We're also getting all of the questions that have been raised (about fluoride's safety) and we're going to respond to them," she said, without further specifics.
Until then, some are taking extreme measures to avoid ingesting county water.
Commissioner Barbara Sheen Todd, the only county commissioner to vote against fluoridation, said she expects to purchase a filtration system costing several thousand dollars for her house.
Marcie Miles, a resident of Madeira Beach since 2001, said she will start taking quicker showers and cooking with filtered water.
"Eventually, we'd like to get our own osmosis (filtration) system," Miles said.
- Times staff writer Waveney Ann Moore contributed to this report.
