The City of Cranbrook is going to look into the pros and cons of fluoride being added to its water supply, which it has been doing for more than 40 years.

Council heard from a two-person delegation last night (Sept. 10) asking the city to cease and desist adding fluoride.

Brian Kostiuk and Brad Brehm, appearing as representatives of ‘We Are Change Cranbrook,’ informed council that fluoride is a dangerous substance and should not be added to a municipal water supply.

“Fluoride is not what it’s put out to be,” Kostiuk said, adding it is one of the most corrosive substances going.

“We’re not here to debate the effectiveness of fluoride in dental use and toothpaste,” Brehm added, only to ask for the cessation of its use in the city supply.

“Many people consider fluoride as a toxic substance,” he said, noting he is expecting his second child (potentially that evening) and he didn’t want him being exposed to fluoride.

If fluoride was dropped into a water body in powdered form by an individual, that person “has violated the law,” he said, alluding to higher levels of government showing awareness of the dangers posed by hydrofluorosilicic acid. Most American municipalities have banned its use, the duo noted.

Additionally, only five per cent of B.C. municipalities still apply fluoride to their water supplies, Kostiuk said, pointing out that Vancouver stopped using it in 1960 and Kelowna in 1996.

“There are numerous, numerous communities that have reversed their decision on fluoride,” Brehm said. “We don’t believe fluoride is required to be added to our water supply. It’s mass medication.”

It isn’t recommended for infant formula or toothpaste, he continued, asking, “Why is that? Is there any study you can provide us” that shows benefits?

Brehm pushed that Cranbrook residents have “no freedom to choose” if they want fluoride in their water, for their sake of their teeth – the reason the acid was added to water supplies in the first place. Studies he’s seen focus on “topical application and not ingesting it,” he said, pointing out that dentists tell patients to spit out fluoride treatments and one isn’t supposed to swallow toothpaste containing fluoride.

Council members thanked the two men for appearing before them and presenting so much information.

“You are forcing us to think about something. It’s guys like you who are going to make changes in the world,” stated Coun. Angus Davis.

“This is exactly the kind of questions we need to look at as a council,” said Mayor Wayne Stetski, adding he’d like to hear from a dentist about fluoride.

Coun. Bob Whetham suggested “times were different and assumptions were made” when fluoride was first added to Cranbrook’s water, adding it is an optional application the city undertakes.

“I’ve certainly heard many people say they don’t want their water tampered with but I am not sure of the level” of community concern, he said.

Stetski wondered if the city wasn’t doing lower income residents a favour by adding fluoride, as they tend to not be able to attend the dentist on a regular basis, or if at all. He also guessed that the city spends about $30,000 a year to apply fluoride to its water system.

Brehm replied that he’d be in favour of the city spending that money “a different application” of fluoride for lower income families.

Among the thick package of information provided to the city by the two men is a letter from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment that notes it does not support the application of fluoride to drinking water.

Click to here to see the bulk of the information provided: https://cranbrook.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentList.aspx?ID=2477

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

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