Is fluoride in tap water safe? Florida officials raise concerns. Here’s what the science says – Treasure Coast News

FORT PIERCE — Fluoride will no longer be added to the water system that serves Fort Pierce and much of unincorporated St. Lucie County, the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority announced Friday.

The announcement came three days after the County Commission repealed an ordinance requiring fluoride be added by large community water systems in the county.

Fluoridation of drinking water, common in the U.S. since the 1940s, has been considered by some a major public health victory in terms of dental health, but it has come under increased scrutiny in recent years.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, is a longstanding critic of community water fluoridation, and has said he plans to advise all water systems in the country to end it.

In November, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo released new guidance on fluoridation that included warnings of possible health risks, particularly for women and children.

The FPUA announcement specifically cited Ladapo’s guidance for its decision.

“FPUA, in our continuous effort to enhance the quality of life in our Fort Pierce community, meets or exceeds all federal and state regulations to ensure the health and safety of our customers,” an FPUA news release said.

The news release went on to say FPUA has been reviewing its next steps since Ladapo’s announcement late last year.

“Because water fluoridation has been a long-standing water treatment process intended to provide public health benefits, particularly for populations who may not have access to quality dental care, our water treatment specialists took great care to review available data and safeguard that we make the best possible decision for our customers,” the news release read.

The release did not mention repeal of the county ordinance, referring only to “these developments” as the reasoning for discontinuing fluoridation. The release said the utility will continue to monitor future developments.

“FPUA will continuously monitor all future research and is committed to providing our customers safe, high-quality drinking water,” the release read.

The other utility that was required to add fluoride, run by the city of Port St. Lucie, stopped adding fluoride in December, despite the county ordinance still being on the books at the time. City leaders said the move was temporary, in order to prevent harm while the topic was studied more. Last week, staff told the City Council that there are plans to form a taskforce to look at community water fluoridation and provide a recommendation to the council.

Options include resuming fluoridation or making the temporary pause permanent, and also whether the city should go further than not adding fluoride by actively filtering out the smaller amount that is naturally present in the water.

Wicker Perlis is TCPalm’s Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com.