They tell us it’s “fluoride” but it’s not that simple. What we put in our water and call “fluoride” is really a toxic waste product from the fertilizer industry called fluosilicic acid (FSA). Unrefined toxic pollution, straight from the factory smokestacks to your kitchen tap. It is neither safe nor effective at reducing tooth decay, yet our community leaders refuse to act in the name of public safety, so the People must.

A moratorium on our fluoridation program is one step closer to a possible reality. On Thursday, May 17, 2012, 47 petitions containing 274 signatures of registered voters within the city limits were turned in to City Hall. Robin Patch, City Clerk, and Laura Haban, Administrative Analyst, counted and recounted to verify the number of signatures presented. The City now has 30 days to verify the validity of each signature. The number required to allow this initiative to go to November’s ballot is 174. The number of signatures collected was kept intentionally low as to expedite verification.

This initiative will be voted on by residents living within the city limits only. Contrary to Martha McClure’s claim that Donna Westfall is the reason behind the city-only vote, the City of Crescent City is responsible for keeping the initiative limited to city voters. The reason for this decision is due to the fact that the City owns the water department and the County does not. Had the county bought into the water facility when offered, they too would be voting on this issue.

The initiative is requiring a moratorium on Crescent City’s fluoridation program until the manufacturer of the fluoridation chemical provides written assurance of safety and effectiveness of the product, toxicological studies, and a list of all contaminants. Currently, the manufacturer does not assure their product is safe for every segment of the population to consume, and makes no claim about effectiveness to its legislative goal of tooth decay prevention. Toxicological studies and contaminants are also not disclosed, and each batch can contain differing amounts of arsenic, cadmium, beryllium, lead, and other unknown contaminants.

As water consumers we have the right to know what is in the water we drink. We also have the right to demand safety assurances from any manufacturer of any product we consume, even water additives. It’s reasonable that the manufacturer supply the safety assurance and confirm that the reason we buy this product, a reduction in tooth decay, is legitimate. Since there is no agency in place, like the EPA or FDA, to make these assurances, we need to make them ourselves.