Redding Rejects $1.6 Million Grant for Water Fluoridation Project
The city of Redding last week rejected a $1.6 million grant that would have covered the cost of a project to add fluoride to the city's water supply, the Los Angeles Times reports. The decision not to accept the grant from the California Dental Association "sets up a possible conflict" with the state, the Times reports (Los Angeles Times, 11/19). Under a 1995 state law, communities with at least 10,000 water connections must add fluoride to their water supplies, provided that they can fund the project with a source other than tax revenue. Residents of Redding earlier this month approved Measure A, a ballot measure that bans the addition of certain chemical compounds, such as fluoride, to the water supply. However, California health officials said that state law supercedes the ballot measure and that Redding would have to fluoridate the city's water supply. Redding Citizens for Safe Drinking Water, which supported Measure A, raised concerns about the safety of water fluoridation, a process that they said reports have linked to hip fractures and lead poisoning. Local medical and dental organizations opposed the measure because they maintained that water fluoridation helps to prevent tooth decay (California Healthline, 11/11).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.