Well Australia does have high rates of skin cancer, maybe there’s a connection. 
Some households are connected to reclaimed water service, but not all. In a community like Tampa, FL, where I worked, they provided 100 to 150 million gallons per day of potable water to the community in the distribution network, and reclaimed about 30 to 40 million gallons per day. The reclaimed water was mostly pumped to an upstream point from the primary treatment facility, where it would supplement the stream flow in the river, rather than using a separate distribution network to pipe it to residential users.
Most users of reclaimed water are the local DOT, for watering highway medians, and golf courses and parks. Very little is (or, at least, was at the time I worked there) used by residential consumers.
The 6% figure is typical of many water utilities, in that most domestic water use is non-consumptive—that is, used for laundry, bathing, and, of course, lawn watering. Of the 6% portion used from the faucet, only a relatively small percentage is actually consumed, which is where I derived the figure of approximately 1% of the water treated and pumped into the distribution network actually being ingested. Of that amount, less than half is consumed by young children most at risk of dental caries or other oral issues.
I am not implying that there are no anti-fluoridation wackos out there, only that there is a relatively large, well-informed constituency who believe there are more effective ways to promote dental care, rather than medicating the entire community with an undetermined dose of a compound which is toxic at levels not much greater than those used as a therapeutic dose.
The USEPA has determined a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for Fluoride in drinking water of 4.0 parts per million (ppm), which must not be exceeded. They have set a (non-enforceable) Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level (SMCL) of 2.0 ppm, a level which Water Providers are strongly encouraged to never exceed, and to treat, if practical, to bring the level below that value, if the source water exceeds it.
The therapeutic dose has been determined to be approximately 0.7 ppm, about 30% of the SMCL. In cooler weather, when people drink less water, water utilities frequently treat to a fluoride residual of 0.9ppm, and in summer, when more water is consumed, 0.6ppm.
There is no practical way to determine or measure how much tap water any resident is ingesting, so the dosage each person actually gets is subject to extreme variability. This is one reason many communities encourage more closely-controlled application of fluoride compounds, using topical applications, fluoridated comestibles such as milk or salt, fluoride supplements and regular professional dental care—provided by the community, if the families are indigent or otherwise unable to avail themselves of these resources.
I don’t think you have been subjected to the anti-fluoride campaign in Portland right now. Let me assure you that a “well-informed constituency” is not the predominant voice.
I hope this doesn’t come off snarky, but can you provide cites for that last claim? Even the master indicated in his column that the dental benefits have been seen equally by both towns that fluoridate and those that don’t. I think the question isn’t whether fluoridation is beneficial, but whether fluoridating water is beneficial. To be clear, I’m not against it, I’d just like to see some evidence that is true. I’ve always had fluoridated water and have been happy to have healthy teeth.
I live in suburban NJ and we don’t have fluoride in the water. My kids have had to take vitamins with fluoride and rinse with a fluoride rinse pretty much their entire lives. I grew up in NYC with fluoridated water and I’ve had only one cavity in my life, and a very small one at that. I’m not sure why the towns in my area aren’t fluoridated; I just remember being so surprised when the pediatrician told us we needed vitamins with fluoride, which need a prescription, of course. Fortunately, we can afford that.
A-a-a-and the measure goes down to a 60-40 defeat in yesterday’s election. Science loses, woo-woo wins, despite every medical institution in the country all the reputable dentists and doctors in town, and…you know…science, backing the measure. No skin off my ass, as I’m past the point of having to worry about it. The biggest problem is that these morons will pass on this sort of thinking to their children, who, with rotting smiles, will pass it on to theirs, and thus the dumbing of America will continue. Next up: let’s pass a measure requiring magnets in our shoes and the shaking of rattles over sick people!
If it was an extraordinary claim, I would do your work for you and find some claims, but since what I’m claiming is close to common knowledge, I’ll invite you to do a simple google search.
Shit, I’m sorry to hear that. Now you too can enjoy the pleasure of living in a city where junk science won, and having your city being held up as an example to other places where they’re thinking of making the same bad decision. 
Really annoying. I don’t know what the supporters spent their money on. They got hammered in their message by everyone bitching about the “purity” of their water, imposition on their freedoms, and of course this being Portland, the taste of their beer. The supporters never made it past the nice responses of “but actually, if you look at the scientific data…” I wish the pro- campaign focused more on shaming these people for being frickin’ idiots.
Can’t say I’m too surprised. While Portland is generally a great place to live, they’re heavily into things like crystals, candles, etc. There was even a business in my 'hood that advertised its owner as the “Rune Woman”. :rolleyes: Hell, my own daughter just posted something on FB about “essential oils” that claim to cure all manner of things. I thought I raised her better than that, but I guess unicorns persist, even at age 40.
The clear answer is:
- Start the anti-chlorination campaign, since everyone is so keen on water purity.
- When the bill passes, leave town.
- After everyone dies of dysentery and hepatitis, move back and declare yourself King of Portland!
Betcha every one of those bill’s supporters would swear up and down that their arguments and thinking are not at all like those of global warming deniers.
I still can’t believe that they drained that entire open reservoir because some dude peed in it. The same open reservoir where animals and insects drown, die then decompose, where any manner of plant material rots away, etc. Yeah, but a dude peed in it!
Las Vegas better never get that attitude. The number of times I’ve peed in Lake Mead…
Pee and dead animals are fine. But supposedly he had recently used a fluoride rinse, and the main concern was some residual fluoride in his pee.
Well, that was because the city knew that every yahoo who got a little sick or thought the water tasted funny would sue because obviously they drank pee.
Yep, I’m looking forward to the “No Chlorine In Our Water, Portlanders for Choice” referendum.
I’ll have to check the Wall St. Journal to see if they’re gloating about the outcome (they had a story mocking Portland’s anti-science left wing earlier in the week), right next to their latest op-ed about climate change being imaginary.
As much as I hate the fact the bill didn’t make it through, I’m glad that damn radio ad will finally get off the air. I’ve never heard such an annoying ad. This woman talks as if she is absolutely and utterly APPALLED at what they’re trying to do. At one point she says something like:
“And two hundred…TWO HUNDRED doctors agree it’s not good”
Ok, 200 doctors? How many doctors are there in the entire Portland metro? More than 200, I’m sure. Much more. It was just, overall, a ridiculous commercial and I’m glad to see it gone.
Edit: Found it online to listen to. Embedded in the article.
Funnily enough, Calgary is very much not like that (we have a reputation for being a city of rednecks). I guess there are a couple of different flavours of junk science believers.
Awesome plan!
Sounds fair to me. They want their water chemical free, after all.
Evil chemicals!
So, how many solar panels does she need to keep the AC running?