Due east of Corvallis, the city of Lebanon is attracting national attention for its anti-fluoride campaign after a slim majority vote earlier this month to remove the chemical from the water system.
An report in the Washington Post on Wednesday linked Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a pharmaceutical skeptic and former presidential contender who was appointed as President-elect Donald Trump’s health secretary, to Lebanon’s anti-fluoride vote.
Before the municipal council decided to add fluoride to the drinking water twenty years ago, residents of this 20,000-person town remembered that youngsters had a lot of tooth decay, according to reporter Fenit Nirappil, who was previously employed by The Oregonian/OregonLive. However, several locals weren’t convinced.
State election results indicate that, with less than half of the town voting, inhabitants of Lebanon voted 52% to 48% to discontinue adding fluoride to the water system.
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The decision was essentially pointless because city engineers had already been compelled to stop fluoridating the pipes in an effort to control the flood of murky water into the municipal system.
According to the Lebanon Local newspaper, the Lebanon City Council declared a state of emergency in early October, despite officials emphasizing that the water is still safe to drink and that there is no boil-water advisory in effect.
Their water facility is severely overtaxed, according to council members. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to periodically drain the neighboring Green Peter Reservoir is cited as the cause of the increasing turbidity.
One of the main problems we’re facing at this time of year is that it’s pretty dirty due of the drawdowns, Lebanon Mayor Ken Jackola told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Wednesday. Nobody truly knows about this situation.
Environmentalist organizations claim the drawdowns are required to preserve salmon habitat on the Santiam River, and a federal judge ordered them in 2021 as part of a continuing legal struggle.
According to Jackola, the controversy around fluoride started two years ago when a group of locals started pleading with the authorities to cease putting it in the water. Jackola claims he stayed impartial because the city lacked the means to consider other viewpoints. He estimated that the city will save roughly $20,000 annually as a result of the new fluoride policy.
Councilor Dave Workman intended to put the fluoride subject on the ballot when he stood for office. The 62-year-old says he wants people to make their own dental health care decisions but does not see himself as an anti-fluoride crusader.
This began long before the current state of politics. Using Kennedy’s initials, he stated that there was no RFK. This was a little, neighborhood, “do something for my community” kind of problem.
Despite the American Dental Association’s continued promotion of fluoride’s anti-cavity properties, doubt about it has a long history in Oregon. In an unsuccessful attempt to maintain fluoride in the water, the association addressed letters to the council.
According to the group, fluoride is already present in the water of more than 200 million Americans, but not in Portland, where voters have regularly rejected proposals to add the mineral, even as recently as 2013.
In a non-binding referendum on November 5, Hillsboro voters rejected adding fluoride to the water system.
For The Oregonian/OregonLive, Zane Sparling reports on court proceedings and breaking news. You may contact him at [email protected], 503-319-7083, or pdxzane.
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