USA: Possible fluoride change could affect local wells

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Possible fluoride change could affect local wells

A potential stricter federal standard for drinking water might require small-site owners to take costly measures.

dailypress.com - April 2, 2006

BY SABINE C. HIRSCHAUER

High levels of fluoride in drinking water - as found in Isle of Wight County, Smithfield, Suffolk, and other local cities and counties - puts children at risk for severe tooth damage and might cause bone problems for adults, a recently released report said.

Fluoride helps fight tooth decay in low levels, but a recent National Academies' National Research Council report found that the amount the federal government allows is too high.

For nearly 20 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set the safe level of fluoride in drinkable groundwater at four parts per million. That means that four gallons of fluoride are allowed in 1 million gallons of water.

Suffolk, Smithfield, Franklin, Isle of Wight and Southampton counties, and parts of Chesapeake have high levels of naturally occurring fluoride in their drinking water - some exceeding four parts per million.

A lower fluoride standard, as recommended by the research council, might force owners of small community wells - which usually serve small subdivisions or mobile home parks - to either pay for expensive filtering systems or try to get around the regulations.

Some of these wells are far from water sources that contain low fluoride levels and will struggle to comply with any stricter standards, said Wayne Rountree, assistant county administrator in Isle of Wight.

For decades, scientists and health officials have disagreed over the level at which fluoride harms people.

On Friday, EPA officials said they wouldn't make a decision on a new federal standard until they saw the results of a study, due this summer, that examined a link between fluoride and bone cancer.

"We can't jump to any conclusion without knowing about the cancer study," said Edward Ohanian, director of the EPA's Health and Ecological Criteria Division. "... It's a very thick report to go through. ... We need to figure out if we have enough data. ... It's not something we can do overnight."

Children who drink water with fluoride levels at four parts per million are at risk of developing severe enamel fluorosis, a condition known to cause tooth enamel loss and dark-yellow to brown staining and pitting, the report said. In addition, the standard could cause bone problems, the research council reported.

"... The damage to teeth caused by severe enamel fluorosis is a toxic effect. ...," the report said. "There is scientific evidence that under certain conditions, fluoride can weaken bones and increase the risk of fractures."

In Virginia, a community well that serves fewer than 15 households doesn't have to comply with federal and state regulations. Rountree said some of the well owners would try to bypass any stricter regulations and dig new wells to bring the number of houses per well below 15.

"And this doesn't do anything for the customers," he said. "They are still getting the same water, and it's over the legal limit. Then this water is not regulated at all."

Isle of Wight has high fluoride levels in some of the county-owned wells. Two wells, in Carrsville and Smithfield Heights, have tested between 4.65 and 5.45 parts per million -above the current accepted level. They will be replaced by year's end, officials said. Some others range between three and four parts per million.

Smithfield will spend $4 million for a water treatment plant to filter out fluoride and reduce its level below two parts per million by next year.

"We are going full steam ahead with our plans," Smithfield Town Manager Peter Stephenson said.

The EPA set the four-part-per-million fluoride standard in 1987, but the Virginia Department of Health waited until 2000 to enforce it. In 2003, it asked Smithfield and Isle of Wight County and other places to lower their fluoride levels.

With the possibility of a new standard, state Health Department officials said, they can't do anything but wait. "The EPA is evaluating the study," said Kelly Lobanov, a Health Department spokeswoman. "We follow EPA's regulations."

SOURCE:
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp ... ocal-final