Oak Bluffs fluoride debate continues next week

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The Oak Bluffs board of health (BOH) will hold a public hearing at 7 pm, Thursday, Sept. 25, in the library meeting room to consider and to possibly vote on the removal of fluoride from the town water supply. This will be the second public meeting the BOH has held on fluoride removal. The first meeting, held on June 10, drew only three people, two staunch fluoride opponents and one undecided resident. Because of the low turnout, the board agreed to hold another public hearing in the evening so more people could attend.
“We need more input from the people of Oak Bluffs,” board member and chiropractor Bruce Campbell, an unequivocal opponent of fluoride, said at the conclusion of the June 10 hearing. “We’re not going to ramrod this through like it was in 1991.”
In a phone interview with The Times on Wednesday, BOH chairman William White said he remained undecided on the topic.
“I haven’t made up my mind one way or the other,” he said. “We’re listening to people, and we want to be as fair as possible. I hope we hear from more people than last time, but whoever shows, shows.”
No fluoride advocates attended the June 10 meeting. However, in a phone call with The Times, Dr. Myron Allukian, Jr., past president of the American Public Health Association (APHA), former dental director of the city of Boston and faculty member of Harvard, Boston University, and Tufts schools of dental medicine, an advocate of fluoride, offered to attend future meetings by speakerphone.
Mr. White said the board voted to have Dr. Allukian attend by speakerphone. “He has contacted us,” he said.
Oak Bluffs is the only town on the Island that adds fluoride to its water supply, a practice that began in April 1991. It’s estimated that fluoridation costs the town $15,300 per year.