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In an
effort to promote dental health, Coast Guard Base Kodiak has reintroduced
fluoride into its water supply. Edward DeNoyelles is an
environmental program manager who manages the drinking water on base and said
the addition of fluoride came after a major update to the drinking water plant.
-- (Fluoride
Water 1 : 39 "Our drinking water plant uses
the source water for Buskin Lake. And you've probably seen it on your way up to
the golf course on the left, that green golf ball looking thing, the plant next
to it is the Coast Guard drinking water plant and the pump house is up the
street there where they put the weir in there and it's pumped into the pump
house and treated, filtered and sent on to our customers via our distribution
center. And we provide drinking water
for the airport, FAA, NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, The Alaska State Parks,
Coast Guard and Lash Samson Tug and Barge area. So we have about 3,000
customers.")
DeNoyelles said the Coast Guard has always added fluoride to its drinking
water, but stopped doing so three years ago when they started updating the
system.
-- (Fluoride
Water 2 : 29 "Part of the reconstruction of
the plant, we had a lot of complication issues so we just took it offline for
that period of time because we couldn't regulate it at the dosage rates that we
wanted to. And there were other complications so we just took it offline until
we were able to bring the plant up and have the other plant upgrades
accomplished first and so we had to phase it back in at a certain time, and
last month was that time.")
Fluoride additions to the water
supply resumed on July 25. There is no additional charge to consumer and research
shows that adding fluoride to water can help reduce tooth decay by up to 40
percent. DeNoyelles said the amount being added to the water is very safe. In
fact, he said the amount is about a quarter of the regulatory amount.
-- (Fluoride
Water 3 : 20 "The regulatory limit that's
out from EPA is four parts per million and we don't go over two, our target,
what we sample for daily, has been about .78 milligrams a liter. So it's about
a quarter of the dose.")
He said too much fluoride in a
water system isn't good, but said the new system is pretty bulletproof and
highly regulated, so he isn't concerned. DeNoyelles said Anchorage
has experience an operation error in the past that led to fluoride overdoses,
but the system in place here will shut off if a certain level of fluoride is
released.
The addition was only done to the base water
supply. Kodiak city does not add fluoride to its water. A notice about the
addition to the base system was sent to the Kodiak Island Borough School
District because Peterson Elementary School is located on base. DeNoyelles said individuals concerned about fluoride safety should use online
resources like the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the American
Dental Association for additional information.
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