Heavily Amended Fluoride Removal Bill Fails In Tennessee Senate Committee

Image Credit: TN General Assembly

The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –

SB1141, sponsored by Senator Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City-District 3), failed in the Senate Energy, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, March 19. 

The legislation would have revised the water testing standards for fluoride and reduced the amount of allowable detectable fluoride in analysis of public water systems from 1.5 milligrams per liter (mg/L) to .7 mg/L. The bill originally proposed lowering the limit to .4 mg/L but was raised with an amendment. 

Initially, based on growing health concerns surrounding the chemical, the legislation would have also required the complete removal of fluoride from the public water system and made adding fluoride to public supplies a prohibited action but those provisions were stripped from the bill, leaving it a rather emaciated version of the original. 

Sen. Crowe elaborated on the drastic amendments to the bill, stating the 0.7 mg/L number is “what our dentists want, the EPA recommends as the optimal, and where we probably hope we are today. It simply requires that we’re going to test and see that that’s where we are. And if you’re not, then you’re in violation of the Tennessee Safe Water Act.”

The committee heard from Leon Stanislav, a recently retired dentist who has also served on the National Fluoridation Advisory Committee of the American Dental Association (ADA) for 15 years. Stanislav agreed the .7mg/L level would be an acceptable “target” to the ADA, but stated he thinks it would be too difficult for water operators to hit that level “on the nose”.

“I think they would like a range. 0.7 to 0.9, something like that. If we leave it strictly so close to 0.7 that they have to hit it precisely, they’re going to go below. And if they go below, we’re going to lose that optimum benefit of fluoride,” he testified. 

Sen. Crowe rebutted by reminding the committee that his bill does provide a range of 0.7 to 0.75 and argued that range should be sufficient given the amount of fluoride also found in many dental products like toothpastes and mouthwashes, which he believes puts usage well over the 0.7 target. 

Sen. Adam Lowe (R-Calhoun-District 1) asked Stanislav, “Can you name another situation where we’ve forced the public to consume a chemical?” To which the dentist replied, “I don’t think anyone’s forced to consume it. They can drink water from different supplies, they can use reverse osmosis in their homes. There’s no one that is forced to drink the water.”

A representative from the Department of Health also spoke to the committee stating the Department, “is not opposed to an optimum level being set in statute. I think we have similar concerns that the dentist relayed for water authority being able to comply with the statute as written.”  

In closing, Sen. Crowe implored, “I think the concern is if we start testing it like we should to make sure we’re not hurting children, they’re afraid that they might find that they are hurting children and that many of them might stop using it altogether. That’s the fear, I think, of the dental society. We’ve been champions for our dentists throughout the years, but there comes a time, it’s kind of like tough love, you’ve got to do what’s right and start testing this stuff to see where we are. We don’t know where we are, we have no idea. It’s time we start doing what’s right and start checking things out.”

Ultimately, the vote was 6-3 against, with members voting “No” being Campbell, Harshbarger, Oliver, Reeves, Seal, and Walley. Members voting “Yes” were Sens. Bowling, Lowe, and Pody.

The Senate committee did, however, pass SB1142, also sponsored by Crowe which according to the bill’s summary, “requires each utility system to obtain a certificate of analysis for any water sold by the utility system that contains fluoride, and post the certificate and the material safety data sheet for fluoride online.” The bill passed in a 7-2 vote along party lines.

Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.