The head of the Anchorage Water and Waste Utility has issued a statement confirming that staff at the Eklutna Water Treatment Facility had indeed expressed concern about the irritation some had experienced due to handling fluoride, which is added to the water system.
“AWWU staff did express to the Mayor that the handling of the fluoride chemical used to add to our water is a dangerous hazardous chemical. While they are professionals and well trained in handling it, the general sentiment of the operators who work with it would be to prefer not to handle it as they have experienced occasional unreportable health and irritation effects after handling it, even with all the proper OSHA compliant protocols and PPE being used,” wrote General Manager Mark A. Corsentino.
Corsentino was responding to wildly inaccurate and speculative reporting in mainstream media and leftist blogs that the mayor had endangered the public by temporarily shutting off the fluoride after his tour of the Eklutna. Reporters from Alaska to the national media have cast doubts that anyone complained about irritation caused by the fluoride.
News of the mayor’s actions have made national news in the New York Times on Friday, almost certainly as a story planted by leftist partisans who oppose the Bronson Administration.
The Anchorage Assembly liberal majority has taken it upon itself to conduct an investigation and has demanded all emails from the Bronson Administration relating to the matter. The Assembly leadership has said that the emails don’t match the reality of the situation, and alternately that they didn’t get the emails from the Bronson Administration.
“In reading these emails, it is clear that there’s a difference between the Mayor’s account of events and what AWWU employees are reporting,” said Vice Chair Chris Constant. “Ensuring that our drinking water meets municipal regulations and code requirements is critical to the health and safety of our community. It is imperative that we get to the bottom of this so we can understand why and how this happened, and safeguard against this type of interference in the future.”
Chairwoman Suzanne LaFrance falsely stated that the Administration had not been responsive to her records request: “while the Bronson Administration has responded to the media, Assembly leadership has yet to receive a response to our records requests sent to the Administration on December 12. Clearly this is a matter of serious public concern and Assembly leadership is committed to following through on our fact-finding inquiry. We need to hear from everyone involved, including the Mayor, so we can reconcile the conflicting reports and learn the truth.”
Corsentino backs up the mayor’s reporting of the incident.
“It was brought up that while its addition is an Assembly ordained requirement, fluoride is not necessary for safe drinking water, and many municipalities around the world had stopped adding it to public water systems over the last decade. From a strategic standpoint, AWWU has an approximate $1M proposed upgrade to rehabilitate the fluoride system in the near future; and, if it was to come up with the community and Assembly for removal, now is the time to bring it up before money is spent for an expensive upgrade,” Corsentino wrote.
“The mayor took that into consideration in his decision, with concurrence from AWWU, after we let him know the system is oftentimes down and offline for corrective and preventative maintenance reasons. We let him know that we have learned that it can be down for hours and days at a time without any code issues because fluoride has a long residual in our water system, which would allow ample time to reverse his decision before any impacts would be towards meeting code. It is in fact down as of yesterday for an equipment failure, and we expect to have it up and running early next week when repair parts arrive,” Corsentino reported in his statement.
“First and foremost, as the General Manager of the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility (AWWU), I can say, with confidence, that I would never compromise the safety of our water, the community, or our employees. AWWU’s water is pristine; it has and continues to meet and exceed all federal, state and local requirements for treatment and distribution to our customers. Our customers can drink with ease and confidence knowing that AWWU’s drinking water is some of the purest and cleanest water on the planet,” he wrote.
“With that being said, AWWU does add fluoride to our water. Fluoride in drinking water is a topic that recycles its way back-and-forth into the media and public spotlight from time-to-time, as we are seeing now and have seen over the last few decades since first being introduced to our water many years ago. AWWU has, and continues to remain, neutral in regards to the addition of fluoride to our water; we add it to the water as directed to us by Municipal Code via Assembly Ordinance.
“Fluoride is not something that is necessary to provide safe drinking water. It is identified as a contaminant, in the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, that must be removed from certain community water sources where it naturally occurs in their water at elevated levels. Fortunately, at the lower levels in which we add it to our water, the CDC and U.S. Health and Human Services recommend it as a way to prevent tooth decay and promote good oral health.
“If you want to know more about fluoride, we have a fact sheet on AWWU’s public website: Fluoride and Anchorage’s Drinking Water (https://www.awwu.biz/about-us/frequently-asked-questions/fact-sheets).”
At the end of the day, Corsentino wrote, there were no federal, state or local code compliance violations with the municipal water. “It is as safe to drink after the tour as it was before, and still remains that way today and will tomorrow. “
To the point made by the Goodykoontz article: So if you have a problem & don’t report it to the union, it didn’t happen? This is exactly why public unions need to disappear. They are literally government funded ambulance chasers. I certainly hope that if a grown adult has a work-related issue that they are FIRST trying to handle it with their team and not the teamsters!
Yeah for getting the story right. Now everyone pitch in and financially support this beacon of truth.
I’m not a proponant of another poison placed in our water. I would prefer not to injest this chemical. I hope they quit this additive permanently. But we must injest what the one world order wants Americans to injest. We are not allowed to be free from communist contaminants they love infecting us with. It’s their hobby.
Move out of Anchorage , perhaps to the Aleutians. I doubt that they have fluoride in their water.
I’ll live where I wish. It’s called liberty.
Now that that’s over…., I got diarrhea from a Bronson barbecue fundraiser. Was it the chili powder or the home brew. Waiting for ADN to call. This is serious.
If they are still poisoning Anchorage residents we have a very serious problem! There is zero evidence that ingesting the neuro toxin Fluoride does anything to strengthen teeth. There is an avalanche of evidence that it causes harm to the brain, pineal gland and it is believed by some scientists to be one the greatest causes of cancer known to man. We need to stop poisoning our citizens!
I don’t like the fluoride either but u are wrong about it helping teeth. There have been multiple studies including the Crest Kids in the 50s however there are numerous ways to get it including tooth paste and fluoride treatments at the dentist. The main reason it is in the water is because of lobbying by Renolds aluminum and others who have huge stockpiles of sodium fluoride and needed an easy way to dispose of the hazardous waste. Removing it totally would do no harm it shouldn’t be there.
There is evidence that topically applied fluoride helps harden teeth, but ingesting it causes dental fluorosis and lower IQs in children. I have done enormous amounts of research on this subject. There is a difference in natural fluoride and they by product of producing aluminum. The toxic waste that was once difficult and cosly to get rid of was a major problem for Industrial Titans like Alcoa, so they had to find a use for it. Now most of the Fluoride used to poison Americans is bought and imported from China. Let’s leave the application of quality fluoride to the Dentist and stop harming our citizens.
My naturopathic doctor said that over time flurride makes the teeth brittle. There are lots of ways to keep your teeth healthy without harmful fluoride!
Visit your local dentist to get the facts on tooth decay and how best to prevent it. Don’t trust the media.
But, I am going to lose all my teefies!!!!
This is racist!!!
This is misogynist!!!
This is anti-Trans!!!
This is anti- LGBTQ!!!
This is causing Global Climate Change!!!
This is anti-Democracy!!!
This is white privilege!!!
This is white supremacy!!!
This is cultural appropriation!!!
Did I leave any affront out?
Sigh….
He will be cancelled forthwith for not putting party before facts.
As to employee’s having unpleasant experience’s handling these chemicals, this problem was solved in the farming industries years ago. Fertilizer , herbicides ,and pesticides are now packaged in sealed containers which simply snap onto the dispensing equipment, thereby eliminating any human contact with the product. No, this innovation was not invented in a communist nation.
So how long will it be now before the anti-vax, anti-mask, and Eaglexit crowd turn their sights on AWWU for fluoridation? You know it’s coming as sites like MRAK drag this long-dead issue out of the grave once again.
The real issue here is why a Mayor would insert himself directly into such a situation. If there were in fact issues with the system, there are proper ways to address them such as engineering review and controls, operating procedures, review by industrial hygienists, and the like.
Rash action such as that taken by Bronson speaks to his penchant for autocracy, and his desire to appeal to his like-minded base.
Is this the same approach he took as a pilot??
Whidbey, you merely highlight your ignorance, arrogance and self-righteous disingenuousness by referring to those who are opposed to authoritarian, mandatory and experimental ‘vaccinations’ as “anti-vax”, a phrase which is just another example of the untruthful and willful propaganda of the radical left. Being against mandatory experimental inoculations that have been conclusively demonstrated to be neither safe nor effective is in no way the same as being reflectively anti-vaccination.
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Please come back when you are willing to debate intelligently and honestly.
Jefferson: The Dog is right to predict an attack on fluoridation from the anti-vax and anti-mask crowd. Why? Because all three concerns share a popular attribute: anti-science.
C’mon Jeff. Whidbey’s got a reasonable argument here, which you summarily dismiss as showing “ignorance, arrogance, and self-righteous disingenuousness.” The mayor was a pilot, not an engineer. There’s no question at this point that he is politically tendentious. They’ve been fluoridating Anchorage drinking water for a while now, and rumors of a multitude of deaths and illnesses related to it have been, at best, greatly exaggerated.
To characterize a nationwide attempt to control a worldwide pandemic as “experimental” and “neither safe nor effective,” when real world evidence points to the fact that they are none of those things, is truly what I would call reflexively anti-vaccination.
Please come back when you are willing to debate intelligently and honestly. And bring some evidence with you. Some real evidence. Not the Fake News kind.
Dear Mr. Erectus, thank you for “standing up” for me.
I agree with your assessment of Jefferson’s reaction to The Dog’s calm and reasonable observation. Jefferson’s consistent overstatement diminishes the strength of his argument. But he doesn’t see it that way. To be less than arrogant, angry and insulting would, in his mind, equate to capitulating to the Left. And that cannot be. Pride I suppose or a competitive spirit or a narcissistic need to be right 100% of the time. Maybe I shouldn’t make diagnoses like that since I am not trained in mental health. But I can admit to being fuzzy on my expertise. Jefferson won’t do that.
Homo, you simply repeat your false and anti-scientific assertions, with never any evidence to back them up.
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The so-called “vaccines” for the Wuhan Virus ARE experimental and unproven! The fact that some governmental agency with a political agenda claims them to be otherwise means nothing. The ‘vaccines’ (sic) ARE experimental by definition, as the usual multi-year double-blind trials have NOT been performed on them, nor could any results of such trials (even if they were being conducted) even be known for at least several more years. So your illogical and lying assertion to the contrary is simply that.
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You, and virtually every other radical authoritarian leftist, simply cannot and do not understand that blind adherence to official propaganda, narratives and agendas does NOT constitute ‘science’ — it is in fact the very antithesis of science, which is characterized by open inquiry and debate, the very things that the power establishment that you bow down to has subverted and suppressed throughout this (very mild) pandemic.
I just heard that there’s a city plow broken down at Arctic and “C” Street. Is the Mayor going to mobilize there directly with his toolbox, too?
As the boss, the mayor had every right and in fact duty to immediately stop the fluoridation pending an investigation into the workers-complaints and if you don’t believe it read the General Duty Clause of the OSH act.
Emmnm, Whitby, “The Mayor” is our elected by Anchorage (not you and your lefty ruling class) representative. It is what we hired him to do. How anti-sino/communist can he be. Unlike you guys who willingly serve bulllshevix. How dare Anchorage have actual representation. WHO do we think we are freemen in a guaranteed republic? You don’t like that do you. Your bullshevic said: “WE’RE going to CHANGE America”. And his handlers whoever in the secret hell they are sure are following their treasonous foreign template aren’t they. “Who do I take orders from? The Queen? Uh,huh,huh,huh….”etc.
Europe, go look at the Fluoridation stats per country. #hint #theyareallsocialistcountries #youisonwrongsideofdisonemasser #conservativeslovepoisingwater #oilandgas
LMAO that MRAK is calling this story reported in the Anchorage Daily News as planted by a partisan leftist.
Nothing to laugh about at all, Frank, as the ADN is well-known and inarguably a hard-left partisan rag.
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But talk about a tempest in a tea pot! What a laughably non-existent ‘controversy’! There is NO danger to the public whatsoever in temporarily suspending fluoridation of the water supply, as fluoride is not essential to health nor to the safety of the water supply. Indeed, it is insulting to the intelligence to even suggest otherwise. But insults to the intelligence are just par for the course when dealing with insane and divorced-from-reality radical leftists.
Fluoride saves many $’s annually in dental costs documented in many States including that bastion of liberalism, Texas. Preventing tooth decay is a health issue as is adding chlorine to the water supply. Chlorine is also posionous in relatively small amounts. Fluoride has been an issue for a long time with social conservatives, Bronson’s statements and actions indicate this is more about culture wars than economics
And yet again, Frank, you either willfully or ignorantly miss the entire point.
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The question here is not whether fluoridation helps fight dental disease — that matter has no bearing whatsoever on the so-called ‘controversy’ here, which is the purported THREAT to public health by Mayor Bronson’s very temporary suspension of municipal water supply fluoridation. But since fluoride, unlike chlorine, is not necessary in maintaining the safety of the water supply, this entire controversy is laughably irrational and irrelevant.
Fluoride has been proven to offer benefits when applied TOPICALLY to teeth. Show me peer reviewed studies where it offers ANY benefit when ingested SYSTEMICALLY. #bonecancer
Since the ADN is a partisan rag, it being published by them definitionally makes it a partisan plant. My immediate reaction to this story was, “some union activist has an ADN presstitute on his/her speed dial.”
Just wondering … do the proponents of fluoridation drink bottled water?
Interestingly, the Peoples’ Republic of Juneau did away with fluoridation.
This place is always good for a nice chuckle!
Soon I hope. If your pants are in a wad then move.
Interesting that on a new bag of fluoride there is a big label with skull and cross bones in red reading poison.
Not sure if most people really know about water systems but it never made much sense when I was carrying the bags into the injection room.
Thank goodness our town quit injecting this chemical several years ago.
Bronco Bronson’s third or fourth explanation will surely clear this all up.
Leftists do not believe in the existence of the republic form of government established in Anchorage or Alaska and they will not tolerate it if they believe they are “in the ruling class”. Show me in the US Constitution where public servants receive ownership of ruling class status? Tell the nine of Anchorage rulers to show how they came to possess rights to rule the sovereignty by “virtue” of their emolument. They can’t do it because they are trespassing our Constitutional rights and qualify to be replaced.
It’s astonishing how gullible people are.
Fluoride is the only substance added to water for medicinal purposes–to allegedly protect the teeth. It sure didn’t help my family’s teeth, plus I bear a white spot on my front tooth, evidence of over fluoridation during my childhood.
Like the covid shot, this neurotoxin has many dangerous side effects and should be banned.
One well known side effect is the lowering of IQs, as much as 6 points if injested while in the womb. This explains a lot about the gullibility of people today in trusting a maniacal gov’t. that is forcing an untested and dangerous shot on its people.
It’d be interesting to see from where these bags of fluoride originate, and “do a little science” on their actual composition/safety. A few years back Elmendorf AFB screwed the pooch at their water treatment/fluoridation plant and had to flush the whole base after massively over fluoridating. I’d bet the military “safety standards” are an order of magnitude better than a bunch of minimum wage civvies down at the city water plant……… ?
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