Oregon House passes fluoridated water bill

SALEM – The Oregon House on Monday passed a bill requiring cities with more than 10,000 people to add fluoride to their drinking water, but it allows them a way out if they don’t have the money.

The bill passed by a 36-22 vote.

About 20 percent of Oregonians currently drink fluoridated water. Salem is among the cities where fluoridation is required by local ordinances.

The bill passed by the House would apply to Portland, Medford and Bend and other cities that don’t fluoridate their water and have resisted efforts in the past to require it.

But under an amendment to the legislation, if cities don’t have the money to pay for adding fluoride to their water supplies they wouldn’t have to raise rates or taxes to do so.

The amendment was added when it became clear no state funds would be available to help cities with the cost.

Lawmakers for decades have argued about requiring statewide fluoridation, although every surgeon general since the 1950s has endorsed it.

Dentists say adding fluoride to drinking water is a cost-effective way to cut back on tooth decay.

Rep. Billy Dalto, R-Salem, who led the debate, said costs to fluoridate water can range from less than a dollar to more than $5 per person per year to maintain, far less than the cost of treating preventable cavities.

“The more than 400,000 children with tooth decay in Oregon cannot afford the status quo,” Dalto said, standing near a large picture of a 5-year-old Oregonian with a mouthful of rotten teeth.

Critics argue there are health risks from exposure to the chemical, which is considered a toxic substance in high enough quantities.