By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The Trenton Water Works expects to resume adding fluoride to the water supply by June, according to Joseph McIntyre, the water utility’s general superintendent of water and sewer.
In the meantime, Trenton Water Works officials plan to contact the 63,000 households served by the water utility — including about 5,000 households in southern Lawrence Township — to inform them of the issue.
The news that the Trenton Water Works had stopped adding fluoride to the water system surprised Township Council, which learned of the issue at its Tuesday night meeting.
“This is a big deal,” Councilman Rick Miller said. “This is unbelievable. It shows a total disregard for public health. This is the reason we need to get away from the Trenton Water Works.”
After the meeting, Mr. Miller said he and his wife had been advised by their pediatrician that they did not need to give their young daughter a fluoride supplement because the Trenton Water Works fluoridates its water.
“Fluoridated water offers important protection against tooth decay,” Mr. Miller said. “To stop adding fluoride — and to fail to let the public know — is an outrageous dereliction of duty by Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer and his administration.”
“Now my daughter is among the thousands of children in the area who are at increased risk of tooth decay because the Palmer administration kept this secret,” Mr. Miller said. He added that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said that a one- or two-month disruption in the use of fluoride should not present a problem.
“(But) this is not a short-term disruption,” Mr. Miller said. “It has been going on for more than six months, and it may well continue for many more months.”
Mr. McIntyre, the Trenton Water Works general superintendent, said the water utility is not required to provide fluoride, but it does so as a service to the customers. He acknowledged that in case a customer depends on fluoridated water for primary tooth decay prevention, “you have to let the people know” if there is a lack of fluoridation for a few months.
Mr. McIntyre said the Trenton Water Works had suspended adding fluoride to the water supply in August 2008 because of a shortage of the dry form of the chemical. A new supply of fluoride reached the water utility in 60 days.
But in the meantime, the contractor had proceeded with the city’s plans to upgrade the water treatment plant. The contractor was in the process of converting the fluoride system from dry fluoride to liquid fluoride, Mr. McIntyre said.
“It was rather startling to hear we couldn’t use it,” Mr. McIntyre said. “This happened in late October or early November. The rush now is on to establish the liquid fluoride system. We are not sure when we will resume adding fluoride. Without any acceleration of the work pace, it will be June,” he said.
Mr. McIntyre said Trenton Water Works will send out a mailing to all customers. The water utility is doing everything it can to be sure customers understand the nature of the problem and the timeframe for resuming the addition of fluoride to the water system, he said.

