Rolla City Council voted Monday night to end discussion about the removal of fluoride in the city's drinking water.
They voted to take “no further action," which means the city's water will remain fluoridated.
Both of the city council people who originally brought forth the issue last winter are no longer on the council – one did not run for reelection and the other lost their bid for reelection in April.
For the last 90 days, the council has been soliciting online comments from citizens on the issue.
"All told, we’ve got 157 responses, by email, in support of fluoridation. Seven responses in opposition of fluoridation. That’s a 95% support," City Administrator John Butz reported.
There was only one vote in opposition of tabling the issue indefinitely.
Rolla’s debate on the issue is one of the latest challenges to fluoridation in Missouri despite significant scientific evidence that water fluoridation, at the recommended levels, is a safe process that prevents tooth decay and cavities in children.
Nationally, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spoken out against the use of fluoride in drinking water, and Florida has just become the second state to ban fluoride in public drinking water.
