Cities Blame Iran War for Fluoride Shortages in Drinking Water

A growing list of communities has stopped adding fluoride or drastically cut back on how much of the chemical they are adding to their public water supplies — not because of health concerns — but because they say they can’t buy it due to shortages linked to the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz closure.Wausau, Wisconsin on Monday, warned that it was reducing the amount of fluoride added to the public water supply because of the scarcity of the fluoride additive. “We will do what we can to find more and run at this level as long as we can. Hopefully this shortage ends soon, and we can get back to normal,” the Wausau Water Works operations superintendent, Scott Boers said in a release.Milwaukee Water Works, last month, started cutting the amount of fluoride it adds to its drinking water in half in an effort to stretch depleted supplies. The agency says its previous supplier was unable to renew its contract because of the ongoing shortage. The city is trying to find a company that has supplies. “Milwaukee Water Works and the City of Milwaukee Health Department will continue working together to provide clear information to residents and restore normal fluoride addition as soon as possible, ” the Milwaukee Water Works superintendent, Patrick Pauly, said.Two water systems in Maine announced last week that they have stopped fluoridating drinking water altogether because of the shortage they blamed on the Iran war. They said a small group of international producers supplies much of the fluorosilicic acid used to treat drinking water but the conflict in the Middle East has reportedly interrupted the supply chain for months.UnivarSolutions supplies fluorosilicic acid to Maine. In a notice to water utilities the company said that along with the war, maintenance at a domestic production facility has further crimped supplies. “We understand the importance of reliable chemical supply for municipal water treatment operations and are actively monitoring inventory levels, production updates, and transportation availability,” the letter said, according to the Sun Journal.Baltimore has been lowering fluoride levels in its drinking water since April. In a notice, the city blamed “broader national supply chain disruptions, driven in part by ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as well as reduced domestic production and limited output from key international suppliers.” It said a key supplier based in Israel also experienced significant operational disruptions. Baltimore recommended parents speak with their dentist or healthcare provider about alternative sources of fluoride.The Environmental Protection Agency warned in 2023 that the likelihood of supply disruptions were high due to limited and concentrated domestic manufacturing and a strong reliance on imports. It estimated that half of the American demand for the chemical was met by imports. The American Fluoridation Society disputes that the war is to blame and told the Portland Press Herald that hurricane damage to domestic fluoride manufacturing plants in the eastern United States and the redirection of chemicals to the manufacturing of computer chips and solar panels is the real culprit for supply chain issues.The shortage comes despite lower demand for fluoride. Last year, Mr. Kennedy pledged to remove fluoride from the American water supply and announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would stop recommending fluoridation in drinking water systems nationwide. Mr. Kennedy said that fluoride is a “dangerous neurotoxin,” linking it to conditions such as arthritis, bone fractures, and thyroid disease. Florida and Utah have since banned fluoride in their public water supplies and lawmakers in more than a dozen other states have introduced bills to ban fluoride in public water supplies.The American Dental Association has long touted fluoride as a cavity-fighting savior.

Cities Blame Iran War for Fluoride Shortages in Drinking Water

Cities Blame Iran War for Fluoride Shortages in Drinking Water

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