""I know we've talked about fluoride a few times," Perales said. "If we can just bring forward a vote in the next couple weeks to just remove it from our water without getting any staff presentation, or hearing, I think a lot of us feel that we should just take it out." Perales had made local headlines a few months earlier when he released a plan to establish the Department of Pasco Efficiency, or "DOPE," a deliberate echo of DOGE, the federal Department"
"By the time of that council meeting, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the United States secretary of Health and Human Services, had announced plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation, the practice of adding the mineral to water supplies to help prevent dental decay. Dentists were alarmed: Fluoride strengthens tooth enamel, and without it, acids can cause holes to form, leading to cavities, difficulty eating and debilitating pain."
On June 2, 2025, Pasco city officials proposed a rapid vote to remove fluoride from municipal water without staff presentation or a hearing. Councilor Leo Perales initiated the move and Mayor Pete Serrano expressed support. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., serving as United States secretary of Health and Human Services, planned to urge the CDC to stop recommending fluoridation and promoted disproven claims that fluoride lowers children's IQs as part of his Make America Healthy Again campaign. Dentists warned that fluoride strengthens tooth enamel and prevents cavities; removing it risks more decay, pain, and difficulty eating, while high concentrations can cause mottled teeth and rare severe health effects.
Read at High Country News
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