Commissioners in Miami-Dade — the state’s most populous county— voted Tuesday to stop adjusting fluoride levels in local drinking water, despite widespread opposition to water fluoridation bans from national health organizations.
The measure passed by an 8-2 vote, but County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava could opt to veto the measure in the next 10 days.
The county has added fluoride to the local drinking supply since 1958. The resolution, sponsored by commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, instructs the county’s water and sewer department to stop the long-held practice within 30 days.
The move follows a hearing in March when the county’s Safety and Health Committee heard testimony from anti-water fluoridation proponents, including the State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who also attended Tuesday’s commission meeting. No supporters of fluoridated water were invited to the presentation.
READ MORE: Florida Surgeon General recommends Miami-Dade stop adding fluoride to municipal drinking water
The county joins the ranks of several other local governments across Florida that have opted to stop adjusting fluoride levels in their drinking water supplies.
Last week, Utah became the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water. Florida is among a handful of states also currently considering similar statewide bans; a wide-sweeping agriculture bill currently moving through the Florida Legislature would prohibit “additives” including fluoride from being used in public water systems.
“Ending the use of a potentially harmful additive whose benefit have diminished is not radical,” said Gonzalez. “it’s rational.”
Joining Gonzalez in supporting the resolution: Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez, Commissioners Kevin Cabrera, Juan Carlos Bermudez, Rene Garcia, Danielle Cohen Higgins, Kionne McGhee and Oliver Gilbert. The two no-votes came from commissioners Eileen Higgins and Raquel Regalado.
The resolution did not go through the commission’s committee process, so Tuesday's vote was the first time commissioners publicly debated the proposal.
“ I am not gonna support this,” Regalado said. “It is not because I am for or against fluoride. It is because I'm for process.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
