A bill to ban the use of the mineral in public water passed the Florida House 88-27. It now awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature.

A bill to ban the use of the mineral in public water passed the Florida House 88-27. It now awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.

Lawmakers in Florida gave final passage to a bill to ban fluoride in public water systems Tuesday, with the state House voting 88-27.

SB 700, also known as the Florida Farm Bill, doesn’t mention the word “fluoride,” but it would effectively ban the chemical compound by preventing “the use of certain additives in a water system.” The bill awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.

If DeSantis, a Republican, signs the bill, Florida will become the second state to ban fluoride from water supplies.

  • @ricecake@sh.itjust.works
    38•18 days ago

    You think chlorine is mostly known for being used as a chemical weapon? Not, you know… Swimming pools?

    You’re a good example of why people make bad choices about science related public policy.
    First, the poison is in the dose. There’s a big difference between inhaling concentrated chlorine gas and drinking trace quantities.
    Second, how do you propose we uv sterilize the water? We’d need to do so at the plant, but also at any holding cisterns. Or were you thinking of retrofit for houses? And not all microorganisms are strongly impacted by UV. It’s tricky to find legitimate research, since the people who sell them say they work great, but what’s out there paints a different picture of efficacy.

    • @TheMightyCat@lemm.ee
      -3•18 days ago

      I already edited it to infamously anyways thats what comes to my mind at first when i think of chlorine.

      And how would i propose we do this? By living in a country that already does it. Here is the page of my local water provider:

      https://www.evides.nl/uw-drinkwater/productieproces/de-zuiveringsprocessen

      Daarna maken we het water bacteriologisch betrouwbaar: de hoofddesinfectie. Dit gebeurt door middel van ultraviolet licht (UV).

      Then we make the water bacteriologically reliable: the main disinfection. This is done by means of ultraviolet light (UV).

      So on whatever way the Netherlands does it seems to work out.

      Being used to this type of water when i go on vacation it really smells like im drinking swimming pool water.

      • @ricecake@sh.itjust.works
        2•17 days ago

        Didn’t know anyone was doing it at scale. Neat.

        In any case, retrofitting most municipal systems just to protect against a non-existent danger just isn’t feasible.

        Looking a bit more into the process in the Netherlands, it looks like it’s not just UV light. It looks like it’s also aggressive filtration, and treatment with lye and hydrogen peroxide. Also benign, but not quite in line with the “nothing that seems toxic in the water” story.

      • oKtosiTe
        2•17 days ago

        The Netherlands also chlorinates water, just not to the degree some other countries do. The chlorine is what keeps the water safe during transport and storage after it has been sterilized.