Editor:
 
This letter is being written to commemorate the 40th anniversary of The Clean Water Act, passed on Aug. 12, 1972. Unfortunately, the city of Aspen has chosen to put what many consider to be a deadly toxin in our drinking water. If you or I were to dump the fluoride substance in our water, we would be subject to fines and punishments for putting this substance in the water.
 
During a discussion before the City Council, a prominent dentist made an eloquent and impressive presentation of how fluorapatite (calcium fluoro-phosphate) was dissolved in the water. Interestingly enough, this is a substance that is naturally in our water and not what is being put into our water.
 
The substance which is put in our water is sodium fluorosilicate. There are no sources for this fluoride in this country. The only place to get this fluoride is from China. It is an industrial-grade material and has never been tested for its toxicity, safety or effectiveness. Some may be in denial of this fact but this product is a waste product of fertilizer production. Unfortunately, the purity of this product is not tested so we do not really know what each batch contains. Some batches have been known to contain other toxins such as arsenic, lead, and other poisons.
 
It is my experience that people will disagree with me. Do the research. Even if there are questions, why do we take the risk of putting this in our waters? There are no uses for fluoride in our bodies. In fact it competes with iodine and contributes to thyroid diseases.
 
I still maintain the real issue is that putting fluoride in the water is mass medication without consent. There are other sources for people who would choose to use fluoride. This is really an issue of freedom of choice of what we put in our bodies.
 
Is Aspen immune from the Clean Water Act? What gives Aspen the ability to take exception and put this questionable if not toxic substance in our water?
 
It is my opinion that Aspen should be congruent with its image of being a leader in protecting our environment. Until fluoride is not put in our waters, we have to live with the hypocrisy.

Dr. Tom Lankering
Basalt