(The Center Square) – The Tennessee Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee killed a bill that would require state water systems to keep fluoride levels in water at 0.7 mg/L.

Sen. Rusty Crowe, R-Johnson City, cited concerns that fluoride was causing health problems in children. The bill also requires water systems to test to make sure they are not above the 0.7 mg/L. If they are, monthly testing would be required. 

The original bill would have removed fluoride altogether. 

“All we’re saying is let’s make sure we test it, let’s keep it at 0.7 and we should probably come back at some point and look at the levels that Tennessee allows,” Crowe told the committee. “That’s really dangerous.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said before he was appointed to his position that President Donald J. Trump would remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day. Trump did not do that.

“Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease,” Kennedy said in a social media post.

Dr. Leon Stanislav, a retired Clarksville dentist, was a member of the National Fluoridation Advisory Committee. He acknowledged that 0.7 mg/l is the minimal optimal level.

“I think our water operators are a little uncomfortable trying to hit 0.7 on the nose,” Stanislav said. “I think they would like a range.”

The bill was defeated 6-3.

“Can you name another situation where we force the public to consume a chemical?” asked Sen. Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun, one of the dissenting votes.

Other states are considering removing fluoride or are issuing guidance on its inclusion in water.

Utah would be the first state to do so if Gov. Spencer Cox signs a bill passed earlier this year by lawmakers.

In Tennessee, the Woodlawn Utility District stopped adding fluoride to its drinking water in December, according to WRKN.