Fluoridation Bill Passes First Test in Legislature : Health: Assembly panel approves measure 7-4. It would require treatment of public drinking water.

Despite bitter opposition, a bill requiring the addition of fluoride to public drinking water supplies passed its first test before the state Legislature Tuesday.

The Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials approved the measure by a 7-4 vote after a “who’s who” of medical and dental organizations gave it their hearty endorsement.

Sponsored by Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-Burlingame), the bill would require water districts in most California cities to increase the amount of fluoride found naturally in water to an optimal level for preventing tooth decay.

That process, called fluoridation, was pioneered half a century ago, but persistent opposition has stalled its spread in California. Today, only 17% of Californians receive fluoride in their drinking water, compared to 62% nationwide.

Speier became a champion of fluoridation after a pediatrician advised her to give her son fluoride drops. She called the technique “a sound, cost-effective health measure” that can dramatically reduce tooth decay--and dental care costs.

The average cost of fluoridating the water supply, she said, is about $40 per person over a lifetime. By contrast, “just one filling costs $70.”

“This is one health care problem we can do something about,” Speier said.

To bolster her case, Speier presented videotaped testimony from former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who argued that fluoridation is an important benefit for poor families who lack access to proper dental care.

“I would have expected California to be a leader among states,” Koop said. Instead, of the 150 large U.S. cities that do not fluoridate their water, 87--including Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego--are in California.

The hearing also drew several dozen opponents, many of them wearing buttons declaring, “Water Is for Everyone. Fluoride Is Not.” They cited studies suggesting a link between fluoride and an increased incidence of cancers, hip fractures and other maladies.

But Speier challenged those studies, saying they dealt with extreme doses of fluoride--not fluoridated water--or used faulty science to assess the risk. In 1991, the U.S. Public Health Service reviewed research on fluoride and found no credible evidence of a health risk.

Foes also included the Assn. of California Water Agencies, which expressed concerns about the cost of fluoridation and argued that the question would better be decided at the polls.

Speier agreed to an amendment that would allow water agencies to delay fluoridation until funds for necessary capital improvements become available.