Fluoride making its way back into Buffalo's water supply

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - After a nearly decade-long pause, fluoride is now slowly being re-introduced into the City of Buffalo's water supply.

Buffalo Water Board chairman O.J. McFoy says the city will now be using a liquid-form of fluoride, instead of a powdered form historically used. He says when city was assessing this new method, they wanted to make sure they did their "due diligence."

"What we had in the past was a powder process that really was not the safest for our members that were introducing, and we also were not able to track it based off of the flows," McFoy stated.

Principal engineer for the City of Buffalo's Division of Water, Peter Merlo, says despite the new delivery method, residents won't notice any difference in taste with their water.

"We're doing this in a systematic fashion, and we're doing it over time, per Health Department recommendations, and to make sure we never overdose," Merlo stated. "We're making sure that we're monitoring that dose very aggressively through the distribution system. Doing it over time allows us to make sure there isn't any changes or fluctuations or flow patterns that we're unaware of."

Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria law firm's attoney, Robert Corp, is leading the fluoride lawsuit filed against the city. He says while he is happy the city has the public's safety in mind, it still doesn't change the damages caused.

"The reality is that by depriving hundreds of thousands of people fluoride for nine or 10 years, there's been irreparable harm done to these hundreds of thousands of people. So we're calling on the city to create free dental clinics to address all the harm that's been created," Corp stated in an interview with WBEN. "There's certainly been irreparable harm that can only be dealt with through monetary damages. And so it's certainly a step in the right direction, but it's long overdue. We're hopeful that the the city does right by the people."