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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSarah Noone Susan A. Noone Hand Delivered to Office #1/2 515 E. 12th St. Port Angeles, WA 98362 (360)'452-6714 (unlisted) D October 22 2015 # 2015 CITY OF PORT ANGELES Mayor and'Councilmembers CITY CLERK City of Port Angeles 321 E!, 5th St. Port Angeles, WA 98362 Re: Fluoridation In a Letter to The Editor, (Peninsula Daily News, Sunday, October 11, 2015), Marie Hendren refers to "many good filtering systems" being available. I have spoken with people who supply these systems and they are effective and also expensive. There are only two ways to remove fluoride once it is in water: steam distillation or reverse osmosis. I live on a fixed and limited income which I closely budget. I can't afford a large, lump sum to buy a system to remove fluoride from the City water. My alternative is not much better. I buy distilled water. I drink a gallon of water per day; this is all I drinkā€”no coffee, tea, cola, etc. A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds. I'm an older, not very big person carrying i8 pounds in each hand from the car into my house in multiple trips at least once a month. When the City fluoridated our water in 2006, I drank it for a full year. During that year the osteoarthritis in my hands and hip became more inflamed. The pain and inflammation increased and the aspirin I take for the pain and inflammation stopped working. My thumbs were especially painful, my grip wasn't good and I dropped many things. Anyone who has had a wounded hand knows how stressful it is to be incapacitated. The changes were gradual, continual and, because they were, they were hard to notice and realize. In 2007 after a year, I resorted to buying and drinking only the distilled water. Once again, the changes were gradual and continual. After three months, aspirin was starting to reduce the inflammation and control the pain. October 22 2015 #2/2 Letter to Mayor & Council At the end of a year, I was back to about 75% of my former ability to maintain my grip. I am still drinking gallons of distilled water. I spend and have spent $365 per year in addition to my City water bill. During 2006 my lifestyle remained unchanged from that of before' fluoridation. The prescription medications were the same, the things I ate were the same, I lived in the same house, and I drank a gallon of water every day, (as I have my entire adult life). The only new thing was fluoride. Because the changes I experienced were so gradual and subtle, I wonder how many other Port Angeles citizens have similar problems without realizing that fluoridation could be the cause. I'm retired and have the luxury of time to 'consider what might be causing my aches and pains. Many people don't have that luxury or are too aged or ill for critical thinking. These are the facts of what my experience has been. I haven't added to them or distorted them. It's my hope that people reading this will think seriously about telling the City Council to stop fluoridation and will return the City's survey which is to be sent out soon. The bottom line is: Water is basic to life--fluoride isn't. Thank you, ' Susan A. Noone