Evening star., 1952-03-14
DEF .FIuoridation
Plans Spur Sale
OF Bottled aier
Dealers Report
More Customers
Are Added Daily
By james {. Roper

By james {. Roper
Now that the District plans to
add f1uorides to the city's water
supplies, more and more WASH
|ingtonians are buying bottled
water.
Sales are up for three out Of
four dealers who furnish the Dis
trict with mineral waters. The
reasons are not clear. but one
dealer credits his increased sales
to public suspicion of fluoridated
water.
M. T. Fox, owner Of the Allpure
Spring Water Co.. says he has
picked up quite a few new GUS
toners during the last few weeks.
These new customers say they
ARE afraid to touch fiuoridated
water" Mr.. Fox told The Star.
"On the other hand, we're also
getting requests for bottled fluori-
dated water"
The District plans to start
adding iuorides to all the city
water in June. The chemical helps
prevent tooth decay among chill
|dren. A few experts say, however,
that fluorides might hurt other
parts of the body of some In
|dividuals. The United States
Public Health Service denies this.
More Customers Daily.
Nevertheless, some Of the public
appears concerned.
I'm the last 80 days, sales of
half-gallon bottles of water for
home use have picked up amaz-
|ingly." said Allen j. Hovermale,
owner Of the Berkley Springs
Mineral Water Distributor. I'm
not sure why, but we get a new
customer every day.
Hotels and restaurants also are
asking for more bottled water, SO
we've just started putting out a
special quart bottle for them"
John L. Hyde, who distributes
m in eral water from Capon
Springs. W. Va, reported a slight
increase in sales since mid-Jan-
uary. He didn't know why.
The Mountain Valley Water Co.,
which claims to be the Districts
largest dealer in bottled water,
reported little change In business.
A. r. Shea said, We've had no
marked extra sales-not yet"
Delicate Issue Raised.
Requests for fuoridated bottled
water, as reported by the Allpure
company, touched on a sensitive
issue. While the United States
Public Health Service is promoting
general duoridation Of water. an
other branch of the Federal Sc
Icurity Agency-the Food and Drug
Administrations hostile to sell
ing such water in bottles.
A spokesman for Food and Drug
lsaid the agency has received nu-
merous inquiries from water deal
ers interested in selling fluoridated
water.
1--WE discourage the general and
uncontrolled bottling and shipping
lof f1uoridated water" spokesman
said. Maybe the safety margin
on how much fluorine person
she euld consume has not been en-
ltirely proven. Shipping fluori-
dated water might mean that
persons who already have huorine
in their diet would get too much
| If they also drank fluoridated
water"
The Public Health Service. to
guard against any such danger.
has proposed that any city adding
huorides to its water supplies add
only enough to supplement the
amount already consumed in the
individual community.
The Food and Drug Administra-
tion in 1946 prosecuted Boston
brewer for adding duorides to beer
The administration won criminal
conviction on grounds that the
brewer was adding q harmful SUBJ
Stance when it was not necessary
lor usual in the manufacturing
process.
Food and Drug. however, says II
would not prosecute beer manu-
lfacturer using fluoridated tar
water because this would be from
1.-THE usual" water supply.
Food and Drug has taken no &C.
ltion against any one on this issue
1T has no evidence that any one
has been harmed from fiuorides
II, uofor aycnd fnr fond Yar0cAScinC