Thames Campaign
How to become involved:
- URGENT: HELP STOP GOVT PROPOSAL FOR NATIONWIDE MANDATORY FLUORIDATION
- Sign up to receive Fluoride Free NZ Posts – see Subscribe via email on the right side of this page.
- Join the Fluoride Free Thames Facebook Page
- Donate a minimum of $5 per month to Fluoride Free NZ to help us fund an educational media campaign
- Contact your local coordinator and offer to help.
- Learn how to Access Fluoride Free Water
Thames 2015 Referendum
To become involved in the Thames campaign that includes the Thames Referendum later in 2015 please contact us.
Listen to Fluoride Free NZ’s Radio Ad in Thames
Notable Dates
Wednesday 12th August – electoral roll opens
Ensure you are registered to vote
Saturday 5th September – 3 Dentists Talk on Fluoridation
2 -4 pm Thames Civic Centre, Mary Street
Wednesday 9th September – electoral roll closes
Don’t panic if you missed out- a special vote is possible
Sunday 25th September – Film night @ Embassy Cinema
Fluoride and the Environment
Short films hosted by local vet Dr Jonathan Steel-Currall & Dr Jane Beck
Sunday 9th October – Film night @ Embassy Cinema
Fluoride and Health
Short films with guest Angus Hastie with a personal story Hosted by Dr Jane Beck
Wednesday 14th October – voting papers posted out
If you have not received your voting paper by Monday 19th October
Call 0800 922 822
Friday 30th October – last posting day for votes
After this day deliver your vote direct to TCDC
@ Council building in Mackay Street
Thursday 5th November – 12 noon voting closes
No exceptions!
Friday 6th November – Referendum results on TCDC website
Friday 13th November – Referendum results in Hauraki Herald
Hauraki Herald 9 October 2015
Hauraki Herald 2 October 2015
Hauraki Herald 2 October 2015
Hauraki Herald 25 September 2015
Hauraki Herald 11 September 2015
Hauraki Herald 11 September 2015
Hauraki Herald 11 September 2015
Thames Referendum Public Talk – Hear evidence-based facts from Three Dentists
Saturday 5 September 2015 2-4pm. Admission Free
Thames Civic Centre
Mary Street
Thames
Denise Davis from Fluoride Free Thames on Ngaiwi FM 4 September 2015 promoting the Three Dentists Talk
Hauraki Herald 1 September 2015 – In Thames This Week – Three Dentists Talking Teeth
Hauraki Herald 28 August 2015 – Too Toxic for Cattle but okay for humans?
Hauraki Herald 28 August 2015 – Dentists concerned about fluoridation.
Fluoridation Information
When did fluoridation in Thames start?
Fluoridation started in 1971.
Which fluoride chemical is used to fluoridate Thames public water supply?
IXOM (formerly Orica) supplies Hydrofluorosilicic Acid.
How many Tonne of Hydrofluorosilicic Acid is added to Thames public water supply?
Approx 0.7665 Tonne /year
What is the approximate annual cost to fluoridate Thames public water supply?
TCDC’s cost for Fluoride is a variable amount as mentioned above. However from previous costs, it equates roughly between $1500-2300 per year for the purchase and addition of fluoride into the water reticulation network (~$166.67 per month incl. administration).
Where is the waste water that includes the fluoride chemicals from fluoridation discharged?
Discharged into the Waihou River that flows into Firth of Thames.
Does the Waste water discharge Resource consent specifically mention fluoride chemicals?
No. See the resource consent: Coastal_Permit_Granted_From_Thames_Wastewater_Treatment_Plant_into_Waihou_River
What was the outcome of the 2015 Long Term Plan on the fluoridation issue?
Referendum to be held November 2015.
What parts of Thames are fluoridated?
All of Thames township.
What fluoride chemicals are used to fluoridate Thames water supply?
Orica supplies Hydrofluorosilicic Acid H2SiF6 to Council to fluoridate.
What level is Thames fluoridated at?
0.7 – 1.0 ppm
Is there a Resource Consent held by Thames District Council to add Hydrofluorosilicic Acid to the Thames’ water supplies?
No.
How much per annum is spent on implementing water fluoridation?
TCDC’s cost for Fluoride is a variable amount as mentioned above. However from previous costs, it equates roughly between $1500-2300 per year for the purchase and addition of fluoride into the water reticulation network (~$166.67 per month incl. administration).
How much per annum is spent on testing the levels of water fluoridation?
Testing for Fluoride costs roughly $60 per test.
How much does it cost per Tonne of Hydrofluorosilicic Acid?
To be advised.
How frequent is the levels of fluoride in the water tested?
TCDC subcontractors Veolia Water undertake Fluoride testing once a year as part of their own companies standards. Fluoride dosing is however continuously monitored on TCDC’s SCADA system with the appropriate alarms set up to alert 24 hr on call operators, fail safe systems such as only a limited pre-defined daily volume being loaded and available for dosing per day are also in place.
Who performs the testing?
Veolia Water.
When did fluoridation begin in Thames and has there been any public consultation since beginning?
Fluoridation started in mid 1974. Referendum to be held in 2015.
Thames Fluoridation Presentation
Fluoride Free Thames welcomes Prof Paul Connett and Dr William Hirzy to speak on Tuesday 24th at the Grahamstown Hall, Pollen St. See the facebook event page for further details.
Hauraki Herald Friday 20th February 2015
Council votes to hold referendum on 16th December 2014
Council to hold Referendum for Thames second half of 2015.
6th June 2013
Letter to Ministry of Health from Thames-Coromandel District Council
Dr Robyn Haisman-Welsh
Chief Dental Officer
Sector Capability and Implementation
Ministry of Health
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6145
Dear Dr Haisman-Welsh,
RE: Water Fluoridation in Thames
Thank you for your letter dated 15 May 2013 responding to the Thames Community Board’s questions regarding fluoridation of potable water supplies. Council recently considered the matter of fluoridation of the Thames water supply at its Annual Plan deliberations. Although not directly an Annual Plan issue, over 800 submissions were received by the Council on it.
Fluoridation is and will remain a hotly contested issue by our community.
The Council’s deliberations resolved to retain fluoridation in the water supply and to return to the matter as part of its Ten Year Plan. This Plan is under preparation after July 2013, for
adoption on 1 July 2015. In arriving at this result, it is noted that our Council was evenly split on retaining and discontinuing fluoridation.
The Council has signalled that whilst fluoridation
may well remain in the water supply for this two year period, the certainty of its retention in the water supply in future is gone.
Under resolution, our Council requested from the Ministry an unequivocal assurance that fluoridation had no health effects on any of Council’s population at any time. As the ones
applying the chemical, we need to know this.
To date, the Ministry has not provided such assurance, choosing instead to provide pointers to literature and studies. Our position has moved to the need for the Ministry to provide an unequivocal guarantee as our health partner with us in fluoridating the water.
Secondly, the Council strongly recommends that the Ministry no longer leave this matter to local communities to determine health outcomes through the advocacy process.
As a partner with you through the Health Act, our advice to our partner is that if oral health is seen as extremely important by the Ministry, Government must elevate it to a mandatory requirement.
We have seen our community divided on the issue and as a result a growing number of people are no longer certain about the safety of their health with fluoridation.
To leave this matter for local democracy is not by any means an ideal outcome any longer.
If the Ministry is not successful in elevating the matter to this level of a mandatory national health standard, the future of our partnership with the Ministry in the fluoridation in Thames’ water supply is very tenuous indeed.
Yours sincerely
David Hammond
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
18th May 2013 Article in Waikato Times on the recent Council decision.
7th May 2013
Thames Coromandel Council vote is split 4 -4 so status quo remains for now. See update from Fluoride Free Thames group.
6th May 2013.
See FANNZ letter to Council plus a link to the Council staff summary, that was sent in response to the Draft Annual Plan Hearing on the 30th of April. Thames Community Board meets 7th May and Council meet next week.
January 2013
A group of Thames residents have formed Fluoride Free Thames. This group meets regularly and has worked to get over 800 submissions lodged with the 2013 Draft Annual Plan. Contact if you would like to be involved or would like more information.
April 2013 – Fluoridation tops Submssions. About 800 submissions have been lodged with the Thames-Coromandel District Council’s draft annual plan. Over 40 people have said they would like to speak. We are sure that the vast majority are wanting fluoridation stopped. Obviously, people in Thames are not happy with the recommendation from the Community Board and are not prepared to accept it.
Council will be hearing speakers at the following places on these days.
Date Venue Address
Monday 22nd April Mercury Bay Service Centre 10 Monk Street, Whitianga
Wednesday 24th April Whangamata Service Centre 620 Port Road, Whangamata
Tuesday 23rd April Coromandel Service Centre 355 Kapanga Road, Coromandel
Monday 29th April Lakes Resort, Pauanui 100 Augusta Drive, Pauanui
Tuesday 30th April Council Chambers, Thames 515 Mackay Street, Thames
The public are welcome to attend these meetings. The speakers on fluoridation will be attending the Thames one.
Excerpt from letter from CEO to Ministry of Health -sent 6th March 2013
“There is a growing feeling that Councils are being left with little option but to continue fluoridation because the MOH has under-funded the area of dental health nationally for decades. Fluoridation in the Board’s view is not the ideal method of dealing with this issue – it is simply a backup. However, because of the under-funding of dental health, and the growing number of youth and families perceived to be not engaging in good oral health, the method of last resort (fluoridation) brought into communities decades ago as an unconsulted emergency measure is being left as the only method adequately funded across New Zealand. This is not felt to be acceptable”.
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Despite the consultation of Thames residents taking place over the Christmas break, there was a large response to this issue. According to the Waikato Times, the Community Board received 511 submissions with 243 wanting fluoridation continued and 268 wanting it stopped (79 of the “wanting it stopped” submissions were petitions signatures).
Therefore it appears that opinion on the issue is split fairly evenly in the community. Since then, world fluoridation expert, Prof Paul Connett has visited the town with a good number of people (about 50) coming to listen to him. It is quite likely sentiment would have swung further toward stopping fluoridation.
However, the Thames Community Board voted to recommend fluoridation continue in Thames but with an “opt-out” for residents that do not want it. See Waikato Times article.
The recommendations of the Thames Community Board were as follows:
1. That Council consider providing assistance to those who wish to remove fluoride from their water supply, and that that Council note the Board’s view that this should be district supported.
2. That the CEO in consultation with the Board chair prepare a letter to the MOH to express concern regarding the lack of direction and stronger policy statement on the matter of water fluoridation.
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Thames Community Board now consulting with residents as to whether they want fluoridation stopped. They are asking for input to be in at the Council by the 14th of January 2013. The Community Board will then hear from all submitters who wish to speak on the 24th of January and then decide on a recommondation to the Draft Annual Plan the following day. The Council page has all the necessary information.
Note: input does not have to be on a council form but can be in an email or a hand written letter, whatever is easiest for people.
It is really important that as many Thames people as possible let the Board know they do not want hydroflruosilicic acid added to their drinking water any longer. We beleive the Council will be inclined to uphold the view of the Community Board so now is the time people have a real chance. Paul Connett will also be speaking in Thames on the 2nd of March.
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Vonni Du Val, Libby Boyd, Natasha Lynch, Melissa Day and Paula McGregor spoke to the 2011/2012 draft Annual Plan submission and the Thames-Coromandel District Council have decided that the Thames Community Board can make the decision since it is the only place in the district that has fluoride.
People should feel free to contact the Thames Community Board, or any member of the board that they believe to be sympathetic, and ask them to take the issue further.
Fluoridation Position Statements of Thames District councillors.
December 6, 2010 Update Thames Meeting November 2010.doc
November 22, 2010 Public Information Evening and DVD screening 7 – 9pm Conference Room, Civic Centre, Mary Street Thames