Some states require municipalities to put fluoride in the drinking water. In Pennsylvania, the decision is left up to public and private water suppliers. The city of Philadelphia fluoridates, but Philadelphia Suburban Water Company does not... Philadelphia Suburban says it would be difficult to get all of the 104 communities it serves, to agree.

Proponents of fluoridation say the chemical has single-handedly done more to reduce cavities than any advance in dentistry. But some groups wonder whether water companies should be in the business of fixing people's teeth. Ellie Rudolph is an activist with the Pennsylvania Environmental Network.

"When you put something in drinking water that's meant to do something physiological to your body, whether it's to make your teeth better, or what, that's medication. And it's absolutely not a pharmaceutical grade that's going into the water at that. It's the waste from the phosphate fertilizer companies."

Rudolph says that fluoride byproduct is also accompanied by other toxic chemicals like arsenic...

Neil Gardner is in charge of the state Department of Health's oral health programs. He says the amount of fluoride added to drinking water is small... and the amount of other chemicals is even smaller.

"The amount of impurities if you will, put in millions if not billions of gallons of water is insignificant in terms of EPA standards."

Gardner says water fluoridation has been studied for more than 50 years, and no substantial harm has been proven.

More information's available on the web at GreenWorks.tv. I'm Brad Linder.