Drinking water with illegal fluoride values: – The municipality has known about this since 2009

The case in summary: Former municipal manager in Sør-Aurdal, Gro Anita Bakketun, has reported the municipality to the police for having known about illegally high fluoride values ​​in a municipal waterworks for over 15 years. Bakketun discovered the problem shortly after she started her job in February. Four months later she was dismissed. The municipality claims that they informed the residents about the problem in 2012, but this is contradicted by several residents. Since 2018, the drinking water in Hedalen has had fluoride values ​​above the legal level of 1.5 mg/l. This year, the measurements show 2.3 mg/l. This is not a health hazard, but can cause stains on the teeth. Bakketun believes that the municipality has broken the law by not informing the residents about the problem and by not addressing the problem earlier. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s ​​journalists before publication. – This is the kind of thing I can’t sleep over when I discover things like this at work. It simply bothers me. Gro Anita Bakketun tells about the discovery she made as newly appointed municipal manager for community development in Sør-Aurdal. Because soon after she started her job on 1 February this year, she found several documents that indicated that not everything was as it should be at the municipal waterworks in Hedalen, one of the villages in the municipality. – I am shocked by what I find, because we have had serious deviations over many years. The municipality has known about this since 2009. Four months later she was dismissed during the probationary period. The basic explanation she received from her boss, municipal director Haakon Boie Ludvigsen, was that she did not understand the content of her position. Municipal director Haakon Boie Ludvigsen in Sør-Aurdal municipality Photo: Arne Sørenes / news Municipal director Haakon Boie Ludvigsen in Sør-Aurdal municipality Photo: Arne Sørenes / news In the meantime, Bakketun had questioned a number of aspects of how the municipality managed its tasks. Not least if the municipal management was aware that the drinking water in Hedalen contains an illegal amount of fluoride? Municipal director Ludvigsen will not comment on the dismissal above to news. Mayor Marit Hougsrud (Sp) says that the dismissal is a personnel matter, but that it has no connection with the case about the water in Hedalen. Bakketun has now reported the municipality to the police for breaches of a number of points in the drinking water regulations, as well as several breaches of the Public Health Act, the Food Act and the Civil Protection Act. Both the school, the kindergarten and the health home in Hedalen get their drinking water from the Hedalen waterworks Photo: NordProfil Should have known about it since 2009 It was Arne Heimestøl who first began to wonder about the quality of the drinking water in his home village. The retired teacher runs the website hedalen.no, and last winter he discovered that a municipal plan stated that “there is a high fluoride content” in the drinking water in the municipal waterworks in Hedalen. – I sent questions to the municipality in February, but did not receive a reply. Arne Heimestøl is a retired teacher and active local journalist. He gets most of what happens in Hedalen. Photo: Arne Sørenes / NRKA Arne Heimestøl is a retired teacher and active local journalist. He gets most of what happens in Hedalen. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news Gro Anita Bakketun then found several documents which showed that all water samples, as close as one, since January 2018, had given higher values ​​for fluoride than what is legal. She also found that this had probably not been communicated to the residents of Hedalen. – So as a public authority we have chosen to withhold this information, and it gives me a really bad taste in my mouth, she says. Gro Anita Bakketun is upset about the administration in Sør-Aurdal municipality Photo: Arne Sørenes / NRKG Gro Anita Bakketun is upset about the administration in Sør-Aurdal municipality Photo: Arne Sørenes / news Municipal director Boie Ludvigsen claims that the municipality informed the residents about this all in 2012. Arne Heimestøl, or others news has spoken to in Hedalen, may think they have been informed about this. – The information has been completely absent. It is completely unacceptable, says Heimestøl. In addition, Bakketun found a document which shows that the municipality obtained prices for cleaning equipment for fluoride in drinking water as early as 2009. She then contacted the municipal director who asked for more information about the case. – But then it was quiet, says Bakketun. Nor did Arne Heimestøl hear anything more from the highest authority in the municipality. But he says that at the end of May, he was called by municipal director Boie Ludvigsen who told him that Gro Anita Bakketun had been dismissed. According to Heimestøl, the director of the municipality must have emphasized that she could no longer speak on behalf of the municipality in the case of the water in Hedalen. – I became very curious, says Heimestøl, who in recent weeks has published several articles on the matter on Hedalen.no Will not answer until a possible investigation How long the municipality has known that the drinking water in Hedalen has an illegally high fluoride content will ask Mayor Hougsrud or municipal director Boie Ludvigsen answer. – We have been informed that the municipality has been reported to the police. Beyond that, we find it unnatural to comment on this now out of consideration for a possible investigation, says Haakon Boie Ludvigsen. – A municipality must follow the law, says Hougsrud, who explains that the municipality is now working on various measures that can reduce the fluoride values ​​in the drinking water. – But shouldn’t they have done something earlier? – I do not know the details of the case and what has been done. It must come out in a possible investigation, says the mayor. Mayor Marit Hougsrud in Sør-Aurdal is tight-lipped, and won’t say much out of concern for a possible police investigation. Photo: Arne Sørenes / NRKO Mayor Marit Hougsrud in Sør-Aurdal is tight-lipped, and won’t say much out of concern for a possible police investigation . Photo: Arne Sørenes / news Gro Anita Bakketun says that she has reported the municipality to the police because the residents of the municipality have a right to be able to trust that the municipal drinking water is safe and within the requirements set by law. – As a resident of a municipality, you pay for clean and safe drinking water, which the municipality is responsible for ensuring. But since 2009, Sør-Aurdal municipality has not fulfilled this obligation. It is serious, says Bakketun. She believes that it shows bad management practices when this has been allowed to happen over many years in the municipality. – Knowing about such conditions for so many years is deliberate and serious. And it is punishable, she says. This is one of several borewells that raise water from the ground for the waterworks in Hedalen. Photo: Arne Sørenes / NRKThis is one of several borewells that raise water from the ground for the waterworks in Hedalen. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news Is the water dangerous to health? According to the Regulations on water supply and drinking water (the drinking water regulations), drinking water must at all times comply with the requirements of the regulations. When it comes to fluoride, the legal limit is 1.5 mg/l. The drinking water in Hedalen has had values ​​above 2.0 mg/l in documented measurements since 2018. This year, the measurement shows 2.3 mg/l. These values ​​are not dangerous, but can cause stains on the teeth, especially in combination with the use of fluoride-containing toothpaste, according to the World Health Organisation. They also advise against water with too high a fluoride content for infants, pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding. Facts about fluoride in drinking water: Norwegian guidelines have been drawn up for the use of fluoride-containing drinking water with regard to dental health: In the range of 0-0.5 mg/l F, no visible effect on the teeth occurs, or any known effect on the body. Fluoride tablets and fluoride toothpaste can be used. In the range of 0.5-1.0 mg/l F, protection against tooth decay is achieved, and no harmful effects have been demonstrated. Fluoride tablets should not be used. In the range of 1.0-1.5 mg/l F, good protection against tooth decay is achieved, and no known health damage. However, fluoride tablets and fluoride toothpaste should not be used. In the range of 1.5-3 mg/l F, good protection against tooth decay is still achieved, but approximately half of the children will get tooth stains. No known health damage. Tooth stains can be mitigated or avoided by using low-fluoride water for baby food. In the range of 3-6 mg/l F, the incidence of tooth stains increases, and the teeth become more fragile and less resistant. Pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as children under the age of 7 should limit the use of this water. When the fluoride content exceeds 6 mg/l, it is harmful to the teeth, and possible health damage can occur. Such water should not be used for drinking. Source: Norwegian Institute of Public Health. – The municipality is still obliged to follow the law, says Gro Anita Bakketun. – This case testifies that unregulated management can be carried out according to the whimsical method, and it is far from what is acceptable in 2024, she says. Had expected a different response Arne Heimestøl was still drinking the water from the tap at home in Hedalen. But he expects the municipality to do its best to find out what has happened, and how in the future they will ensure legal water for the residents. – The municipality should step up and introduce measures immediately, he says. Arne Heimestøl is not afraid to drink the water from the waterworks. But he expects the municipality to immediately start measures to improve the quality of the water. Photo: Arne Sørenes / NRKArne Heimestøl is not afraid to drink the water from the waterworks. But he expects the municipality to immediately start measures to improve the quality of the water. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news Heimestøl is also surprised that Gro Anita Bakketun was not able to continue in her job as municipal manager. – I think that here there is a connection between the dismissal and what she has tried to do, he says. He believes that many people in Hedalen are grateful that she has tried to bring the matter to light. Bakketun herself does not want to have such strong opinions about why she lost her job. – But it’s clear I’ve thought about it, she says. – I didn’t look for this information, but I found him. I had expected the municipality to respond differently to what I found, says Gro Anita Bakketun. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news – I didn’t look for this information, but I found him. I had expected the municipality to respond differently to what I found, says Gro Anita Bakketun. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news She says that she had nevertheless expected a different response from her superiors. – I expect that such information will be well received. Because we cannot have a working life in Norway where employees in public administration are afraid to raise and question objectionable matters for fear of losing their jobs, she concludes. As was the case earlier in the case, mayor Marit Hougsrud denies that there is any connection between the dismissal and the issue of drinking water in Hedalen. Published 20.06.2024, at 11.49 Updated 20.06.2024, at 12.06



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