{"id":194774,"date":"2025-04-20T13:53:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T13:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/activist\/epa-to-review-health-risks-of-water-fluoridation-as-rfk-jr-says-hell-tell-cdc-to-stop-recommending-it\/"},"modified":"2025-04-20T13:53:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T13:53:19","slug":"epa-to-review-health-risks-of-water-fluoridation-as-rfk-jr-says-hell-tell-cdc-to-stop-recommending-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=194774","title":{"rendered":"EPA to Review Health Risks of Water Fluoridation as RFK Jr. Says He\u2019ll Tell CDC to Stop Recommending It"},"content":{"rendered":" \r\n
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EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Monday announced plans to \u201cexpeditiously review\u201d new science on the possible health risks of water fluoridation. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he plans to tell the CDC to stop recommending water fluoridation nationally.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on Monday announced plans to\u00a0\u201cexpeditiously review\u201d new science<\/a>\u00a0on the possible health risks of water fluoridation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also on Monday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending water fluoridation nationally.<\/p>

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Kennedy\u2019s deputy chief of staff Stefanie Spear said Kennedy would direct the CDC\u2019s community preventive services task force to study\u00a0fluoride<\/a>\u00a0and make a new recommendation,\u00a0The New York Times<\/a>\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zeldin and Kennedy made the announcements at a press conference in Utah, which last week became the\u00a0first state to ban<\/a>\u00a0the practice of adding fluoride to community water supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is a good move.<\/p>

HHS Secretary Kennedy & EPA Admin Lee Zeldin Announce Review of Fluoride Science<\/p>

Today, at an event in Salt Lake City, Utah, with U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/vuV0fcJfKv<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Derrick Broze (@DBrozeLiveFree) April 8, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The growing body of research showing\u00a0fluoride\u2019s toxic effects<\/a>\u00a0gained national attention when a federal judge in September\u00a0ruled against the EPA<\/a>\u00a0in a landmark lawsuit brought by the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), Mothers Against Fluoridation, Food & Water Watch and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ruled that water fluoridation at current levels recommended by public health agencies in the U.S. poses an \u201cunreasonable risk\u201d to children\u2019s\u00a0health<\/a>\u00a0and that the agency must regulate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chen\u2019s 80-page decision<\/a>\u00a0outlined the scientific evidence that fluoride exposure is linked to reduced IQ in children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EPA announced in January that it planned to\u00a0appeal the ruling<\/a>, days before President Joe Biden left office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People long concerned with the harmful effects of water fluoridation on children\u2019s health celebrated the EPA\u2019s announcement that it would review the latest science, in an apparent response to the lawsuit. However, in a post on X,\u00a0Michael Connett<\/a>, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, urged caution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zeldin didn\u2019t mention in Monday\u2019s announcement that the EPA is under a court order to regulate the chemical under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Instead, he said the agency would conduct a review under a different statute, the Safe Drinking Water Act, effectively sidestepping the obligation imposed by the court, Connett said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EPA\u2019s appeal of the lawsuit, due April 11, is going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf EPA files the appeal, as it looks like they will, that will likely say more about EPA\u2019s true intentions with fluoride than a commitment to do another \u2018review\u2019 \u2014 especially since EPA\u2019s \u2018reviews\u2019 of the fluoride literature in the past have been atrocious,\u201d Connett added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CDC makes recommendations on whether communities should add fluoride to their drinking water and at what levels. However, the EPA sets the maximum levels allowed in water under the\u00a0Safe Drinking Water Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current maximum allowable levels of fluoride in drinking water are 4.0 milligrams\/liter (mg\/L), which is many orders of magnitude higher than the currently recommended dosage of 0.7 mg\/L \u2014 which itself has demonstrated a risk to children\u2019s health in recent studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chen ruled that the EPA must regulate fluoride under the\u00a0Toxic Substances Control Act<\/a>, which regulates substances whose production, use or disposal may cause unreasonable risks to human health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August 2024, the National Toxicology Program published a report linking fluoride exposure to neurotoxic effects in children, after public health officials tried for years to block its publication and water down its conclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent epidemiological studies in\u00a0Canada<\/a>,\u00a0Mexico<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0showed significant associations between higher fluoride exposure and worse neurocognitive outcomes for children \u2014 including at the 0.7 mg\/L levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A meta-analysis published in January showed that fluoride exposure was associated with significant\u00a0reductions in IQ scores in children<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major medical associations and public health agencies \u2014 including the\u00a0American Academy of Pediatrics<\/a>, the\u00a0American Dental Association<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0the CDC<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 have continued to support adding fluoride to drinking water, claiming it helps prevent cavities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, in addition to the growing body of research showing fluoride\u2019s risks to children\u2019s health, a second body of research shows that water fluoridation doesn\u2019t provide the significant benefits the pro-fluoridation lobbyists claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\u00a0Cochrane Review<\/a>\u00a0published in October 2024 found that adding fluoride to drinking water provides very limited, if any, dental benefits, especially compared with 50 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy\u2019s announcement signaled that in light of current science, the CDC may change its long-held position that adding fluoride to water to prevent cavities is\u00a0safe and effective<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connett said that if the CDC stops recommending water fluoridation nationally, the move would be \u201cbig.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe EPA has historically been very deferential to HHS when it comes to fluoride regulations and\u00a0policy<\/a>, so for the CDC to stop recommending fluoridation would be very significant for future EPA actions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CDC\u2019s water fluoridation recommendations are widely followed but not mandatory. State and local governments decide whether to add fluoride to water and, if so, how much \u2014 as long as it doesn\u2019t exceed a maximum set by the EPA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just over 200 million Americans drink\u00a0fluoridated water<\/a>, according to the CDC. However, since Chen\u2019s verdict last year, numerous\u00a0cities, cou<\/a>nties and states<\/a>\u00a0across the country have\u00a0stopped fluoridating<\/a>\u00a0their water or are debating rule changes that would\u00a0end fluoridation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n \n <\/div>