A California federal court ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday regarding fluoride levels in American drinking water. The ruling orders officials to address the potentially hazardous risks of these recommended levels.
District Court Judge Edward Chen, an appointee of former President Obama, clarified that his ruling “does not conclude with certainty that fluoridated water is injurious to public health.” However, he found enough evidence of its potential risks to force them to do something.
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“In all, there is substantial and scientifically credible evidence establishing that fluoride poses a risk to human health; it is associated with a reduction in the IQ of children and is hazardous at dosages that are far too close to fluoride levels in the drinking water of the United States,” he wrote in his ruling.
The judge left it up to the EPA to choose from several options, including issuing a warning label about fluoride’s risks at current levels and taking steps to tighten restrictions on fluoride being added to drinking water.
Previously, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has touted the addition of fluoride to drinking water as a major public health achievement. However, there has been conflicting research about the risks and benefits of fluoride.
For example, a recent review by the National Institutes of Health’s toxicology program found that “higher levels” of fluoride are linked to lower IQs in children, which Judge Chen cited. On the other hand, the American Academy of Pediatrics basically invalidated the review and showed further evidence that fluoride is optimal for dental health.
All in all, as the judge ruled, more research is required to determine the fluoride exposure found in U.S. drinking water.
“Not only is there an insufficient margin between the hazard level and these exposure levels, for many, the exposure levels exceed the hazard level,” Judge Chen wrote.
No matter what happens next, the ruling represents a significant development in the ongoing debate about fluoride in drinking water, requiring the EPA to address concerns about its potential health impacts more directly than it has in the past.
“One thing the EPA cannot do, however, in the face of this Court’s finding, is to ignore that risk,” Judge Chen said.
