Judge Orders EPA to Consider Risk Posed by Fluoridated Water to Children’s IQs

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been ordered by a federal judge to strengthen regulations surrounding fluoride in drinking water.

In San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen took the side of several advocacy groups to find that, at current levels, fluoridating drinking water supplies presented an unreasonable risk to the developing brains of children, reported Reuters.

“The scientific literature in the record provides a high level of certainty that a hazard is present; fluoride is associated with reduced IQ,” said Chen, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, as Reuters reported.

Chen said a non-jury trial with the advocacy groups had established enough of a risk of harm to require a response from the EPA pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

“Given the seriousness of reduced IQ, and the ample support in the record that the United States population is at risk of experiencing IQ decrements of over four IQ points, the severity of the hazard at issue (reduced IQ in children, see Section III.A.1.), weighs in favor of finding the risk at issue unreasonable,” Chen wrote. “The EPA has recognized that cognitive deficits including reduced IQ are critical chronic health effects, as exemplified [] in its risk evaluation of PCE under the Amended TSCA which identified cognitive deficits as the hazard warranting regulatory action.”

Approximately 200 million people in the U.S. drink fluoridated water, reported The Hill.

The potential health impacts of fluoride have resulted in widespread debate.

In August, the National Toxicology Program — part of the Department of Health and Human Services — found that increased fluoride exposure was associated with lower IQs in children.

However, the American Academy of Pediatrics stuck by its recommendation of adding fluoride to toothpaste and water.

Judge Chen emphasized that he had not concluded there was a danger to public health from fluoridated water.

Chen said the ruling “does not conclude with certainty that fluoridated water is injurious to public health; rather… the Court finds there is an unreasonable risk of such injury,” The Hill reported.

Chen wrote that the risk was “sufficient to require the EPA to engage with a regulatory response,” but did not mandate what the outcome would be. 

Environmental nonprofit Food & Water Watch hailed the ruling. In 2017, the group, along with a coalition of organizations, sued the EPA, reported Reuters. Their “citizen’s petition” asking the agency to consider the banning of fluoride in public drinking water was denied.

“The court’s historic decision should help pave the way towards better and safer fluoride standards for all,” Michael Connett, a lawyer for Food & Water Watch, said in a statement, as Reuters reported.

The U.S. began fluoridating drinking water in 1945, but has since lowered fluoride levels to avoid damage to teeth and other risks.

The practice of adding fluoride to public drinking water is uncommon in Europe, and most countries in the world do not have fluoridated water.