End of Fluoridation of US Water Could Be in Sight After Federal Court Ruling

For decades, drinking water fluoridation opponents were often portrayed as a fringe element and conspiracy theorists, but a federal ruling in the US may put an end to the practice and marks a pivotal point in their campaign to convince the public and policymakers of the substance’s dangers for infants’ developing brains.

Armed with a growing body of scientific evidence pointing toward fluoride’s neurotoxicity, public health advocates say the legal win shows they are overcoming “institutional inertia” and the unwillingness of federal public health agencies to admit they may have been wrong.

The order last week requiring the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to begin the process of strengthening fluoride regulations represents a “landmark” legal win that has long been in the making, said Stuart Cooper, director of the Fluoridation Action Network advocacy group.

“After many years of them ignoring us and defending fluoridation, we had an opportunity to get a fair and balanced adjudication in courts,” Cooper said.

The Obama-appointed US judge Edward Chen found fluoridation could cause developmental damage and lower IQ in children at levels to which the public is generally exposed in drinking water. Though the ruling did not state the level at which fluoridation would damage brains, the levels in US water present an unreasonable risk, the court found. (Read more from “End of Fluoridation of US Water Could Be in Sight After Federal Court Ruling” HERE)

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