A major US court ruling on water fluoridation has judged that fluoridation of drinking water at 0.7 mg/L is a hazard associated with reduced IQ levels in children. The judge found that current water fluoridation levels were an unreasonable health risk under the US Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the court has instructed the regulators to take action on this issue.
“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. And this risk is unreasonable under Amended TSCA. Reduced IQ poses serious harm. Studies have linked IQ decrements of even one or two points to e.g., reduced educational attainment, employment status, productivity, and earned wages. Indeed, the EPA recognizes that reduction of IQ poses a serious community health issue. Moreover, highly susceptible populations are impacted, including over two million pregnant women and babies, a number far exceeding population size the EPA has looked to in determining whether regulatory action was warranted in other risk evaluations (i.e., 500 people or less).
Thus, the Court finds Plaintiffs have met their burden in establishing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that community water fluoridation at 0.7 mg/L presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health under Amended TSCA and that the EPA is thus obliged to take regulatory action in response. The Court does not in this order prescribe what that response should be.”
Page 6 of the Summary in the FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW for the case of FOOD & WATER WATCH, INC., et al., v. UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, et al., 24 September 2024
Relevance to New Zealand
In the New Zealand context, the government and its senior advisers insist that public drinking water supplies are fluoridated at between 0.7 and 1.0 mg/L. Recent directives from Health New Zealand for local councils to fluoridate have been challenged in the courts on the ground that it is a breach of the New Zealand Bill of Rights 1990.
“New Zealand water supplies generally have naturally low concentrations of fluoride. Fluoridation of public drinking-water supplies involves the deliberate adjustment of fluoride concentrations in drinking water from their naturally low levels (~0.1-0.2 mg/L* in most parts of New Zealand), upwards to between 0.7 and 1.0 mg/L. Public health authorities worldwide agree that community water fluoridation (CWF) is the most effective public health measure to reduce the burden of dental caries, reducing both its prevalence within a population and its severity in individuals who are affected. With a history dating back to the 1940s in the US, CWF is now practised in over 30 countries around the world, providing over 370 million people with optimally fluoridated water. Epidemiological evidence of its efficacy and safety has been accumulating for over six decades. The fluoride concentrations. recommended for CWF have been set based on data from both animal toxicology studies and human epidemiological studies to provide a daily oral exposure that confers maximum benefit without appreciable risk of adverse effects.”
Health effects of water fluoridation: A review of the scientific evidence, A report on behalf of the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, August 2014
“Over 60 years of international and New Zealand research shows water fluoridation is both a safe and effective way to reduce tooth decay.
The World Health Organization and other international and national health and scientific experts endorse water fluoridation as the most effective public health measure for preventing dental decay.”
Community water fluoridation policy, New Zealand Ministry of Health website, Accessed 25 September 2024
Despite disagreeing on many aspects of this issue, both the Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor and Fluoride Free NZ appear to agree that most of the municipal water supplies in the world are not fluoridated (including most of Europe).
Map of fluoridated water supplies in different countries, Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, 1 October 2024
Case History
It has been a long road for the groups in the USA to get to this decision, as shown in this timeline posted on the Plaintiff’s website
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