US Towns Suspend Water Fluoridation
Two towns in New York State will suspend fluoridation after a judge's ruling against the EPA this week
Two towns in New York state will suspend water fluoridation, after a federal judge ruled this week that the EPA must address risks to children’s cognitive development associated with fluoridation.
Yorktown and Somers have both announced that they will stop adding fluoride to their municipal water supply.
“In light of this federal ruling and the long-standing concerns expressed by many Yorktown residents, I have decided to suspend water fluoridation as a precautionary measure,” Yorktown supervisor Ed Lachterman said in a statement, released on Thursday.
“Our priority is the safety and well-being of our community, and we believe it is prudent to pause fluoridation to further assess its potential impacts.”
Somers Supervisor Robert Scorrano said that the town’s decision to stop fluoridating the municipal water supply would “give residents the freedom to choose their own sources of fluoride, ensuring personal control over their health decisions. Additionally, concerns about potential long-term health risks from fluoride exposure support reevaluating its use in public water systems.”
Yorktown and Somers are the first towns in the US to have announced an end to municipal fluoridation after U.S. District Judge Edward Chen’s ruling, which was announced on Tuesday.
Judge Chen ruled in favour of a number of advocacy groups and instructed the EPA to address the risks of fluoridation. The agency must ensure there is a sufficient margin between the hazard level for fluoride and the exposure level.
“If there is an insufficient margin, then the chemical poses a risk,” the judge wrote.
“Simply put, the risk to health at exposure levels in United States drinking water is sufficiently high to trigger regulatory response by the EPA.”
Judge Chen also cited “scientific literature in the record” that “provides a high level of certainty that a hazard is present” and demonstrates “fluoride is associated with reduced IQ.”
Judge Chen’s order comes weeks after the National Toxicology Program found a link between levels of fluoride of exposure and a reduced IQ in children. The Program found that exposing children to higher levels of fluoride, at around 1.5 milligrams per liter, is “consistently associated” with lower IQ in children.
