HHS, EPA launch review of fluoride in drinking water
April 8 (UPI) -- The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services have announced they are launching a review of potential health risks associated with fluoride in drinking water.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made the announcement Monday in Salt Lake City alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has claimed that fluoride is associated with an assortment of diseases, including cancer.
"This renewed scientific evaluation is an essential step that will inform agency decisions on the standard for fluoride under the Safe Drinking Water Act," the EPA said in a statement. "This action aligns closely with EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment, while working cooperatively with our federal, state and local partners to ensure all Americans can rely on clean and safe water."
U.S. cities have fluoridated their drinking water for decades in an effort to fight tooth decay, with Grand Rapids, Mich., becoming the first to do so in 1945.
However, the practice has come under attack in the United States, with Utah last month becoming the first state to ban the fluoridation of drinking water, with several other states considering similar legislation.
The use of fluoride in drinking water across the country was expected to come under renewed scrutiny by the Health and Human Services agency after President Donald Trump's election, as the New York real estate mogul tapped Kennedy -- a conspiracy theorist and known anti-vaccination advocate -- to lead the department.
In November, Kennedy, on X, called fluoride "an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease."
In an effort to reassure the public, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Monday that the agency will not prejudge the outcomes of the review, which will inform the agency's future steps.
"Secretary Kennedy has long been at the forefront of this issue," he said. "His advocacy was instrumental in our decision to review fluoride exposure risks, and we are committed to working alongside him, utilizing sound science as we advance our decision to review fluoride exposure risks and we are committed to working alongside him, utilizing sound science as we advance our mission of protecting human health and the environment."
The American Dental Association has voiced support for fluoridating drinking water and expressed disappointment late last month with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, when he signed House Bill 81 into law, ending "one of the most equitable, trusted and tested public health strategies in the arsenal of preventive medicine."
"The most common chronic childhood disease is cavities. We know that when community water fluoridation stops, it's the children and the most vulnerable of our communities who suffer," ADA President Brett Kessler said in a statement.
"We urge legislators and voters across the country not to make Utah's significant mistake, and, instead, to trust credible data and science, which shows that optimally fluoridating community water is safe, effective ahd helps prevent dental disease."
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