[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/court-ruling-confirms-epas-fluoride-levels-pose-risk-to-childrens-iq\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/court-ruling-confirms-epas-fluoride-levels-pose-risk-to-childrens-iq\/","headline":"Court Ruling: Fluoride Levels Pose Risk to Children\u2019s IQ","name":"Court Ruling: Fluoride Levels Pose Risk to Children\u2019s IQ","description":"A recent federal court ruling has confirmed the current fluoride levels in U.S. drinking water, endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children. The ruling underscores the need for immediate regulatory action to ban water fluoridation, as it challenges decades of government promotion of fluoridated water as safe and beneficial.","datePublished":"2024-09-25","dateModified":"2024-12-30","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/author\/moore\/#Person","name":"International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology","url":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/author\/moore\/","identifier":1240,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/bfc92e3fae46f1c852ba2a2990470c47.jpg?ver=1776792253","url":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/bfc92e3fae46f1c852ba2a2990470c47.jpg?ver=1776792253","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IAOMT-Schema-app-logo.jpg","url":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/IAOMT-Schema-app-logo.jpg","width":120,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/fluoride-unreasonable-risk.jpg","url":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/fluoride-unreasonable-risk.jpg","height":816,"width":1456},"url":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/court-ruling-confirms-epas-fluoride-levels-pose-risk-to-childrens-iq\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n7gbmOcHWso#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n7gbmOcHWso","name":"Fluoride Lawsuit Ruling 2024","description":"Fluoride Lawsuit Ruling 2024\n\nSenior Judge Edward Chen wrote:\n\n\u201cThe Court finds that fluoridation of water at 0.7 milligrams per liter (\u201cmg\/L\u201d) \u2013 the level presently considered \u201coptimal\u201d in the United States \u2013 poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children\u2026the Court finds there is an unreasonable risk of such injury, a risk sufficient to require the EPA to engage with a regulatory response.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn 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\u2026Reduced 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.\u201d\n\n\u201cOne thing the EPA cannot do, however, in the face of this Court\u2019s finding, is to ignore that risk.\u201d\n\npg 3: There is little dispute in this suit as to whether fluoride poses a hazard to human health. Indeed, EPA\u2019s own expert agrees that fluoride is hazardous at some level of exposure. And ample evidence establishes that a mother\u2019s exposure to fluoride during pregnancy is associated with IQ decrements in her offspring. \n\npg 5: Even if the toxicologically determined hazard level of 0.28 mg\/L were deemed insufficiently substantiated, evidence in the record still establishes with little doubt that fluoridated drinking water presents a risk of injury to health.\n\npg 6: The EPA\u2019s default margin of error requires a factor of 10 between the hazard level and exposure level due to variability in human sensitivities\u2026Here, an even greater margin (100x) is owed because the methodology (which yields the 4 mg\/L hazard level) uses the lowest observed adverse effect level (\u201cLOAEL\u201d); this methodology adds an additional level of uncertainty (and hence the application of a 100x rather than 10x margin). But even if only the default 10x margin is required, the safe level of fluoride exposure would be 0.4 mg\/L (4 mg\/L (hazard level) divided by 10). The \u201coptimal\u201d water fluoridation level in the United States of 0.7 mg\/L is nearly double that safe level of 0.4 mg\/L for pregnant women and their offspring.\n\npg 77: The scientific literature in the record provides a high level of certainty that a hazard is present; fluoride is associated with reduced IQ. There are uncertainties presented by the underlying data regarding the appropriate point of departure and exposure level to utilize in this risk evaluation. But those uncertainties do not undermine the finding of an unreasonable risk; in every scenario utilizing any of the various possible points of departures, exposure levels and metrics, a risk is present in view of the applicable uncertainty factors that apply.\n\npg 78: There is significant certainty in the data set regarding the association between fluoride and reduced IQ. Namely, there is a robust body of evidence finding a statistically significant adverse association between fluoride and IQ. A large majority of the 72 epidemiological studies assessed by the NTP Monograph observed this relationship including all but one of the 19 high-quality studies, see \u00b6\u00b6 34-36, and literature published after the NTP Monograph cutoff date observed the same relationship, see \u00b6 37 \u2013 and countervailing evidence, for various reasons described previously, are of little impact on this repeated, and consistently observed association between fluoride and reduced IQ, see \u00b6 39. Moreover, complete consistency amongst studies is not expected. See Dkt. No. 414, Feb. 9, 20240, Trial Tr. at 1172:23-1173:6 (Savitz). Notably, notwithstanding inherent difficulties in observing this association at lower exposure levels, studies assessing such levels still observed a statistically significant relationship between fluoride and reduced IQ. See \u00b6\u00b6 42-44. Again, to put the breadth of evidence supporting this finding in perspective, the EPA has identified a LOAEL based upon far less in other contexts. \n\npg 76: The size of the affected population is vast. Approximately 200 million Americans have fluoride intentionally added to their drinking water at a concentration of 0.7 mg\/L. See Dkt. No. 421 at 206-07 (undisputed). Other Americans are indirectly exposed to fluoridated water through consumption of commercial beverages and food manufactured with fluoridated water\n\npg 76: Approximately two million pregnant women, and over 300,000 exclusively formula-fed babies are exposed to fluoridated water. The number of pregnant women and formula-fed babies alone who are exposed to water fluoridation each year exceeds entire populations exposed to conditions of use for which EPA has found unreasonable risk; the EPA has found risks unreasonable where the population impacted was less than 500 people.","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/n7gbmOcHWso\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/n7gbmOcHWso\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/n7gbmOcHWso\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/n7gbmOcHWso\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/n7gbmOcHWso\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2024-10-01T21:46:44+00:00","duration":"PT1M20S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n7gbmOcHWso","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCo87raXcBdqq8w-1U_SFq-Q#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCo87raXcBdqq8w-1U_SFq-Q","name":"IAOMT - International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology","description":"The IAOMT are the leaders in science-based biological dentistry. We are a trusted academy of allied professionals providing scientific resources to support new levels of integrity and safety in healthcare. The IAOMT has over 1100 members in North America and in 53 other countries.\n\nIAOMT - International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology","logo":{"url":"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/ytc\/AIdro_nzSc6oo_WFPqLjLPnpIMQ7L0kTyl4YhHGpWDUlcjLRSc0=s800-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj","width":800,"height":800,"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n7gbmOcHWso#VideoObject_publisher_logo_ImageObject"}},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n7gbmOcHWso#VideoObject_potentialAction","target":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n7gbmOcHWso&t={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"},"interactionStatistic":[[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n7gbmOcHWso#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_WatchAction","interactionType":{"@type":"WatchAction"},"userInteractionCount":744}],{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n7gbmOcHWso#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_LikeAction","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":8}]},"about":["Press Releases"],"wordCount":656,"keywords":["CDC","EPA","Fluoride","TSCA","water fluoridation"],"articleBody":"\ufeffA recent federal court ruling has confirmed the current fluoride levels in U.S. drinking water, endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children. The ruling underscores the need for immediate regulatory action to ban water fluoridation, as it challenges decades of government promotion of fluoridated water as safe and beneficial according to The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT).In a landmark case, Fluoride Action Network and other health advocacy groups successfully argued that fluoride levels currently promoted as \u201coptimal\u201d by the EPA and other government agencies pose a significant threat to public health, particularly to the cognitive development of children. The United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that fluoridation at 0.7 mg\/L \u2014 the level endorsed by the EPA \u2014 presents an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children. This finding is based on robust scientific evidence, including a review by the US Government\u2019s National Toxicology Program, which identified a clear link between fluoride exposure and neurodevelopmental harm.Despite overwhelming evidence, the EPA and other regulatory bodies such as the The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to ignore the risks, dismissing concerns raised by health professionals, researchers, and advocacy groups. For years, mothers and families have been told that fluoridated water is safe. The CDC even named community water fluoridation one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, without any acknowledgement of the known health risks of fluoride.However, this court decision confirms what IAOMT and other health-conscious organizations have long asserted: fluoridation is not a harmless practice and poses real dangers to the most vulnerable among us \u2014 our children.IAOMT Past President Griffin Cole, DMD stated, “This unprecedented ruling is a wake-up call for the EPA, CDC and other government agencies who have, for far too long, promoted fluoridation without adequately considering its harmful effects on developing brains. It is unconscionable that millions of pregnant women and children continue to be exposed to fluoride levels that an overwhelming number of scientific studies show are harmful.”Fluoride is not only present in drinking water but also in processed foods, dental products, and other daily sources. Aggregate exposure is far higher than what is considered safe for children and pregnant women, a fact that government agencies such as the EPA and CDC have continuously ignored.Research presented in the court case revealed that fluoride exposure, even at levels lower than 1.5 mg\/L, is associated with a significant reduction in children’s IQ. The pooled analysis showed that for every 0.28 mg\/L of fluoride in a pregnant mother\u2019s urine, a one-point drop in her child\u2019s IQ can be expected. With typical U.S. fluoride exposure levels often exceeding this threshold, the risks are clear \u2014 and action is long overdue.“It\u2019s time for the EPA, CDC and other health authorities to stop ignoring the science and start protecting the health of future generations,” added current IAOMT President Yuko Torigoe, DMD. “We need transparent regulations based on the latest research, not outdated practices that put our children at risk.”As an organization dedicated to biological dentistry and the science of safe dental practices, IAOMT will continue to advocate for fluoride-free water and raise awareness about the toxic effects of fluoride. The Academy also calls on local, state, and federal officials to end their support of fluoridation programs and ensure that public health policies reflect current scientific understanding by banning water fluoridation.For the sake of our children, it is crucial that we ban water fluoridation and prioritize health over outdated, and now proven harmful, practices.About IAOMTThe International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) is a global network of dentists, health professionals, and scientists dedicated to the safe and science-based practice of biological dentistry. The IAOMT supports research and education on the risks of toxic materials, including fluoride, in dental and healthcare practices."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Court Ruling: Fluoride Levels Pose Risk to Children\u2019s IQ","item":"https:\/\/iaomt.org\/court-ruling-confirms-epas-fluoride-levels-pose-risk-to-childrens-iq\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]