Regulator’s Safe Fluoride Level Poses ‘Unreasonable Risk’ of Lowering Children’s IQs: Court Ruling

A federal judge has ruled that the level of fluoride added to municipal drinking water systems deemed “optimal” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) poses “an unreasonable risk” of lowering children’s IQ. In his 80-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen clarified that his opinion relied on an amendment in the 2016 Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) that creates a legal pathway for citizens to petition the EPA to consider whether an industrial chemical presents health risks. “It should be noted that this finding does not conclude with certainty that fluoridated water is injurious to public health,” Chen said. “Rather, as required by the Amended TSCA, the Court finds there is an unreasonable risk of such injury, a risk sufficient to require the EPA to engage with a regulatory response....