April 9, 2025
Without prejudging any outcomes, when this evaluation is completed, we will have an updated foundational scientific evaluation that will inform the agency’s future steps to meet statutory obligations under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, explaining that the agency will review “new scientific information on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water.”
Why It Matters: The EPA sets limits on what is allowed in drinking water. Meanwhile, in addition to the EPA studying the benefits and risks of fluoride in drinking water, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching a task force “to study and make a new recommendation on fluoride.”
- “The evidence against fluoride is overwhelming. In animal models and human models we know that it causes IQ loss,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Monday, adding that the concerns stem from ingesting fluoride.
- Sec. Kennedy argued that there’s no reason to have fluoride in drinking water when it can be easily purchased in toothpastes and mouthwashes at the store.
- Sec. Kennedy joined Zeldin and Utah lawmakers in Salt Lake City on Monday, where he commended the state for its ban on fluoride in drinking water.
- Ohio, South Carolina and Florida are also considering similar bans on fluoridated water.
- Critics say banning fluoride will cause more oral health problems in the long term. “As dentists, we see the direct consequences fluoride removal has on our patients and it’s a real tragedy when policymakers’ decisions hurt vulnerable kids and adults in the long term,” said American Dental Association President Dr. Brett Kessler.
Read More: HHS, EPA to study fluoride in drinking water as RFK Jr. says he’ll tell CDC to stop recommending it (CNN)
by Kelly Dean, Based in Kentucky.
